Ginés Pérez de Hita was a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 novelist and poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, born at Mula

Mula

-Places:* Mula, Maldives, a city in the Maldives* Mula, Spain, a town in the autonomous community of Murcia, Spain* Muľa, a village and municipality in southern Slovakia* Mula, a drum used in Cuban music...

 (Murcia

Murcia

-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...

) about the middle of the 16th century.

It is likely that he joined the campaign against the Muslim presence in Spain

Reconquista

The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...

 in 1560.

Guerras civiles de Granada

He owes his wide celebrity to the Historia de los bandos de los Zegríes y Abencerrajes (1595–1619), better known as the Guerras civiles de Granada

Granada

Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...

, which purports to be a chronicle based on an Arabic original ascribed to a certain Aben-Hamin.

Abed-Hamin is a fictitious character, and the "Wars of Granada" is, in reality, a historical novel

Historical novel

According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...

, perhaps the earliest example of its kind, and certainly the first historical novel that attained popularity.

In the first part, the events which led to the downfall of Granada

Granada

Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...

 are related with uncommon brilliancy, and Pérez de Hita's sympathetic transcription of life at the Emir

Emir

Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...

's court has clearly suggested the conventional presentation of the picturesque, chivalrous Moor

Moors

The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

 in the pages of Mlle de Scudéry

Madeleine de Scudéry

Madeleine de Scudéry , often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. She was the younger sister of author Georges de Scudéry.-Biography:...

, Mme de Lafayette

Marie-Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne, comtesse de la Fayette

Marie-Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne, comtesse de La Fayette , better known as Madame de La Fayette, was a French writer, the author of La Princesse de Clèves, France's first historical novel and one of the earliest novels in literature.- Life :Christened Marie-Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne, she was...

, Châteaubriand and Washington Irving

Washington Irving

Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...

.

The second part is concerned with the author's personal experiences and the treatment is effective; yet, though Calderón's play, Amar después de la muerte, is derived from it, this less picturesque second part has never enjoyed the vogue or influence of the first. The exact date of Pérez de Hita's death is unknown. His blank verse

Blank verse

Blank verse is poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the sixteenth century" and Paul Fussell has claimed that "about three-quarters of all English poetry is in blank verse."The first...

rendering of the Crónica Troyana, written in 1596, exists in manuscript.

Modern Editions

• Historia de los bandos de zegríes y abencerrajes (primera parte de las "Guerras Civiles de Granada".)
• La guerra de los moriscos (segunda parte de las "Guerras Civiles de Granada".)
• Guerras civiles de Granada