Timeline of Don Quixote
Two timelines: the author's life and the knight's adventures, in order.
Two timelines run through this site. The first is the author's: Cervantes's life and the book's publication history, where dates are documented record unless labeled otherwise. The second is the novel's own chronology: the three sallies of the knight, in the order Cervantes tells them. See methodology for how dates are labeled here.
Cervantes and the book
c. 1547 — Birth of Miguel de Cervantes
Scholarly estimate. Cervantes was baptized on October 9, 1547, in Alcalá de Henares; his exact birth date is not recorded. The date is an estimate from the baptismal record.
1571 — The Battle of Lepanto
Cervantes served as a soldier in the Holy League fleet and fought at Lepanto on October 7, 1571, where he was wounded in the left hand — the wound he later called, with pride, a mark of the battle. Documented record; the novel's long speech on arms and letters (Part I, ch. 38) is widely read as his reflection on the soldier's life.
1575–1580 — Captivity in Algiers
Returning to Spain by sea, Cervantes was captured by Barbary corsairs and held in Algiers for five years, ransomed in 1580. Documented record. The captivity shadows the novel: the Captive's Tale (Part I, ch. 39–41) and the speech on freedom (Part II, ch. 58) both read differently with it in mind.
1585 — La Galatea
Cervantes published his pastoral romance, La Galatea, in 1585. It sold modestly; he turned to the theater and to tax-collecting work to live. Documented record.
1605 — Part I of Don Quixote
El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha was published in Madrid in January 1605. It was an immediate popular success — several editions and printings followed within the year. Documented record. The full text of the English translation quoted on this site is in the public domain (see sources).
1613 — Exemplary Novels
Cervantes published his Novelas ejemplares in 1613. Documented record.
1614 — The false second part
A spurious continuation of Don Quixote appeared under the name Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda. Cervantes answered it inside the genuine Part II — most openly in chapter 59, where characters in the novel read the false sequel and reject it. Documented record. See the manuscript.
1615 — Part II of Don Quixote
The genuine second part, Segunda parte del ingenioso caballero don Quixote de la Mancha, was published in 1615. Cervantes died the following year. Documented record.
April 1616 — Death of Cervantes
Scholarly consensus on the date. Cervantes died in Madrid on April 23, 1616 (burial recorded that date; death dated April 22 or 23 by scholars). He finished the dedication of Persiles days before his death.
The novel's own chronology
Cervantes is casual about calendar time inside the novel — the adventures are ordered by telling, not by dates. The structure is three sallies from home.
The first sally — Part I, chapters 1–6
Alonso Quixano renames himself Don Quixote of La Mancha, arms himself, and rides out alone. He is dubbed a knight by an innkeeper in a mock ceremony (Part I, ch. 3), frees a boy from a beating, and is brought home beaten and feverish (Part I, ch. 5). While he recovers, the curate and barber conduct the scrutiny of his library (Part I, ch. 6). See the novel and part-one guide.
The second sally — Part I, chapters 7–52
With Sancho Panza as his squire, Quixote rides out again. This is the great procession of adventures: the windmills (ch. 8), the fulling mills (ch. 20), Mambrino's helmet (ch. 21), the galley slaves (ch. 22), the Sierra Morena penance (ch. 23–26), the wineskins (ch. 35), and the return home in a cage, enchanted (ch. 46–47). The catalogue is laid out in the quests.
The interval — Part II, chapters 1–11
Back home, Quixote learns that Part I of his own history has been published and read. The novel becomes a story about a character who knows he is famous. Samson Carrasco, the young graduate, engineers the third sally by provoking the knight's pride.
The third sally — Part II, chapters 12–74
The knight and squire ride out into a world that has read about them. Every adventure is now staged by people who know the book: the Knight of the Mirrors (ch. 12–14), the lions (ch. 17), the Cave of Montesinos (ch. 22–23), the puppet show (ch. 26), the Duke and Duchess (ch. 30–57), Clavileño the flying horse (ch. 41), Sancho's governorship of Barataria (ch. 45–53), Barcelona (ch. 61–65). Defeated by the Knight of the White Moon on the beach at Barcelona (ch. 64), Quixote is bound by oath to retire for a year. He returns home, falls ill, renounces knight-errantry, and dies as Alonso Quixano the Good (ch. 74).
The last word
Cervantes closes with a warning against any further false sequel: "in order to remove the possibility of any other author save Cide Hamete Benengeli bringing him to life again falsely." See the manuscript for the full metafictional apparatus.
Source notes
- Publication dates (1605, 1613, 1614, 1615) and the Lepanto and captivity records are standard scholarly consensus; see sources.
- The death date of Cervantes is labeled as scholarly consensus, not documented record — the burial register records April 23, 1616.
- Novel-internal events cite part and chapter of the Ormsby translation; see sources.