Author. He is considered one of the most important Spanish playwrights, poets, and novelists in the Siglo de Oro or the Golden Century of Baroque literature. Although recognized as a prolific author, who wrote over 2,200 plays, only 500 of his plays have survived. Among his books are "Fuenteovejuna," "La Dama Boba," "El Caballero de Olmedo," "El Mejor Alcalde, el Rey," and his poems "Soneto de Repente," "Qué Tengo yo que mi Amistad Procuras," and "A mis Soledades Voy," He was nicknamed the Phoenix of Spain. He came from humble beginnings but learned very easily, studying at the Imperial School and from 1577 to 1581, at the University of Alcla de Henare. He held positions in the Spanish court. After going to Madrid, he studied grammar with Theatines and mathematics at the Royal Academy. After serving in the Spanish Navy and experiencing the Battle of Vila Franca do Campo, he started a five-year affair with a married woman. Upon her leaving, he became angry, which led to public behavior that caused him to be jailed and earned him the punishment of eight years' banishment from the court and two years' exile from Castile. At this point, he returned to the Spanish Navy. Many of his writings are about his naval experiences. In 1589, his mother died as well as his mistress. Although he married twice, with the death of his first wife in childbirth in 1594, he had romantic dealings with at least six women. He had a son and three daughters with his second wife, and at least another 8 children with mistresses. From 1605 until his death, he had a close relationship with the Duke of Sessa. He had studied to be a priest as a young man. In 1609 he entered the first of several religious orders. With the heartbreak of many family members dying, he finally decided to be ordained on May 24, 1614, as a Roman Catholic priest, but he did not leave the position of secretary of the Duke of Sessa, which did not hold well with the church. That year he published "Sacred Rhymes." His son's death, a mistress dying in childbirth, another mistress went blind and died two years later in 1628 and his youngest daughter's abduction and abandonment in 1634 brought on a depression until his 1635 death. During his last years, he wrote under the name Tome de Burguillos. His death caused a period of national mourning.