Royal Privilege

Whereas on your behalf, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, report was made to us that you had composed the Second Part of Don Quixote of La Mancha, which you presented to us, and, since it is a book of pleasant and decent history and had cost you much labor and study, you petitioned us to order that you be given license to print it and a privilege for twenty years, or as might please our grace; which having been seen by the members of our Council, and since in the said book the procedures were carried out that are laid down by the decree issued by us on the matter, it was agreed that we ought to order this our warrant to be issued in the said matter; and we have thought it good. By this warrant we give you license and authority so that, for the term and space of ten years, complete and next following, to run and be counted from the day of the date of this our warrant onward, you, or the person holding your power for it, and no other, may print and sell the said book mentioned above; and by the present we give license and authority to any printer of our kingdoms whom you may name so that during the said time he may print it from the original that was examined in our Council, which bears the flourish and, at the end, the signature of Hernando de Vallejo, our Clerk of the Chamber, and one of those who sit there; on condition that before and prior to its being sold you bring it before them, together with the said original, so that it may be seen whether the said printing conforms to it, or bring attestation in public form of how a corrector appointed by us saw the said printing and corrected it against the said original; and further, that the said printer who prints the said book shall not print the beginning and first sheet of it, nor deliver more than a single book with the original to the author and to the person at whose expense it is printed, or to anyone else, for the purpose of the said correction and assessment, until first and before all else the said book has been corrected and assessed by the members of our Council; and, this being done, and not otherwise, he may print the said beginning and first sheet, in which he shall immediately set this our license and the approval, assessment, and errata; nor may you or any other person sell it, or offer it for sale, until the said book is in the form aforesaid, under penalty of falling into and incurring the penalties contained in the said decree and in the laws of our kingdoms that provide on the matter; and further, that during the said time no person may print or sell it without your license, under penalty that whoever prints and sells it shall have lost and shall lose whatever books, type, and equipment he has for it, and shall further incur a fine of fifty thousand maravedís each time he acts to the contrary, of which said fine one third shall go to our Chamber, another third to the judge who passes sentence, and the other third to the person who brings the charge; and further we order the members of our Council, the presidents and judges of our Audiencias, the mayors and constables of our Household, Court, and Chancelleries, and any other justices whatever of all the cities, towns, and villages of our kingdoms and dominions, each in his jurisdiction, both those who hold office now and those who shall hold it hereafter, to keep and fulfill for you this our warrant and grace, which we thus grant you, and not to go or act against it in any way, under penalty of our displeasure and of ten thousand maravedís for our Chamber. Given in Madrid, on the thirtieth day of the month of March, in the year one thousand six hundred and fifteen.

I, THE KING.

By command of the King our lord:

Pedro de Contreras.