El Cid Campeador
The Champion of Spain
Mar 21, 2009 Grant Sebastian Nell
His legendary exploits and gift for military tactics and leadership won him the accolade of ‘campeador’ (champion) in his own lifetime. He was known to his Moorish foes and allies as El Cid, (my lord) from the Arabic sidi, meaning ‘lord’. He is generally depicted as a large, well proportioned man with a thick, flowing beard, attired in the chain-mail hauberk and conical helm used by Christian heavy cavalry of the period, and wielding a broadsword.
El Cid Campeador was born into a noble family and educated at the Castilian Royal Court of King Ferdinand I. When Ferdinand died, a civil war erupted between his sons. Rodrigo fought for Sancho II. Sancho managed to quell his rebellious brothers, Alfonso and Garcia, and exiled them to Toledo before preparing to deal with his sisters. However, he was assassinated by a soldier of his sister, Urraca, and Alfonso returned from exile to take the throne for himself.
Rodrigo now served Alfonso VI, and married his niece, Jimena. Alfonso feared the popular Rodrigo and eventually banished him. The outlawed Cid took a decade-long term of service with the Moorish leader of Saragossa, Al-Mu’tamin. Although he became a folk hero in Christian Spain, Rodrigo fought against Christians as well as Muslims, inflicting defeats upon the Count of Barcelona and an army from Aragon.
El Cid and The Conquest of Valencia
Alfonso recalled El Cid from exile in 1087 to fight Berber Almoravid invaders from North Africa. But after a few years, Rodrigo took advantage of the chaotic state of affairs to besiege Valencia with a mixed army of Christians and Muslims, capturing it in 1094. He ruled the city until it was attacked by the Almoravids in 1099. Legend relates that the Cid received a wound and died but his corpse, attired in full armour, was strapped to his warhorse Bavieca and rode at the head of a sortie from the city gates. This is not altogether unlikely, for an age when the remains of saints were sometimes exhumed and carried into battle. The Almoravids were crushed but would return three years later, in 1102, to recapture Valencia.
Rodrigo’s personality endeared him to the common people. He had a reputation for being honest, loyal, and brave. He was clearly a born leader as he possessed the ability to unite and inspire men from different faiths. He led from the front, as gifted a fighter as he was a tactician.
Although considered merciful, he was still the product of a brutal era and often displayed a calculating, ruthless streak. When he captured Valencia, he pardoned the ruler, Ibn Jahhaf, for his complicity in the murder of Valencia’s former Amir, al-Qadir, on condition that he assist the Cid in winning the hearts and minds of the Moorish population. Once Jahhaf had performed his obligations, the Cid had him executed.
Much has been made of his attachment to his wife, Jimena. He is purported to have returned from battle, exhausted and crusted with dried blood, to fall asleep in her arms. When he had nightmares, she would soothe him. He also said to have loved his daughters, Cristina and Maria, and would test the mettle of potential suitors by releasing tame lions into the feasting hall. (His guests did not know they were tame.)
El Cid's Legacy
Whether he was truly the Champion of the People or a shrewd, opportunistic 11th century warlord, the appeal of the Cid has not faded over the years. A broadsword on display at the Museo del Ejercito in Madrid is supposed to be Rodrigo’s legendary sword, Tizona. He has been immortalized in verse, in epic poems, most of which were written long after his death. He has been portrayed in sculpture, cinema, cartoons and computer games. Franco, leader of the Nationalists, was portrayed as a modern day equivalent of El Cid during the Spanish Civil War.
Sources:
The Poem of The Cid, A Bilingual Edition with Parallel Text Rita Hamilton, Janet Perry, Ian Michael Penguin Books, 1984
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