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Where did Miguel de Cervantes receive his early education?
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Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes, engraving by E. Mackenzie after Gregorio Ferro and Fernando Selma; from The Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography (1863).
Little is known about the early education of Miguel de Cervantes. While it is often conjectured that he may have studied under the Jesuits, this remains unproven.1
It is certain, however, that he did not attend a university, which was unusual for a Spanish writer of his era. There is a record from 1569 in which Juan LĆ³pez de Hoyos, the head of a municipal school in Madrid, refers to a Miguel de Cervantes as his "beloved pupil." Because Cervantes was 21 at the time, it is possible he was a pupil-teacher or had studied under LĆ³pez de Hoyos at an earlier date. Regardless of his formal schooling, he became an avid reader of books.1