The Song of the Cid: Spain’s Medieval Epic of Exile, Honour and Revenge
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar is the historical figure behind The Song of the Cid (Cantar de mio Cid), the only epic poem that survives almost complete from medieval Spain. He lived in the second half of the eleventh century, a time of great political tension, and his courage and loyalty turned him into the great hero of Castile.
Author: Anonymous (Castilian, around 1200)
Title: The Song of the Cid (Cantar de mio Cid)
Format: English paperback (Penguin Classics), 288 pages, Spanish and English on facing pages, translated by Burton Raffel
Scope: Epic poem in three cantares about the exile and triumph of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar
Amazon: www.amazon.es/dp/0143105655 (ASIN 0143105655)
The Man Behind the Legend
The title Cid comes from the Arabic for ’lord’, and Campeador means ’champion’ or ’battler’. Rodrigo fell out with King Alfonso VI and was sent into exile. He went on to serve the Muslim ruler of Zaragoza and later became famous for his conquests; he took Valencia in 1094 and ruled there until his death in 1099. He appears in the Spanish chronicles, and the poem mixes historical fact with heroic invention.
Exile, Conquest and Two Weddings
The first part tells of the Cid’s banishment from Castile on the false charge that he had kept back part of the tribute he had collected. He is forced to leave his wife and two daughters in a monastery. What follows is a detailed account of his victories across Spain with his loyal men. The triumph of his conquests finally allows him to bring his family to Valencia and live there in peace.
The second and third parts revolve around the lives of his daughters before and after their marriages. The Cid has grown rich and caught the attention of the court again, and Alfonso offers him husbands for his two daughters: the Infantes of Carrión, who dishonour them. Justice, a duel and new and far better marriages restore the family’s honour.
A Single Manuscript
The poem survives in only one manuscript, copied in the fourteenth century from an earlier text signed by a certain Per Abbat in 1207, and now kept in the National Library of Spain in Madrid. Its lines are irregular in length, bound together by assonant rhyme, and they were composed to be recited aloud, which explains the repeated formulas and epithets, such as the Cid "who in a good hour was born".
Swords, a Horse and a Famous Line
Readers remember the details: the Cid’s swords Colada and Tizona, his horse Babieca, his loyal lieutenant Álvar Fáñez, and the line spoken by the people of Burgos as he leaves in exile: "God, what a good vassal, if only he had a good lord!" The humiliation of his daughters by the treacherous Infantes de Carrión, and the Cid’s demand for justice at the royal court rather than private revenge, give the last part its drama.
From Poem to Legend
The Cid became Spain’s national hero, celebrated in ballads, in Guillén de Castro’s play, in Corneille’s French tragedy Le Cid and in the 1961 Hollywood film starring Charlton Heston. Reading the poem itself shows a more human figure than the legend: a practical, affectionate father and a careful commander who cares about paying his men.
A Poem of Honour
The narration is brief and realistic. Descriptions of people, objects and places are short, and the poet uses many verbs and few adjectives. Honour is the backbone of the story: after being exiled, the Cid has to rebuild his life and his reputation from nothing, through loyalty rather than rebellion.
This Penguin edition prints the medieval Spanish text next to Burton Raffel’s lively English translation, which makes it ideal for readers who want to hear the original while following the story.
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