[Curiosities] Learn 10 curiosities about Don Quixote of la Mancha

[Noticias ALEJANDRO]

 

 

1. The famous "place of La Mancha", what would it be?

Although at the beginning of his great work Cervantes did not want to remember that place, everything indicates that it really existed. Multiple studies have been carried out on the matter and the majority point to two towns in Ciudad Real as candidates, Argamasilla de Alba and Villanueva de los Infantes, in the center of the

2. The original work has two parts

An important fact but not known to everyone is that Don Quixote has two parts. The first titled The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha was written in 1605 and printed in Madrid. It had numerous typos due to the rush imposed by the publisher. It achieved tremendous success but the author obtained almost no profit due to the pirated editions that were made of the work.

The second part was published years later, in 1615, under the title The Ingenious Knight Don Quixote. Its publication was also rushed due to the insults it was receiving and the literary thefts that were being carried out. Cervantes made his anger evident and from chapter 59 of the work you can read ridicule of the false Quixote.

Only until 1617 were both parts published in Barcelona. From that moment on, it became one of the most published books in the world, translated into almost all the languages in the world.

3. Controversy over whether it was written in prison

There are two moments in Cervantes' life that seem ideal to support the theory of having been written in prison: the autumn of 1592, the date of his forced stay in Castro del Río (Córdoba), and the last months of 1597, when he was imprisoned in the Seville prison. In any case, Cervantes may use the term "engender" in his Prologue more as a synonym for "imagine" than for "write" or "write up."

In the prologue of the work he talks about his time in prison and how Don Quixote was born in that place. It is not determined whether what was born there was the idea of the book or the writing of it itself.

4. It is the second most translated book in the world

Second only to the Bible, it has been translated into more than 50 languages and is considered the first modern novel. Furthermore, one can consider how the best-selling book in history, without considering the Bible and other religious texts, has managed to sell more than 500 million copies in different languages.

5. It has almost 400,000 words

Don Quixote contains about 381,000 words, a number that varies if we talk about ancient Spanish or its updated version. Of all of them, almost 23,000 are different terms, that is, not repeated.

6. The first translation of Don Quixote de la Mancha

It was in 1608 when this work was translated for the first time. It was into English, translated by the Irishman Thomas Shelton. He made an almost literal translation of the book so the result was not understood correctly. Years later, other translations appeared, non-literal and with higher quality.

7. He never says what they say

Among all the phrases there is one that has gone down in posterity as one of the most famous quotes from Don Quixote... but that does not actually appear in the book. It is the hackneyed "Bark, Sancho, sign that we ride." Cervantes did not write that phrase and, what's more, there is not even anything similar in Don Quixote. This is the po[CENSORED]rized version of a fragment of Goethe's poem Labrador (1808): "But his strident barking; it is only a sign that we are riding."

8. The most expensive copy in the world

In 1989, a copy of Don Quixote de la Mancha sold for $1.5 million. It was the first edition that was in excellent condition and of which only a couple of copies exist. With this information, this book enters the list of the most expensive in the history of the world.

9. Own meaning in the Royal Academy dictionary

The significance of Cervantes' character is such that he has his own entry into the RAE... and with two meanings. The first refers to his character and philosophy "Man who, like the Cervantine hero, puts his ideals before his profit or convenience and works in a selfless and committed way in defense of causes that he considers just", while the second refers to his physical appearance: "Tall, thin and serious man, whose appearance and character remind us of the Cervantine hero."

10. Cervantes did not profit from his work

Although Don Quixote became what today would be called a bestseller shortly after its release, Cervantes only made 10 percent of the profits. At that time, writers sold the printing license of their work to the publisher, so they lost the printing of the text and their profits.

It is also important to remember that Cervantes died in 1616, a year before the publication, by a publishing house in Barcelona, of Cervantes' work uniting the two parts. For these reasons, he could not enjoy any profit adjacent to the sale of his book.

 

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