Miguel de Cervantes signature

Spanish novelist, playwright and poet, 1547–1616

Inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’s signature

A rendering in a modern handwriting font, made for this page. It is not the real signature; see where to view the original below. Where to see the original ↓Style: Herr Von Muellerhoff, slant 8°

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Herr Von Muellerhoff · 8°

Who Miguel de Cervantes was

Miguel de Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares in 1547 and died in Madrid in April 1616. Before he became the author of Don Quixote (1605 and 1615) he was a soldier wounded at the battle of Lepanto in 1571, a captive in Algiers for five years, and later a commissary buying grain and oil for the royal fleet in Andalusia.

That last job, along with lawsuits, contracts and petitions, left a long paper trail. Most of his surviving signatures come from these practical documents rather than from his literary work.

The story of the signature

In his own hand Cervantes usually spelled his surname with a b: “Cerbantes”. In the Spanish of his time b and v often stood for the same sound and were used interchangeably, so this is not a mistake. From the 1580s he generally added the second surname Saavedra, giving the full form “Miguel de Cerbantes Saavedra”.

Like other Spaniards of his age, he finished his name with a rúbrica, a looping pen flourish personal to each signer. In Spanish practice the rúbrica was treated as part of the signature itself, and on documents of the period it is often as large as the name.

Signatures survive on notarial records, accounts from his years as a commissary, and court papers. One example is in a 1593 Seville lawsuit now in the historic collection of the University of Seville Library. Another appears on the dowry contract connected with his marriage to Catalina de Salazar.

The wound at Lepanto cost him the use of his left hand, which earned him the nickname “el manco de Lepanto”. It did not affect his signature: he wrote with his right.

What makes it distinctive

The b in Cerbantes

His own spelling of the surname, normal for the period, and a quick way to tell a period document from a modern reproduction.

Two surnames

The full form adds Saavedra after Cerbantes, so the signature runs long across the page.

The rúbrica

A looping flourish below or around the name, drawn in one movement. In Spain it carried as much weight as the letters.

A working hand

Most of his signatures sit at the foot of accounts and legal papers, written fluently by someone who signed documents all the time.

How to give your signature a similar feel

In the signature generator Type tab, choose Herr Von Muellerhoff or Mr De Haviland and set the Slant slider to around 8° for a fast, practised look.
A rúbrica is easier to draw than to type. Use the Draw tab, write your name, then keep the same rhythm and add one looping stroke underneath that ends in a quick tail.
Long names suit this style. If you have two surnames, use both, as Cervantes did.
Pick dark blue or black ink: iron-gall ink on documents of the period has faded to brown, but it was written dark.

Where to see the original

These links lead to archives, libraries, museums and Wikimedia Commons.

Questions about Miguel de Cervantes’s signature

Why did Cervantes sign “Cerbantes”?

Spanish spelling was not standardised, and b and v were often used for the same sound. “Cerbantes” is how he normally wrote his own name.

What is a rúbrica?

It is the personal flourish that traditionally completes a Spanish signature. In Cervantes’s time it was considered part of the signature, not decoration.

Did losing the use of his hand change his signature?

No. His left hand was maimed at Lepanto in 1571, but he wrote and signed with his right hand.