El CidAn

Epic of

Spain

IntroductionThe Cantar de mio Cid (El Cid) recounts the heroic deeds of the Cid, an exiled member of the lower nobility who wins back his king’s favor by battling the Islamic inhabitants of Spain.

IntroductionBased on the exploits of a historical personage, Rodrigo (Ruy) Diaz de Vivar, who lived from 1040-1099, this epic offers an important example of the interaction of history and literature in the Middle Ages.

IntroductionThe Cid is best known for its interweaving of irony, heroic drama, and a rare strain of realism that incorporates multifaceted portraits of Moors, Jews, and Christians.     

Settings

Castile, Spain- This is where El Cid serves as a knight to King Alfonso.

Aragon-a Moorish

place where El Cid was exiled.

Characters

Main CharactersRodrigo Dias de Bivar, El Cid Campeador – the protagonist of the

epic. A Castilian  soldier who fights for his wealth and honor that was taken once from him.

Main CharactersCount Garcia Ordonez– El Cid’s only enemy. In

the veins of him and his relatives and descendants flows the blood of a wrongdoer that made El Cid suffer and lose his wealth and honor.

Secondary CharactersKing Alfonso- King of Castile. - The conqueror on that time- He is who El Cid served for

Secondary CharactersDon Fernando and Don

Gonzales- Infantes de Carreon- Relatives of Court Garcia Ordonez- They are the ones who tortured El Cid’s daugters

Secondary CharactersThe Nephew of El Cid-The tortured ones but because of El Cid their honor is regained from the Infantes

Secondary CharactersRaquel and Vidas-Jews from Burgos-The two men tricked by El Cid.

Summary

The poem begins with the exile of the Cid as a result of intrigues and slander by means of which an enemy, Count Garcia Ordoňez, turns the king against him.

King Alfonso gave Cid 9 days to exile. El Cid needed money to live and support his troops in exile, so he faked a chest full of sand and claims to be full of gold and jewels.

He pawned it with Raquel and Vidas, rich Jew money lenders from Burgos. They gave him 600 marcos as a loan since they knew he had gained a lot of money and riches in his battles against the moors.

El Cid places his wife, Dona Jimena, and two daughters, Dona Sol and Elvira, in the Monastery of Cardeña for safe keeping with Don Sancho.

He sets out with three hundred

faithful followers to gain his living in the small Moorish state of Aragon. Here he

prospers well.

The Arc Angel San Gabriel told El Cid that as long as

he lives, he will have a good ending to everything

he does. El Cid and his followers make raids to the southwest of Zaragoza into Moorish territory gaining

fame and enriching themselves.

Minaya Alvar Fañez, the chief tactician of his troops and first cousin to el Cid's daughters, was offered some of the money from El Cid, but he just wanted to boast about killing the Moors.

He wins the battle after battle and accumulates booty and ransom from the Moors. His fame attracts more followers, and with his invincible army he even defeats in battle the powerful count of Barcelona and acquires the great city of Valencia.

Yusuf, the Moorish king of Merruecos, attacks El cid because he conquered Valencia and lose. El Cid continuously send gifts to King Alfonso to gain his forgiveness. King Alfonso finally forgave El Cid from the bottom of his heart.

King Alfonso and El Cid meet on the banks of the river Tajo. The king offers to marry El Cid’s two daughters to “ricos hombres”, the Infantes de Carreon, relatives of his old enemy, Count Garcia Ordonez, to which the Cid agrees.

His sons-in-law are proud and insolent to marry his daughters (whom they consider beneath their rank) only because of the wealthy dowry the Cid gives them.

This way the king is also responsible for his daughters' futures. The marriages take place in Valencia. They went to the church, Santa Maria, where Don Jeronimo, the bishop, gave his blessing.

After the marriage, the Infantes obtain permission from the Cid to take their wives home; but away from the Cid, the bridegrooms strip their bodies naked, beat them, and run away with their dowries. They leave their young wives in the depth of the forest.

The Cid appeals to King Alfonso forjustice. The king summons a court at Toledo and the Cid appears before it.

3 DEMANDS

OF THE CID:

He demands the return of his two

famous swords

which the Infantes

have taken.

Colada

Tizon

He demands the

restoration of his

daughter’s dowries.

The right to defend his honor by

fighting the two Infantes in a

single combat.

While the court debates his third request, two messengers arrive from the King of Aragon and he King of Navarre requesting the hands of his daughters in marriage. 

While the court debates his third request, two messengers arrive from the King of Aragon and he King of Navarre requesting the hands of his daughters in marriage. 

The Cid’s two nephews, Alvar Fanez (who helped capture Castejon) and Feliz Munioz, challenge the Infantes de Carreon in single combat.

The story ends with the defeat of the Infantes and the complete restoration of Cid’s wealth and honor.

The End

Moral Lesson

:

We must fight for our own rights. Never give up for yourself not only in protecting it but also enhancing, raising and developing it.