The novel begins "En un
lugar de la Mancha de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme," which means
"in a place in La Mancha whose name I do not wish to remember."
This beginning has led many towns and cities in La Mancha to claim to be
this unnamed place. It is reminiscent of once upon a time in a faraway
land. The humor is that La Mancha is not the romantic land of knights and
is hardly faraway. Still, the fight to be called "el lugar en La
Mancha" is fierce!
|
|
Argamasilla de Alba seems to
have the best claim. This city is about 2 hours south of Madrid. It was not
the first stop on our trip since there are many sights along the way, but I
wanted to try to start with the beginning of the novel and its location in
La Mancha. It seemed fitting to start here.
Here is where Cervantes was
imprisoned for one of his faulty tax accounting problems and where he began
to write the novel...supposedly. We think he started writing Don Quijote
here because in the Prologue he writes that he is in prison and expects the
bareness of his prison to affect the beauty of his writing. So, Argamsilla
de Alba has the very cave where he was imprisoned and began the novel. This
is, of course, not 100% certain. We do not know for sure that this was the
spot or that this is what it looked like. Still, it seems the town has
worked hard to claim this as the likeliest spot and to re-create what it
really might have been. We just have to ignore the fact that Cervantes was
imprisoned twice in Sevilla, where many scholars believe he actually began
the novel (3hours or so south and not in La Mancha). Besides, it is fun for
tourists and want-to-be-writers regardless of truth. For the truth in that,
see below....
|
|
The 17th century house with a modern addition (top floor) to store
books, show artwork, and host lectures related to Cervantes and Don Quijote
|
|
|
Cultural Center House of Medrano Prison of Cervtanes,
Created 1994 |
 |
| The Cave/ Prison of Cervantes |
 |
| Me, at his writing desk |
 |
| What will my Don Quijote be? Is prison really the way to get enough free time alone to write a novel?? It would have minimal distractions..... |
So,
here I am pretending to be Cervantes and hoping for inspiration! I forgot
my quill pen and parchment though. I look a bit silly with a map for paper
and no writing instrument at all. Oh, well. If only it had not been 100
degrees and miserable that day I might have been thinking ahead better. At
least the cave was cool inside, and the lower level for wine storage was
very refreshing!
 |
| Caves below the prison cave |
This, the prison,
is probably the most visited site in the city, but the second is the church
that has the painting of the man who most likely inspired the character of
Don Quijote. I think many might miss it, however, so make an effort to find Iglesia San Juan Bautista (Church Saint John the Baptist) and look to the left of the altar for a painting. The people inside the church are very friendly and nice and will turn on the light to let you see it better or take a picture, but you have to ask because they try to keep it darker to help preserve it.
 |
| The Church is in the main square and surrounded by statues/fountains related to Don Quijote |
|
Be sure to see the statue of the book, Don Quijote, Sancho Panza, and Dulcinea in the square before the Church.
|
This painting inside the church was commissioned by the inspiration for Don
Quijoite, according to some. This man in the bottom left is named Don Rodrigo de Pacheco and he was a Marquis. Some think it was Cervantes' flirting with the Marquis' niece that led to his imprisonment. I think a monetary dispute (and possible fraud on the part of Cervantes) is a much more likely reason behind his long imprisonment. The story does, however, imply the presence and influence of Don Rodrigo while Cervantes was in the town. The story of this man is not well-known, and I have been unable to find much more than the usual story of his eccentricity, madness, and possible connection to Cervantes. The details of why he was called the "mad knight" or what exactly his madness entailed are vague. The best we have is the inscription under this painting.
Paintings were often used to record miraculous healings or ask for them and then placed in the church as a sign of gratitude and worship for the Saint thought to be responsible. It is called an ex voto, Latin for devotional vow. This ex voto was commissioned by Don Rodrigo for the miraculous healing of a head illness and is dedicated to the Virgin. We have assumed the head illness is madness of some sort and that Cervantes picked up on the idea of a mad knight for his character from the story of Don Rodrigo.
|
|
|
|
