El Cid



The legend of El Cid became Spain's national epos. The title hero, RODRIGO DE VIVAR, was a Castilian nobleman who, according to the legend, throughout his lifetime lived a life of adventure, fighting for the good against the evil, according to the medieval ideal of knighthood. The first lord in whose service Rodrigo fought was the Emir of Zaragoza, a Muslim.
In 1065, King Ferdinand of Castile-Leon died, leaving behind 3 sons. His kingdom was split, Garcia being crowned King of Galicia, Alfonso King of Leon and Sancho King of Castile. Alfonso quickly deposed Garcia, only to be exiled to Toledo by Sancho. Then Sancho was murdered by men loyal to Alfonso and his sister Urraca. Alfonso, on being paid homage as king of Castile-Leon, was forced by Rodrigo de Vivar to swear an oath that he was in no way involved in the death of his brother Sancho.
Alfonso swore that oath, and Rodrigo de Vivar swore loyalty to his king.
Soon, Rodrigo had to leave his fief and country, persecuted by King Alfonso who confiscated his property and held his wife and daughters hostage. Rodrigo, nicknamed EL CID, assembled an army of knights, hungry for adventure, around him. King Alfonso took Toledo (1085); Spain's Taifa kings, under heavy pressure, called in the ALMORAVIDS from Morocco, Muslim zealots. The political atmosphere in Spain, which despite of the frequent fights was one of mutual respect, changed. In 1094, El Cid took the Kingdom of VALENCIA, holding it until his death.
In 1099, his wife Jimena had to surrender the Kingdom and city of Valencia.

El Cid pictures a society in which nobility had a dominant function. It's claim to protect the other strata of society (clergy, peasants) was legitimate, as Spain was frontier country. The economy was by and large subsistent, money playing a marginal roll.
To the nobility of the christian kingdoms of Spain, Rodrigo de Vivar served as a role model, for centuries to come. DON QUIXOTE, written in the 16th century, is little more than a persiflage of El Cid, the story of a knight trying to emulate the Cid in a society which did not need knights any more.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		El Cid, article from the Catholic Encyclopedia
El Cid, from Legends
The Song of El Cid, a summarical account from ukans
DOCUMENTS The Lay of the Cid, from OMACL
VIDEOS El Cid, 1961



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on Novembr 9th 2004

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