Rocinante is Don Quixote's horse in the two-part 1605/1615 novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. In many ways, Rocinante is not only Don Quixote's horse, but also his double; like Don Quixote, he is awkward, past his prime, and engaged in a task beyond his capacities.
Rocinante. Detail of the Cervantes monument in Madrid (L. Coullaut, 1930)
Don Quixote, a 1976 statue by Aurelio Teno exhibited in Washington, D.C., portrays Rocinante and Don Quixote as emerging from a rock ready for battle
Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615. Considered a founding work of Western literature, it is often labelled as the first modern novel and the greatest work ever written. Don Quixote is also one of the most-translated books in the world and one of the best-selling novels of all time.
Don Quixote de la Mancha (first edition, 1605)
Don Quixote goes mad from his reading of books of chivalry. Engraving by Gustave Doré.
Illustration by Gustave Doré depicting the famous windmill scene
Don Quixote de la Mancha and Sancho Panza, 1863, by Gustave Doré