Literature Review
The Song of the Cid (Poema del Cid or Cantar del Mio Cid) is the great epic of medieval Spain. It chronicles the life of Rodrigo (or Ruy) Diáz de Vivar, a commander under King Alfonso VI of Castile in the eleventh century.
Diáz de Vivar fought for Alfonso against the Moors, fought for the Moors against Alfonso, and conquered the Kingdom of Valencia for himself; he ruled there until his death. Even his title, El Cid Campeador, reflects his conflicting loyalities: “El Cid” is a Moorish title of respect, from Arabic al sayyid “Lord”; “Campeador” is Spanish for “Champion”.
Like other historical tales whose heroes become the stuff of legends, poems, and ballads, the story of the Cid accreted fantastical details over the centuries. The film El Cid (1961), starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren, won three Academy Awards.
There are several sources for the story of the Cid; Robert Southey’s 1637 edition entitled The Chronicle of the Cid is based on the Chronica del Famoso Cavallero Cid Ruydiez Campeador (1552 and 1593), La Cronic de Espña, and what he calls Poema del Cid, an anonymous poem (c. 1207) preserved at Vivar; of the latter he says
The poem is to be considered as metrical history, not metrical romance. It was written before those fictions were invented which have been added to the history of the Cid, and which have made some authors discredit what there is not the slightest reason to doubt. I have preferred it to the Chronicles sometimes in point of fact, and always in point of costume; for as the historian of manners, this poet, whose name unfortunately has perished, is the Homer of Spain.
‘El Cantar del mío Cid’, or ‘The Song of My Lord’ the oldest Castilian epic poem extant, and Spain’s national epic, exists in a single fourteenth century codex, but was composed earlier, in the twelfth century, or as late as the early thirteenth. It tells of Rodrigo (Ruy) Díaz de Vivar (c1043-1099AD), known as El Cid (Lord) and El Campeador (Master of the Battlefield). The poem is set in the eleventh century, an age of warfare amongst the northern Christian and the central and southern Muslim realms of Spain, marked by shifting alliances. Born in Vivar, near Burgos, Díaz served in the armies of both Christian and Muslim rulers, ultimately wresting the principality of Valencia from Muslim control, and ruling there until his death. His fraught relationship with Alfonso VI (c1040-1109AD), King of León and Castile, who twice exiled Díaz from his realm, was a central determinant in his military career. El Cid’s rule of Valencia was tolerant of both Christian and Muslims alike, and won him popular support. He countered the attempts of the Almoravid Berbers, who had made successful incursion into Spain from North Africa in 1086AD, to conquer Valencia, and he inflicted on them their first major defeat, in 1094AD, on the plain of Cuarte (Quart de Poblet), outside the city. He died, his cause of death uncertain, on July 10th, 1099AD. The tomb of Diaz and his wife Jimena is located in Burgos cathedral. She and her retinue fled to Burgos, bearing the body of her husband, in 1101AD, prior to the fall of Valencia to the Almoravids in 1102AD. The poem begins with the departure of Rodrigo, from his home in Vivar, to the first of the two exiles decreed by Alfonso. In the poem his first exile (1081AD) and his second (1089AD) are merged, and are precursors to Rodrigo’s campaigns in the Spanish Levant, ending in his conquest of Valencia, and the tale of his claim for justice against the (likely fictitious) infantes of Carrión.
An epic tradition: the recovery of the honour
The double plot of the exile and the outrage follows a double curve that descends and ascends: from the expropriation of the lands of Vivar and his exile, he becomes lord of Valencia and recovers royal favour; then, following the loss of his family honour caused by the dauphins, the curve again ascends to its maximum peak, thanks to the his daughters´ weddings to the princes.
In both cases, the recovery of El Cid’s honour is achieved by methods that are practically unknown in epic poetry, which makes “El Cantar” not only one of the finest examples of this type of poem but also the most original. Indeed, the hero of Vivar, who is exiled due to the slanderous acts of his enemies in court, never considers adopting any of the extreme measures available in the epic repertoire (rebelling against the king and his advisers) but prefers to obey the royal order and leave Al-Andalus to earn his keep with booty won from his enemy, an option that was always considered legitimate at that time.
For that reason, the characteristic approach of “El Cantar” is placing emphasis on the spoils won from the Moors, against whom the hero fights not for religious reasons, but to survive, and who are allowed to stay in the conquered lands subject to his rule.
That does not mean that El Cid and his men have no religious sentiments; in actual fact, the Battler takes charge of adapting the mosque of Valencia for use by Christians, converting it into a cathedral for Bishop Hieronymus. Furthermore, the relationship between the hero and God is privileged, as seen in the appearance of St. Gabriel who comforts El Cid when he starts his cruel exile.
However, there is no clear ideal of a Crusade, nothing about «conversion or death». The Muslims in the conquered cities, although not regarded as equals, are not completely subjected. They are able to find their place in the ideal society of Valencia during the time of El Cid as Mudejar (Muslims who conserve their religion, system of justice and customs) but under the rule of the superior authority of the Christian governors and with certain restrictions as regards their rights. Without falling into the trap of considering this to be an idyllic situation, it is clear that no extremist religious sentiment can be appreciated in the ideals of the Battler.
As regards the outrage of Corpes, epic tradition demanded that a dishonour of this kind be solved by a cruel personal vengeance, but in “El Cantar de mio Cid” legal courses are used, by filing a suit before the king, through the channel of a challenge between noblemen. The customs of the ancient feudal law and private vengeance practised by those of Carrión are thus contrasted with the new legal system that was introduced at the end of the 12th century, whose practices respond to the use of the challenge as a method of repairing the offence.
Through this, a clear difference is established between the spoiled, young dauphins who represent the social values of the rancid nobility from the interior and the Battler and his family, who are members of the lower noble class and even villeins, who have earned the title of nobles due to their heroic deeds on the frontier. That contrast is not, as has sometimes been considered, between the inhabitants of León and Castile (García Ordóñez, the arch enemy of El Cid, is from Castile), but between the higher noble class, rooted in values stemming from the past, and the lower noble class, which is at the forefront of social renovation.
The prudent, discreet actions of the hero from Vivar are an example of the restraint embodied by El Cid in “El Cantar”, but this depends not only on a personal ethic option, but also on a specific ideological background. In this case, it responds to the «frontier spirit», which encouraged the Christian colonisers inhabiting the frontiers between the Christian kingdoms and Al-andalus.
That spirit was expressed, in particular, in a series of jurisdictions known as «de extremadura», whose laws were taken into account in the poem, both in the final suit and in sharing the booty, during the victories won by El Cid. The guiding light for these frontier ideals is the capacity to improve one’s social lot through one’s own merits, in the same way as “El Cantar” concludes with the apotheosis of the honour of the Battler who, from his initial despair, finally succeeds in seeing all his efforts and tribulations rewarded.
El Cid, a discreet hero
The great epic heroes of the Middle Ages were expected to perform impossible deeds and maintain radical attitudes, often above and beyond what was commonly accepted. With only a few exceptions, El Cid is separated from that model and constitutes a different one. In the “Crónica Najerense”, young Rodrigo opposes his moderation to the pompous declarations of King Sancho, and this attitude continues in “El Cantar del rey don Sancho”, during the next century.
In addition, in the original “Mocedades de Rodrigo” the character is both prudent and discreet, and only in the rewritten text of the 14th century and some romances inspired by it does the figure of an arrogant, rebellious Rodrigo take shape (more in keeping with the tastes of those troubled times).
Where the hero’s discretion is seen most clearly is in “El Cantar de mio Cid”. In the first passage or stanza of this work, it is said: “Habló mio Cid bien y tan mesurado: / — ¡Gracias a ti, Señor, Padre que estás en lo alto! / ¡ Esto me han urdido mis enemigos malos!”. Instead of cursing his enemies, the Battler thanks God for the trials to which he is subjected. More than an accusation, the last verse quoted represents a statement of fact.
From then on, Rodrigo must survive with his men and endure the hardships of exile. But even though he is condemned, he also sees a future laden with promise. When after a short while, El Cid observes a bad omen during his journey to exile, he is not discouraged but exclaims “¡Albricias, Álvar Fáñez, pues nos echan de la tierra!” The goods news is the exile itself, as it opens up a new stage in which El Cid will be able to take advantage, as will most certainly be confirmed later.
The point where this characteristic discreet attitude on the part of El Cid is most clearly seen is in the last part of the plot. Following the outrage suffered by Elvira and Sol in the forest of Corpes, the usual thing, in accordance with the requirements of this type of literature, would be for their father to gather his men and launch a savage attack against the property of the dauphins of Carrión and their families, killing all those who stood in his way, and destroying their lands and palaces.
However, El Cid does not decide on this bloody course of action, but uses the regulated legal procedure for repairing offences between noblemen: the challenge. After informing King Alfonso of the outrage, the court of the kingdom meets and the Battler challenges the dauphins before it. The king accepts the challenge and three of El Cid’s men fight the dauphins and their elder brother. The victory of El Cid’s men leads to the offence being repaired with no deaths and no bloodshed, in accordance with more advanced legal customs of those times. Centuries before films about lawsuits became fashionable, the venerable “Cantar de mio Cid” showed the dramatic possibilities of legal proceedings and put them at the service of its hero´s wisdom and restraint.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3386&context=honors_theses
https://kb.gcsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1236&context=thecorinthian
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