Cantar del

Mio Cid

(The Poem of The Cid)

The Poem Of The Cid

Written during the 12th
Century (Half a century
after Rodrigos death)
Written by an unknown
author.
Composed of 3, 735 lines
Text flows as 1 long
stanza

The Poem Of The Cid

Oldest Spanish epic
poem preserved.
Said to be fictional
but is based on the
true story of
Rodrigo Diaz de
Vivar

Rodrigo Diaz
De Vivar

Biography
A great military leader
The hero of Spain.

was educated in the royal court of the

Kingdom of Castile and became an
important general and administrator,
fighting against the Moors in the early
Reconquista.
"El Cid" is derived from the word alsidi in the Andalusian dialect (from the
Arabic sayyid, "sir" or "lord," a title of
respect)

Biography
Date of Birth: around
1043

Place of Birth: Vivar

(also known as Castillona
de Bivar) a small town
about six miles north of
Burgos, the capital of
Castile, Spain.

 Father: Diego Lainez

- courtier, bureaucrat, and
cavalryman who had
fought in several battles
Mother: Teresa Nuez
- Came from an
aristocratic family

Sword: Tizona

Horse: Babieca

His father, Diego Lainez,

died in battle making
him an orphan at
the age of seven.
He went to the court of
the
king in order to be
educated as a knight.

During Rodrigos
childhood, Castile
and Leon was
ruled
by King Ferdinand
I.

When King Ferdinand died

Christian Spain was divided:

Castile to Sancho
Leon to Alfonso
Galicia to Garcia
Zamora to Urraca
Toro to Elvira

Sancho and El Cid were friends

so when he became king he
appointed the Cid as the Armiger
regis (commander of the royal
troops)

VS.
There was
a rivalry between the
two brothers, Sancho
and Alfonso.

After defeating
Alfonso, Sancho went to
Zamora. Unfortunately, while
besieging the city, he was
wounded by a spear which
led to his death in 1072

Soon, El Cid
married Jimena, daughter of Count de
Oviedo, in 1074. She is also King
Alfonsos niece. Together, they had a
son, Diego, and two daughters, Cristina
and Maria. In the poem they were
called Elvira And Sol.

On 1081, El Cid attacked and defeated

Toledo, a moorish kingdom which was
King Alfonsos ally. Because of this El
Cid was exiled. He left the kingdom
with his family and his army.

The poem b

Part I: Exile

The

The poem begins with

El Cid
leaving Vivar with his
poem b
Followers. He entered
Burgos
hoping to find a place
to stay and
to buy supplies but
people there
closed their doors,
refusing to

The poem b
El Cid went to a church of Sta. Maria
then he rode away from the town,
camping on the other side of the river
Arlanzon, opposite of Burgos.

The poem b
A citizen named Martin
Antolinez came to El Cids
camp. He offered food and wine
for him and his followers.

The poem b
El Cid visited Jimena in San
Pedro de Cardea. She was
staying in a monastery. El Cid
payed the abbot to allow his wife
to stay there during his absence.

The poem b
They stayed in the monastery for
a few days.
While sleeping, El Cid had a
vision of Gabriel, telling him that
his future will be successful
despite being exiled.

The poem b
On the last day of grace, he left
Castile with 300 horsemen and
unknown number of foot-soldiers.
Second in command to him
was Minaya Alvar Fanez (a very
competent knight;nephew)

The poem b
Passed through the mountains
Moorish town of Alcocer
They captured the town and
lived in it.

The poem b
In 1081, El Cid went on to offer his
services to the Moorish King, Yusuf
alMutaman Ibn Hud and his successor
Al-Mustain II in Zaragoza.

The poem b
In 1086, Alfonso was defeated by the
almoravids from North Africa. At this
time, he knew that he was incapable of
defeating Yusuf so he recalled the Cid
from exile to help him. El Cid returned
to Castile but only for a short while.

Part II:
Conque
st Of
Valenci

The first thing El Cid needed to do was to remove the

influence of the Count of Barcelona. Barcelona was
the major city in the area and the Count was a
powerful man. He defeated the Count (Berenguer
Ramn II) at the battle of Tbar in May 1090.

Valencia, however was still

ruled by an Arabic leader,
al-Qadir. El Cid became
lucky when in October 1092
al-Qadir was killed by one
of his noblemen, Ibn
Jahhaf. The city of
Valencia was thrown into
confusion. It was at this
time that El Cid decided to
attack. He surrounded the
city and began a long
siege. In May, 1094 Ibn
Jahhaf surrendered the
city.

El Cid knew that because Valencia

contained a great number of Moors (Arabs)
that he would have to have the support of
Ibn Jahhaf. He forgave Ibn Jahhaf of all of
his crimes including the killing of al-Qadir.
Ibn Jahhaf agreed to use his influence over
the Moors so that they would accept El Cid

 El Cid was now the Lord Of Valencia.

He gave 3000 horses to King Alfonso equipped with saddles
and harnesses.
Only Count Garcia Ordonez wasnt pleased with El Cids
success.
King Alfonso said that the Campeador had served him better in
exile than Garcia have in his court.

 Alfonso allowed El Cids wife and daughters to

join him in Valencia.
Alfonso restored the properties of El Cids
vassals

 Once the Cid's honor,

power, and wealth have
been restored, the King
suggests that Elvira and
Sol marry the Infantes
(princes) of Carrion, Diego
Gonzoles and Fernando
Gonzolez.
Though the Cid appears
reluctant because of the
difference in their age and
social rank, the weddings
take place.

Part III:
Treachery
and Justice

 The third part shows the cowardice of the

Infantes in battles against the Moors. The men of
El Cid soon take notice of this and mock the
Infantes.

 The Infantes react by taking revenge on their

wives, the daughters of El Cid.
They take leave of El Cid, carrying with them all
their share of the Cid's wealth, which included two
priceless swords, Colada and Tizn.

 The Infantes, don Fernando and don Diego, set

of for Carrin and upon reaching the oak grove of
Corpes, they order their escort to precede them
and they then attack their wives savagely by
whipping them and leave them for dead.

 A relative of the girls, a cousin, who was sent to

follow from a distance, takes the young women to
safety.
The Cid demands justice from King Alfonso. He
agreed that the trial will be held in Toledo.

 In the court of Toledo, El Cid first demanded the

return of his swords that he had given to his sons
in law. He gave the Colada to Martin
Antolinez and the Tizona to Pedro Bermuda.

 Then El Cid demanded satisfaction for the ill-treatment

of his daughters. Pedro Bermuda challenged
Fernando, and Martin Antolinez challenged Diego, in a
combat.
The Infantes were no match to Pedro and Martin
despite having expensive armor.

 After the combat, the

Infantes lost their
titles and they were
exiled. Pedro and
Martin went back to
Valencia with a news
that their Lords
daughters were
avenged.

 The Princes of Aragon and

Navarre named Inigo
Jimenez and Ojarra
Jimenez married El Cids
daughters

 On July 10, 1099, El Cid died in his

home. Though his wife Jimena would
continue to rule for two more years