“The life of Lazarillo from Tormes, his hardships and misadventures”“La Vida de Lazarillo de Tormes: y de sus Fortunas y Adversidades”Published anonymously in Burgos, Alcala de Henares and Antwerp in 1554. One of the most striking works of Renaissance literature. It was published at the height of the Spanish Inquisition and later banned by the Catholic Church due to the sharply anti-clerical nature of the work. A short story by an anonymous author, written in the form of a confessional letter from a town crier who, having achieved prosperity, tells the reader about his past. The owners of young Lazarillo - a crafty blind beggar, a stingy priest, a hungry but proud hidalgo - represent different strata of Spanish society. In a pseudo-simple style, the story refutes the generally accepted value system of the era of Charles V: blind adherence to the “Code of Honor”, ostentatious heroism, hypocritical observance of religious rituals, etc. This suggests that the author of the story belonged to the circle of progressive free-thinking people of his time - the Spanish “Erasmists”, students of the great thinker Erasmus of Rotterdam. The story is written vividly and dynamically, the characters are extremely expressive, and life is accurately conveyed; The unartificial, sometimes rude language of the story is close to folk. The book about the rogue Lazarillo marked the beginning of the picaresque genre in Spanish literature.