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Cid, el. El Cid, nickname of the main medieval spanish knight and hero, whose real name was Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (born in Vivar, Burgos, Spain circa 1045, died in Valencia, Spain in July 1099). He was born a lower nobleman, even if his mother was a close relative to the king of Castile Alfonso VI. As a grown up his merits gave him an outstanding position among other higher noblemen, what made them resentful towards him. Don Rodrigo's (Don is the equivalent of Sir or Mr.) life is one of those cases when reality matches fiction. The king unfairly exiled him twice, deprived him of his property and imprisoned his wife and daughters (which was illegal) due to palace intrigues. He marched to exile with his men and tears in his eyes (as told in the magnificent "Cantar de Mio Cid", a poetry book written shortly after his death). He never fought back to his king as an exiled lord, which he had the right to, according to law. Instead of this, he made his living capturing land from the arabs, even if he was open minded and also served loyally and respectfully some arab kings in Spain. The arabs respected and admired him, calling him "Al Sayiddi" (sir) which is the origin of his nickname. He was never defeated in a battlefield, even if he made huge progress in the reconquest of Spain from the Islamic forces. He conquered many cities in the east of Spain, and finally Valencia. There he ruled the territory around this major city, establishing what could have been called a kingdom but he always called part of Castile, declaring the territory as belonging to his king. There the king allowed him to meet his wife and daughters, and lived happily until his death. His sword "Tizona" can still be seen in the Army Museum at Madrid. Soon after his death it became one of the most precious parts of the crown possesssions till recently. This is a very specially forged sword he captured to the arabs, and only recent university studies have achieved a forging process that came close to the excellent properties of the steel. His horse was called "Babieca". His daugthers were married to top noblemen and his blood became a part of the basement of the oldest noble families. It is said that the present heir to the French throne has family ties with el Cid, among many others. Because of his noble spirit, intelligence, generosity and battlefield excellence, his fame has been passed down all the generations to nowadays spaniards. His figure is outstanding from the rest of contemporaries by its own right, and he is like a lighthouse for generations to come. Special attention has to be paid however to the fact that his figure was later distorted by the powers of that time (the crown and the church) to their own benefit, making him appear more like an over-religious man, example of how to serve a king, and less a fair, noble spirited but down-to-earth man. He was also called "El que en buena hora nació" (i. e. "The one that, luckily, was born") Bibliography: "The world of El Cid, Chronicles of the spanish reconquest", Simon Barton and Richard Fletcher, Manchester University Press. (Manchester, 2000). ISBN 0 71905225 4 (amazon.com, search) (Amazon, Pricescan) hardback, 0 71905226 2 paperback. www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk Fear, A. T. (trans.), "Lives of the Visigothic Fathers", Translated texts for historians, vol 26 (Liverpool, 1997). Melville, C. and A. Ubaydli (ed. and trans.), "Christians and Moors in Spain", vol. III, Arabic sources (711-1501) (Warminster, 1992). Menéndez PIdal, R. (ed.) "Cantar de Mio Cid", 3 vols (3rd edn, Madrid, 1954-6). Michael, I. "Thw poem of the Cid" (Manchester 1975). Wolf, K.B. (trans), "Conquerors and Chroniclers of Early Medieval Spain", Translated texts for historians, vol. 9, (Liverpool, 1990). |
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The CID is an acronym within the British police force and stands for Criminal Investigation Department. These are effectively the plain-clothes detectives. |
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If you are looking for the Spanish knight, then go to: El Cid |
If you are looking for the Spanish knight, then go to: El Cid
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