Editing Don Quixote (section)

===Sources===
Sources for ''Don Quixote'' include the Castilian novel ''[[Amadis de Gaula]]'', which had enjoyed great popularity throughout the 16th century. Another prominent source, which Cervantes evidently admires more, is ''[[Tirant lo Blanch]]'', which the priest describes in Chapter VI of ''Quixote'' as "the best book in the world." (However, the sense in which it was "best" is much debated among scholars. Since the 19th century, the passage has been called "the most difficult passage of ''Don Quixote''".) The scene of the book burning provides a list of Cervantes's likes and dislikes about literature.

Cervantes makes a number of references to the Italian poem ''[[Orlando furioso]]''. In chapter 10 of the first part of the novel, Don Quixote says he must take the magical helmet of [[Mambrino]], an episode from Canto I of ''Orlando'', and itself a reference to [[Matteo Maria Boiardo]]'s ''[[Orlando innamorato]]''.<ref>''Don Quijote de la Mancha'', Miguel de Cervantes, Edición de Florencio Sevilla Arroyo, Área 2002 p. 161.</ref> The interpolated story in chapter 33 of Part four of the First Part is a retelling of a tale from Canto 43 of ''Orlando'', regarding a man who tests the fidelity of his wife.<ref>"Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes, translated and annotated by Edith Grossman, p. 272.</ref>

Another important source appears to have been Apuleius's ''[[The Golden Ass]]'', one of the earliest known novels, a picaresque from late classical antiquity. The wineskins episode near the end of the interpolated tale "The Curious Impertinent" in chapter 35 of the first part of ''Don Quixote'' is a clear reference to Apuleius, and recent scholarship suggests that the moral philosophy and the basic trajectory of Apuleius's novel are fundamental to Cervantes' program.<ref>See chapter 2 of E. C. Graf's ''Cervantes and Modernity''.</ref> Similarly, many of both Sancho's adventures in Part II and proverbs throughout are taken from popular Spanish and Italian folklore.

Cervantes' experiences as a [[galley slave]] in Algiers also influenced ''Quixote''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miguel-de-Cervantes|title=Miguel de Cervantes {{!}} Biography, Books, Plays, & Facts|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-02-13}}</ref>

Medical theories may have also influenced Cervantes' literary process. Cervantes had familial ties to the distinguished medical community. His father, Rodrigo de Cervantes, and his great-grandfather, Juan Díaz de Torreblanca, were surgeons. Additionally, his sister, Andrea de Cervantes, was a nurse.<ref name="Lopez-Munoz">Lopez-Munoz, F. "The Mad and the Demented in the Literary Works of Cervantes: On Cervantes' Sources of Medical Information about Neuropsychiatry". ''Revista de Neurologia'', vol. 46, 2008, pp. 489-501: 490.</ref> He also befriended many individuals involved in the medical field, in that he knew medical author Francisco Díaz, an expert in urology, and royal doctor [[Antonio Ponce de Santa Cruz]] who served as a personal doctor to both Philip III and Philip IV of Spain.<ref name = "Palma">Palma, Jose-Alberto, Palma, Fermin. "Neurology and Don Quixote". ''European Neurology'', vol. 68, 2012, pp. 247-57: 253.</ref>

Apart from the personal relations Cervantes maintained within the medical field, Cervantes' personal life was defined by an interest in medicine. He frequently visited patients from the Hospital de Inocentes in Sevilla.<ref name = "Lopez-Munoz" /> Furthermore, Cervantes explored medicine in his personal library. His library contained more than 200 volumes and included books like ''Examen de Ingenios'', by [[Juan Huarte]] and ''Practica y teórica de cirugía'', by Dionisio Daza Chacón that defined medical literature and medical theories of his time.<ref name="Palma" />

Researchers Isabel Sanchez Duque and Francisco Javier Escudero have found that Cervantes was a friend of the family Villaseñor, which was involved in a combat with Francisco de Acuña. Both sides combated disguised as medieval knights in the road from [[El Toboso]] to [[Miguel Esteban]] in 1581. They also found a person called Rodrigo Quijada, who bought the title of nobility of "hidalgo", and created diverse conflicts with the help of a squire.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.elmundo.es/cronica/2014/12/07/54830651268e3e242b8b4576.html|title=Don Quijote era Acuña el Procurador|newspaper=El Mundo | location=Madrid}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2014/12/07/actualidad/1417983722_234613.html|title=Don Quijote de La Mancha: ¿realidad o ficción?|newspaper=El País | location=Madrid}}</ref>