Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (Vivar (Burgos) c.1044 – Valencia, 10 July 1099), known as El Cid Campeador, was a Castilian nobleman, then military and political leader who conquered and governed the city of Valencia. Rodrigo Díaz was educated in the royal court of Castile and became the alférez, or chief general, of Alfonso VI, fighting against the Moors in the early Reconquista. Later exiled by the king, El Cid left service in Castile and worked as a mercenary for other rulers, both Muslim and Christian.
The nickname "El Cid Campeador" is a compound of two separate sobriquets. "El Cid" is derived from the word al-sīd in the Andalusi Arabic dialect (from the Arabic sayyid, "sir" or "lord," a title of respect), while the title El Campeador (the champion) was granted by his Christian admirers and derives from the Latin campi doctor. These titles reflected the great esteem El Cid had among both Moors and Christians, as well as his fighting ability; Henry Edwards Watts wrote that el campeador "[m]eans in Spanish something more special than 'champion'.... A campeador was a man who had fought and beaten the select fighting-man of the opposite side in the presence of the two armies."
"El Cid" was pronounced /el tsið/ (IPA) in mediaeval Spanish, but /el sið/ or /el θið/ in modern Spanish (depending on dialect).
Early life
The exact date of El Cid's birth is unknown. Based on his participation in 1063 at the Battle of Graus, however, most historians believe that El Cid was born in the year of 1040, in Vivar (Bivar), a small town about six miles north of Burgos, the capital of Castile. Historical records show that El Cid's father was Diego Laínez, who was part of the minor nobility (infanzones) of Castile. Diego Laínez was a courtier, bureaucrat, and cavalryman who had fought in several battles. Despite the fact that El Cid's mother's family was aristocratic, in later years the peasants would consider him one of their own. However, his relatives were not major court officials: documents show that El Cid's paternal grandfather, Lain Nuñez, only confirmed five documents of Ferdinand I's; his maternal grandfather, Rodrigo Alvarez, certified only two of Sancho II's; the Cid's own father confirmed only one. This seems to indicate that El Cid's family was not comprised of major court officials.
Babieca, El Cid's war-horse
Education and early adulthood
El Cid was educated in the Castilian royal court, serving the prince and future king Sancho II, the son of King Ferdinand I (the Great). When Ferdinand died in 1065, Sancho continued his father's goal of enlarging his territory, conquering the Christian and the Moorish cities of Zamora and Badajoz.
El Cid, the Champion
By this time, the Cid was an adult. He had, in 1067, fought alongside Sancho against the Moorish stronghold of Zaragoza, making its emir al-Muqtadir a vassal of Sancho. In the spring of 1063, he fought in the Battle of Graus, where Ferdinand's half-brother, Ramiro I of Aragon, had laid siege to the Moorish town of Graus which was in Zaragozan lands. Al-Muqtadir, accompanied by Castilian troops including the Cid, fought against the Aragonese. The party would emerge victorious, Ramiro I was killed, and the Aragonese fled the field. One legend has said that during the conflict El Cid killed an Aragonese knight in single combat, giving him the honorific title of "El Cid Campeador".
Service under Alfonso
Almost immediately, Alfonso was recalled from exile in Toledo and took his seat as king of Leon and Castile. While he was deeply suspected in Castile (probably correctly) for being involved in Sancho's murder, according to the epic of El Cid the Castilian nobility, led by the Cid and a dozen "oath-helpers", forced Alfonso to swear publicly in front of Santa Gadea (Saint Agatha) Church in Burgos on holy relics multiple times that he did not participate in the plot to kill his brother. This is widely reported as truth but contemporary documents on the lives of both Alfonso VI of Castile and Leon and Rodrigo Diaz do not mention any such event. This legend is believed because it adds to accounts of the Cid's bravery. The Cid's position as armiger regis was taken away, however, and it was given to the Cid's enemy, Count García Ordóñez. Later in the year, Alfonso's younger brother, García, returned to Galicia under the false pretenses of a conference.
Battle tactics
During his campaigns, the Cid often ordered that books by classic Roman and Greek authors on military themes be read in loud voices to him and his troops, both for entertainment and inspiration during battle. El Cid's army had a novel approach to planning strategy as well, holding what might be called brainstorming sessions before each battle to discuss tactics. They frequently used unexpected strategies, engaging in what modern generals would call psychological warfare; waiting for the enemy to be paralyzed with terror and then attacking them suddenly, distracting the enemy with a small group of soldiers, etc. El Cid had a humble personality and frequently accepted or included suggestions from his troops. He remained open to input from his soldiers and to the possibility that he himself was capable of error. The man who served him as his closest adviser was his nephew, Alvar Fáñez de Minaya.
Marriage and family life
The Cid was married in July 1074 to Alfonso's kinswoman Jimena de Gormaz (spelled Ximena in Old Spanish), the daughter of the Count of Oviedo. This was probably on Alfonso's suggestion, a move that he probably hoped would improve relations between him and the Cid. Together the Cid and Ximena had three children. Their daughters, Cristina and María, both married high nobility; Cristina, to Ramiro, Lord of Monzón, son of Sancho Garces, and bastard grandson of García V of Navarre; María, first to Infante of Aragon and second to Ramón Berenguer III, count of Barcelona. The Cid's son, Diego Rodríguez, was killed while fighting against the invading Muslim Almoravids from North Africa at the Battle of Consuegra (1097).
His own marriage and that of his daughters increased his status by connecting the Cid to royalty; even today, living monarchs descend from El Cid, through the lines of Navarre and Foix. El Cid is an ancestor to the monarchies of France and Britain through his daughter Cristina's son, García VI of Navarre, as well as every other monarchy in Europe through the previous two. Through his daughter Cristina, he is a great(X7)-grandfather to Isabella of France, mother of Edward III of England.
Service as administrator
He was a cultivated man, having served Alfonso as a judge. He kept in life a personal archive with copies of the letters he mailed and important diplomas he signed as part of his co-operation in the king's administration.
Exile
In the Battle of Cabra (1079), the Cid rallied his troops and turned the battle into a rout of Emir Abd Allah of Granada and his ally García Ordóñez. However, the Cid's unauthorized expedition into Granada greatly angered Alfonso, and May 8, 1080, was the last time the Cid confirmed a document in King Alfonso's court. This is the generally given reason for the Cid's exile, although several others are plausible and may have been contributing factors: jealous nobles turning Alfonso against the Cid, Alfonso's own animosity towards the Cid, an accusation of pocketing some of the tribute from Seville, and what one source describes as the Cid's "penchant" towards insulting powerful men.
However, the exile was not the end of the Cid, either physically or as an important figure. In 1081, the Cid, now a mercenary, offered his services to the Moorish king of the northeast Spanish city of Zaragoza, Yusuf al-Mutamin, and served both him and his successor, Al-Mustain II. O'Callaghan writes:
- At first he went to Barcelona where Ramón Berenguer II (1076-1082) and Berenguer Ramón II (1076-1097), refused his offer of service. Then he journeyed to Zaragoza where he received a warmer welcome. That kingdom was divided between al-Mutamin (1081-1085) who ruled Zaragoza proper, and his brother al-Mundhir, who ruled Lérida and Tortosa. The Cid entered al-Mutamin's service and successfully defended Zaragoza against the assaults of al-Mutamdhir, Sancho I of Aragón, and Ramón Berenguer II, whom he held captive briefly in 1082.
In 1086, the great Almoravid invasion of Spain through and around Gibraltar began. The Almoravids, Berber residents of present-day Morocco and Algeria, led by Yusef I, also called Yusef ibn Tushafin or Yusef ibn Tashfin, were asked to help defend the Moors from Alfonso. A great battle took place on Friday, October 23, 1086, at Sagrajas (in Arabic, Zallaqa). The Moorish Andalusians, including the armies of Badajoz, Málaga, Granada, and Seville, defeating a combined army of León, Aragón, and Castile. According to Thomas:
- The Andalusians encamped separately from the Murabitun. The Christian vanguard (Alvar Fañez) surprised the Andalusian camp before dawn; the men of Seville (Al-Mutamid) held firm but the remaining Andalusians were chased off by the Aragonese cavalry. The Christian main body then attacked the Murabitun, but were held in check by the Lamtuma, and then withdrew to their own camp in response to an outflanking move by ibn Tashufin. The Aragonese returned to the field, didn't like what they saw, and started a withdrawal that became a rout. The Andalusians rallied, and the Muslims drove Alfonso to a small hill. Alfonso and 500 knights escaped in the night to Toledo.
Terrified after his crushing defeat, Alfonso recalled the best Christian general from exile – the Cid. It has been shown that the Cid was at court on July 1087. However, what happened after that is unclear.
Conquest of Valencia
Around this time, the Cid, with a combined Christian and Moorish army, began manoeuvring in order to create his own fiefdom in the Moorish Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia. Several obstacles lay in his way. First was Ramón Berenguer II, who ruled nearby Barcelona. In May 1090, the Cid defeated and captured Berenguer in the Battle of Lébar. Berenguer was later ransomed and his son, Ramón Berenguer III, married the Cid's youngest daughter Maria to ward against future conflicts.
The Cid gradually came to have more influence on Valencia, then ruled by al-Qadir. In October 1092 an uprising occurred in Valencia inspired by the city's chief judge, Ibn Jahhaf, and the Almoravids. The Cid began a siege of Valencia. The siege lasted several years; in December 1093 an attempt to break had failed. In May 1094, the siege ended, and the Cid had carved out his own kingdom on the coast of the Mediterranean. Officially the Cid ruled in the name of Alfonso; in reality, the Cid was fully independent. The city was both Christian and Muslim, and both Moors and Christians served in the army and as administrators. In 1096, Valencia's nine mosques were converted into churches; Jérôme, a French bishop, was appointed archbishop of the city.
The Cid died in Valencia of natural causes on July 10, 1099. Though his wife Jimena would continue to rule for two more years, an Almoravid siege forced Jimena to seek help from Alfonso. They could not hold the city but both managed to escape. Alfonso ordered the city burned to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Moors. Valencia was captured by Masdali on May 5, 1109 and would not become a Christian city again for over 125 years. Jimena fled to Burgos with the Cid's body. Originally buried in Castile in the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña, his body now lies at the center of the impressive Burgos Cathedral.
Legend
Legend has it that after El Cid died, his body was strapped to his horse and sent into battle by his wife, who believed that his troops would be defeated if they knew their leader was dead. The troops rallied, thinking that their leader was riding to fight beside them, and the enemy was so afraid of the invincible fighter that they retreated to their boats. Thus, El Cid is said to have won his final battle after his death.
Tizona
El Cid's sword "Tizona" can still be seen in the Army Museum (Museo del Ejército) in Madrid. Soon after his death, it became one of the most precious possessions of the Castilian royal family. And in 1999, a small sample of the blade underwent metallurgical analysis which partially confirmed that it was made in Moorish Cordoba in the eleventh century, although the report does not specify whether the larger-scale composition of the blade identifies it as Damascus steel.
In 2006 "El Museo del ejercito (The Army Museum) was moving from Madrid to Toledo and apparently the sword was not available to be seen in public.
El Cid also had a sword called Colada.
Origin of the Campeador title
Campeador is the Romance or Vulgar Latin version of the Latin campi doctor or campi doctus; the term can be found in writings of late Latinity (4th–5th century) and can be found in some inscriptions of that era. After that period it became rare, although still sometimes found in the writings of the less educated writers of the Middle Ages. The literal significance of the expression campi doctor is "master of the military arts", and its use in the period of the late Roman Empire appears to have signified only one who instructed new military recruits. But it was in current usage when El Cid was still alive, and was applied to Rodrigo by a member of his circle in an official document promulgated in his name in 1098.
El Cid in literature, film and other media
Literally dozens of works were written about the Cid. The oldest of the preserved manuscripts is the three-part Spanish cantar de gesta Cantar de Mio Cid, also called The Lay of the Cid, The Song of the Cid, or El Poema del Cid. This work may have also been one of the many sources for Don Quixote's early inspiration: though his steed Rocinante is less than capable, Don Quixote believes him to be better than Babieca. The exploits of El Cid are the topic of the Carmen Campidoctoris, a Latin text that precedes the Cantar de Mio Cid.
The Spanish old Romancero, the anonymous short poems based upon the epic poetry, preserved in the late Middle Ages the memory of El Cid and created new literary episodes on the topic. The French playwright Pierre Corneille wrote the tragicomedy Le Cid in 1636, based on the play of Guillén de Castro, Las Mocedades del Cid. El Cid is mentioned in Canto III of The Cantos of Ezra Pound as he arrives at Burgos Cathedral and later, alluding to his capture of Valencia. Jules (Émile Frédéric) Massenet's 1885 opera Le Cid is a favorite of Plácido Domingo, who has sung the role of Rodrigue (Rodrigo) many times since first performing it at Carnegie Hall in 1976. [1]
There have been modern-day films about the Cid, such as El Cid (1961, starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren) and the animated El Cid: La Leyenda (2003). In the early 80s, there was an animated series called Ruy, el Pequeño Cid, portraying the fictional adventures of El Cid as a child.
In Oz, an HBO TV show, the gang leader Raoul Hernandez is referred to as "El Cid" because of his leadership skills.
In an episode of the animated TV show The Tick, a villain was named El Seed and was very loosely based on El Cid.
The Guy Gavriel Kay fantasy novel The Lions of Al-Rassan, set in an alternate universe version of medieval Spain, features Rodrigo, a main character who is clearly modeled on El Cid.
Age of Empires II: The Conquerors has a campaign featuring El Cid as a playable unit; the original game featured him as a unit on the "Scenario" mode.
In the game Medieval: Total War, El Cid was a general who could be bribed in the province of Valencia, as one of the most useful generals in the game. He is also governor of Valencia in Medieval II: Total War at the start of the campaign as a rebel general.
In the game Freelancer, There is a high level weapon referred to as "Tizona Del Cid".
In Isabel Allende's Zorro, El Cid is Alejandro and Diego de la Vega's ancestor.
The name of Welsh metal band elsid, is an obvious reference to El Cid.
The Brew Dogs wrote a four-part song about El Cid, which included The Birth, The Death, The Legend, and the Rebirth.
In his famous novel Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie mentions the film as a Pakistani politician jokingly takes Fatima Jinnah (sister of Mohammed Ali Jinnah) to be already dead but stuffed to appearance by a taxidermist, just like a dead-man leading an army in El Cid
Herbert Bergel wrote El Cid, a hilarious 40-minute garage rock opera based [loosely] on the 12th Century Spanish Epic Poem. The piece was debuted by Printer's Devil Theatre [2] in Seattle during the fall of 1997, and also produced in Chico, CA the next year. [3]
