On this day in 1605, Don Quixote was published. The book by Miguel de Cervantes, El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha, is one of the best-selling novels in history.
It centers on Spanish noble Alonso Quixano, who loses his mind and adopts the persona of a stereotypical knight (a role that was at that point considered old-fashioned by a century or two), adopts the name Don Quixote, and rides around the Spanish region of La Mancha living out a fantasy in a full suit of armor. Quixote, with his squire, attacks people, animals, and even windmills.
Many of the characters he encounters, including the inn master who "knights" him and a woman he "rescues" from two monks, basically tolerate the well-intentioned madman. Many do not, though, as evidenced by the several times he gets beat up in the book by people he randomly attacks. His squire, Sancho Panza, often went along with and even encouraged Quixote's fantasies because he'd been promised a post as governor of an island.
The book was widely read in Spain, Portugal, and Spanish America, and is available in many, many languages. You can read it for free at Project Gutenberg.
