Stamboom Homs » Rodrigo 'el Cid' "El Cid Campeador" Díaz de Vivar príncipe de Valencia (± 1048-1099)

Persoonlijke gegevens Rodrigo 'el Cid' "El Cid Campeador" Díaz de Vivar príncipe de Valencia 

• Roepnaam is El Cid Campeador.
• Hij is geboren rond 1048 in VivarBurgos, España.
• Hij werd gedoopt in Offaly, Ireland.
• Beroep: in National Hero of Spain.

  {geni:current} 0

• Hij is overleden op 10 juli 1099 in ValenciaEspaña.
• Hij is begraven op 10 juli 1099 in Catedral de BurgosCastilla, España.
• Een kind van Diego Laínez en Teresa (María Sancha) Rodríguez Álvarez de Amaya
• Deze gegevens zijn voor het laatst bijgewerkt op 10 oktober 2011.

Gezin van Rodrigo 'el Cid' "El Cid Campeador" Díaz de Vivar príncipe de Valencia

Hij is getrouwd met Ximena de Oviedo.

Zij zijn getrouwd op 12 juli 1074 te Palencia, Palencia, Castille and Leon, SpainPalencia, Castille and Leon.

Kind(eren):

1. Elvira (Cristina) Rodríguez de Vivar  ± 1075-???? 

Notities over Rodrigo 'el Cid' "El Cid Campeador" Díaz de Vivar príncipe de Valencia

Name Suffix: Valencia

[Norvell.FTW]

[Nix.FTW]

[Nixon.ftw]

Rodrigo Diaz (de Vivar), male line descendant (it would seem) of Judges Lain Calvo and Nuno Rasura, tracing back to a 9th century Nuno Belchidez. In this descent, he was linked (in the male line) with to some of the early (non-hereditary) Counts of Castile, the Banu Gomez, the Banu Morel, and the Flainez/de Cifuentes families, and (in the female line) to the later (hereditary) Counts of Castile. He married Jimena Diaz, a descendant of the 10th century count Piniolo Gundemariz.

[Norvell.FTW]

[Nix.FTW]

[Nixon.ftw]

Rodrigo Diaz (de Vivar), male line descendant (it would seem) of Judges Lain Calvo and Nuno Rasura, tracing back to a 9th century Nuno Belchidez. In this descent, he was linked (in the male line) with to some of the early (non-hereditary) Counts of Castile, the Banu Gomez, the Banu Morel, and the Flainez/de Cifuentes families, and (in the female line) to the later (hereditary) Counts of Castile. He married Jimena Diaz, a descendant of the 10th century count Piniolo Gundemariz.

[elen.FTW]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #4579, Date of Import: Jun 15, 2003]

El Cid, Rodrigo Diaz de Bibar, "el Campeador", great national hero of Spain, subject of epic poems and ballads, ruler Valencia 15 June 1094-1099.

El Cid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (Vivar 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-sid 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 campidoctor. 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 ?ið/ in modern Spanish (depending on dialect).
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Early life
* 2 Service under Alfonso
o 2.1 Battle tactics
o 2.2 Marriage and family life
o 2.3 Service as administrator
* 3 Exile
* 4 Conquest of Valencia
* 5 Legend
* 6 Tizona
* 7 Origin of the Campeador title
* 8 El Cid in literature, film and other media
* 9 Bibliography

[edit] 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 between 1043 and 1045, 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.

One well-known legend about the Cid describes how he acquired his famous war-horse, the white stallion Babieca.(Bavieca) According to this story, Rodrigo's godfather, Pedro El Grande, was a monk at a Carthusian monastery. Pedro's coming-of-age gift to El Cid was his pick of a horse from an Andalusian herd. El Cid picked a horse that his godfather thought was a weak, poor choice, causing the monk to exclaim "Babieca!" (stupid!) Hence, it became the name of El Cid's horse. Today, Babieca appears in multiple works about El Cid.

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.

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".

[edit] Service under Alfonso
A sword of El Cid, exhibited in La Real Armería (the Royal Armory) museum, Royal Palace of Madrid, Spain. 2006
A sword of El Cid, exhibited in La Real Armería (the Royal Armory) museum, Royal Palace of Madrid, Spain. 2006

Much speculation abounds about Sancho's death. Most say that the assassination was a result of a pact between Alfonso and Urraca; some even say they had an incestuous relationship. In any case, since Sancho died unmarried and childless, all of his power passed to his brother, Alfonso—the very person he had fought against.

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Legend
El Cid on his horse
El Cid on his horse

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.

[edit] 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.
Modern audiences may know a romanticized story of the Cid from the 1961 film starring Charlton Heston as the title character.
Modern audiences may know a romanticized story of the Cid from the 1961 film starring Charlton Heston as the title character.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 epic 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: despite his steed Rocinante being less than capable, Don Quixote believes him to be better than Babieca.

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.

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 appearence 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]

[edit] Bibliography

* "El Cid". The Catholic Encyclopedia.
* "Cid Campeador". The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.
* "Ferdinand I, Spanish king of Castile and León". The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
* "Ramiro I". The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
* "Sancho III, king of Castile". The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
* "Sancho III, king of Navarre". The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
* Simon Barton and Richard Fletcher. The world of El Cid, Chronicles of the Spanish reconquest. Manchester: University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-7190-5225-4 hardback, ISBN 0-7190-5226-2 paperback.
* Gonzalo Martínez Díez, "El Cid Histórico: Un Estudio Exhaustivo Sobre el Verdadero Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar", Editorial Planeta (Spain, June 1999). ISBN 84-08-03161-9
* Richard Fletcher. "The Quest for El Cid". ISBN 0-19-506955-2
* Kurtz, Barbara E. El Cid. University of Illinois.
* I. Michael. The Poem of the Cid. Manchester: 1975.
* C. Melville and A. Ubaydli (ed. and trans.), Christians and Moors in Spain, vol. III, Arabic sources (711-1501). (Warminster, 1992).
* Nelson, Prof. Lynn Harry. "Thoughts on Reading El Cid"..
* Joseph F. O'Callaghan. A History of Medieval Spain. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1975
* Peter Pierson. The History of Spain. Ed. John E. Findling and Frank W. Thacheray. Wesport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1999. 34-36. Questia Online Library
* Bernard F. Reilly. The Kingdom of León-Castilla under King Alfonso VI, 1065-1109 Princeton, New Jersey: University Press, 1988.
* R. Selden Rose and Leonard Bacon (trans.) The Lay of the Cid. Semicentennial Publications of the University of California: 1868-1918. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1997.
* Steven Thomas. 711-1492: Al-Andalus and the Reconquista.
* Henry Edwards Watts. "The Story of the Cid (1026-1099)" in The Christian Recovery of Spain: The Story of Spain from the Moorish Conquest to the Fall of Grenada (711-1492 AD). New York: Putnam, 1894. 71-91. Questia Online Library
* Cantar de mío Cid - Spanish (free PDF)

He was born as Rodigo de Vivar, son of a minor Castilian nobleman, though
related on his mother's side to the "great landowing nobility", growing up in
the household of a future king, Sancho II (c1038-1072). As a Spanish Warrior,
he was at service to King Sancho II until he was assassinated, then offered
his services to King Alfonso VI.

EL CID
He was born Rodrigo (or Ruy) Díaz de Vivar. Vivar being the town where he was born. It is near Burgos. He was born either in 1040 or 1043. Historians are not sure of the date. He died in Valencia in 1099. His name, "El Cid" was given to him by the Moors. In the mixture of the Spanish and Arabic language they used, they called him "As-Sid" (Lord or Chief). This was pronounced by the Spaniards as "El Cid", but they themselves actually called him "Campeador" (Champion).
El Cid was brought up in the court of King Fernand I and he lived in the household of the King's eldest son, who was to be the future Sancho II. In 1065 Fernand I died. He divided his kingdom among his three sons, Sancho, Alfonso and Garcia, and his two daughters, Elvira and Urraca. (Unlike today, Spain was not one kingdom, but ruled by many kings including some Arabics. The kingdom that Fernand left his children was only a portion of modern day Spain.) Fernand had hoped that his children would be happy with their lands. Sancho being the eldest thought that he should have inherited all of his father's lands. Sancho first needed to do battle with the Kingdom of Aragon which was not under control of any of his family. El Cid proved to be such a help in defeating the Kingdom of Aragon that he was named Commander of the Royal Armies. At this time he was only about 23 years old. About 1070 Sancho began his war against his brothers and sisters. He first waged war against his brothers in Leon and Galicia. Both victories were accomplished with the great assistance of El Cid who turned almost certain defeats into victories. Sancho exiled his brothers to the city of Toledo. Sancho then took the city of Toro which was the domain of his sister, Elvira. He then began a battle with his sister Urraca and her city of Zamora in 1072. However Sancho was killed by one of Urraca's soldiers right at the city gates. Upon hearing of his brother's death, Alfonso rushed to Zamora to claim his brother's lands and most importantly the throne. He became Alfonso VI. El Cid became concerned for his life. He had after all helped Sancho wage war against Alfonso who was now the King. But El Cid had a couple of things in his favor. One he was a very good soldier. Alfonso knew that he would need a leader like El Cid. Also the people in Castile were not happy that they were being led by a king from Leon. El Cid was from Castile and was liked by the people.
Although the Alfonso removed El Cid as Commander of the Royal Armies, in 1074 he married El Cid to his niece, Jimena. El Cid was now related to Alfonso. (Their house in Zamora is shown in the picture on the left.)
Alfonso did not really like El Cid. He was afraid that El Cid might attempt to take the throne. Alfonso sent El Cid to the king of Seville to collect money. When El Cid returned he accused El Cid of keeping some of the money. He banished El Cid from his kingdom and from then on El Cid was not able to live safely in any area ruled by Alfonso.
El Cid now needed not only money, but also protection of a king. He offered his services to the Ruler of Saragossa in northeastern Spain. The Ruler of Saragossa was the arabic leader, al-Mu'tamin. Unlike Alfonso, al-Mu'tamin was quite happy to have such as successful soldier as El Cid. El Cid served al-Mu'tamin and his successor, al-Musta'in for nearly 10 years.
In 1082 he defeated the Moorish (arabic) king of Lérida and the king's ally, the Count of Barcelona. In 1084 he defeated a large army lead by King Sancho Ramírez of Aragon. In 1086 Alfonso VI came under attack from the Almoravid armies from North Africa. He suffered a great defeat at Sagrajas on October 23rd. Realizing that he needed El Cid's help to save his Kingdom, Alfonso recalled El Cid from exile. El Cid returned to Alfonso, but now he had his own plans. He only stayed a short while and returned to Saragossa. El Cid was content to let the Almoravid armies and the armies of Alfonso fight without his help. Even when there was a chance that the armies of Almoravid might defeat Alfonso and take over all of Alfonso's lands. The reason El Cid did not want to fight was because he was hoping that both armies would become weak. That would make it easier for him to carry out his own plan which was to become ruler of the Kingdom of Valencia. The first thing El Cid needed to do was to remove the influence of the Count of Barcelona. Barcelona was the major city in the area and the Count was a powerful man. He defeated the Count (Berenguer Ramón II) at the battle of Tébar in May 1090. Valencia, however was stilled ruled by an Arabic leader, al-Qadir. El Cid became lucky when in October 1092 al-Qadir was killed by one of his noblemen, Ibn Jahhaf. The city of Valencia was thrown into confusion. It was at this time that El Cid decided to attack. He surrounded the city and began a long siege. In May, 1094 Ibn Jahhaf surrendered the city. Although El Cid was a soldier he understood some of the politics of being a ruler. Through his service to Sancho II and then Alfonso VI he learned about Spanish politics. Through his service to al-Mu'tamin and al-Musta'in he learned about Arabic politics. He knew that because Valencia contained a great number of Moors (Arabs) that he would have to have the support of Ibn Jahhaf. He forgave Ibn Jahhaf of all of his crimes including the killing of al-Qadir. Ibn Jahhaf agreed to use his influence over the Moors so that they would accept El Cid as their ruler. Once this was accomplished, El Cid decided that he did not need Ibn Jahhaf and had him arrested and killed. El Cid technically ruled Valencia for Alfonso. But, Alfonso was not about to wage war against El Cid, so he let him rule with almost no control. El Cid began to act as a king. He appointed a Bishop and he encouraged people to settle in Valencia. He married one daughter, Cristina to a prince of Aragon, Ramiro and his other daughter María to Count of Barcelona, Ramón Berenguer III, whose father he had earlier defeated.

El Cid ruled Valencia until his death. After his death the Almoravids attacked the city and Alfonso had to personally go there to save it. However, he decided that he could not defend unless he kept a great number of soldiers there permanently. So he decided to abandon the city and ordered it burned. On May 5, 1102, the Almoravids occupied Valencia and ruled it until 1238.
The body of El Cid was returned to Burgos and buried in a monastery. Almost immediately he became regarded as a national hero of Castile. In the 12th century a 3700 line poem "El Cantar de Mío Cid" (The Song of the Cid) was written about him. The poem and later writings such as a play in 1637 made his exploits almost legendary to the point that some people began to doubt that whether El Cid was ever a real person. Unlike King Arthur of English legend, El Cid really did exist. And the poem about him (although it does in some cases stretch the truth), is considered to be the beginning of Spanish literature.

Source: Internet: http://www.ctspanish.com/legends/elcid.htm

He was born as Rodigo de Vivar, son of a minor Castilian nobleman, though
related on his mother's side to the "great landowing nobility", growing up in
the household of a future king, Sancho II (c1038-1072). As a Spanish Warrior,
he was at service to King Sancho II until he was assassinated, then offered
his services to King Alfonso VI.

DESCENT: Frederick Lewis Weis and Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700, 7th ed., at 104 (1992). Line 113A-23. Great national hero of Spain.

MILITARY: Warrior and conqueror of Valencia.

[Weis 104] Great national hero of Spain, subj. of epic poems & ballads, ruler Valencia 15 Jun 1094-1099.

Cid, the, Spanish EL CID, also called EL CAMPEADOR ("the Champion"), byname of RODRIGO, or RUY, DÍAZ DE VIVAR (b. c. 1043, Vivar, near Burgos, Castile [Spain]--d. July 10, 1099, Valencia), Castilian military leader and national hero. His popular name, El Cid (from Spanish Arabic as-sid, "lord"), dates from his lifetime.
Early life - Rodrigo Díaz' father, Diego Laínez, was a member of the minor nobility (infanzones) of Castile. But the Cid's social background was less unprivileged than later popular tradition liked to suppose, for he was directly connected on his mother's side with the great landed aristocracy, and he was brought up at the court of Ferdinand I in the household of that king's eldest son, the future Sancho II of Castile. When Sancho succeeded to the Castilian throne (1065), he nominated the 22-year-old Cid as his standard-bearer (armiger regis), or commander of the royal troops. This early promotion to important office suggests that the young Cid had already won a reputation for military prowess. In 1067 he accompanied Sancho on a campaign against the important Moorish kingdom of Saragossa (Zaragoza) and played a leading role in the negotiations that made its king, al-Muqtadir, a tributary of the Castilian crown.
Ferdinand I, on his death, had partitioned his kingdoms among his various children, leaving Leon to his second son, Alfonso VI. Sancho began (1067) to make war on the latter with the aim of annexing Leon. Later legend was to make the Cid a reluctant supporter of Sancho's aggression, but it is unlikely the real Cid had any such scruples. He played a prominent part in Sancho's successful campaigns against Alfonso and so found himself in an awkward situation in 1072, when the childless Sancho was killed while besieging Zamora, leaving the dethroned Alfonso as his only possible heir. The new king appears to have done his best to win the allegiance of Sancho's most powerful supporter. Though the Cid now lost his post as armiger regis to a great magnate, Count García Ordóñez (whose bitter enemy he became), and his former influence at court naturally declined, he was allowed to remain there; and, in July 1074, probably at Alfonso's instigation, he married the king's niece Jimena, daughter of the Count de Oviedo. He thus became allied by marriage to the ancient royal dynasty of Leon. Very little is known about Jimena. The couple had one son and two daughters. The son, Diego Rodríguez, was killed in battle against the Muslim Almoravid invaders from North Africa, at Consuegra (1097).
The Cid's position at court was, despite his marriage, precarious. He seems to have been thought of as the natural leader of those Castilians who were unreconciled to being ruled by a king of Leon. He certainly resented the influence exercised by the great landed nobles over Alfonso VI. Though his heroic biographers would later present the Cid as the blameless victim of unscrupulous noble enemies and of Alfonso's willingness to listen to unfounded slanders, it seems likely that the Cid's penchant for publicly humiliating powerful men may have largely contributed to his downfall. Though he was later to show himself astute and calculating as both a soldier and a politician, his conduct vis-à-vis the court suggests that resentment at his loss of influence as a result of Sancho's death may temporarily have undermined his capacity for self-control. In 1079, while on a mission to the Moorish king of Seville, he became embroiled with García Ordóñez, who was aiding the king of Granada in an invasion of the kingdom of Seville. The Cid defeated the markedly superior Granadine army at Cabra, near Seville, capturing García Ordóñez. This victory prepared the way for his downfall; and when, in 1081, he led an unauthorized military raid into the Moorish kingdom of Toledo, which was under Alfonso's protection, the king exiled the Cid from his kingdoms. Several subsequent attempts at reconciliation produced no lasting results, and after 1081 the Cid never again was able to live for long in Alfonso VI's dominions.
Service to the Muslims - The exile offered his services to the Muslim dynasty that ruled Saragossa and with which he had first made contact in 1065. The king of Saragossa, in northeastern Spain, al-Mu'tamin, welcomed the chance of having his vulnerable kingdom defended by so prestigious a Christian warrior. The Cid now loyally served al-Mu'tamin and his successor, al-Musta'in II, for nearly a decade. As a result of his experience he gained that understanding of the complexities of Hispano-Arabic politics and of Islamic law and custom that would later help him to conquer and hold Valencia. Meanwhile, he steadily added to his reputation as a general who had never been defeated in battle. In 1082, on behalf of al-Mu'tamin, he inflicted a decisive defeat on the Moorish king of Lérida and the latter's Christian allies, among them the count of Barcelona. In 1084 he defeated a large Christian army under King Sancho Ramírez of Aragon. He was richly rewarded for these victories by his grateful Muslim masters.
In 1086 there began the great Almoravid invasion of Spain from North Africa. Alfonso VI, crushingly defeated by the invaders at Sagrajas (Oct. 23, 1086) suppressed his antagonism to the Cid and recalled from exile the Christians' best general. The Cid's presence at Alfonso's court in July 1087 is documented. But shortly afterward, he was back in Saragossa, and he was not a participant in the subsequent desperate battles against the Almoravids in the strategic regions where their attacks threatened the whole existence of Christian Spain. The Cid, for his part, now embarked on the lengthy and immensely complicated political maneuvering that was aimed at making him master of the rich Moorish kingdom of Valencia.
Conquest of Valencia - His first step was to eliminate the influence of the counts of Barcelona in that area. This was done when Berenguer Ramón II was humiliatingly defeated at Tébar, near Teruel (May 1090). During the next years the Cid gradually tightened his control over Valencia and its ruler, al-Qadir, now his tributary. His moment of destiny came in October 1092 when the qadi (chief magistrate), Ibn Jahhaf, with Almoravid political support rebelled and killed al-Qadir. The Cid responded by closely besieging the rebel city. The siege lasted for many months; an Almoravid attempt to break it failed miserably (December 1093). In May 1094 Ibn Jahhaf at last surrendered, and the Cid finally entered Valencia as its conqueror. To facilitate his takeover he characteristically first made a pact with Ibn Jahhaf that led the latter to believe that his acts of rebellion and regicide were forgiven; but when the pact had served its purpose, the Cid arrested the former qadi and ordered him to be burnt alive. The Cid now ruled Valencia directly, himself acting as chief magistrate of the Muslims as well as the Christians. Nominally he held Valencia for Alfonso VI, but in fact he was its independent ruler in all but name. The city's chief mosque was Christianized in 1096; a French bishop, Jerome, was appointed to the new see; and there was a considerable influx of Christian colonists. The Cid's princely status was emphasized when his daughter Cristina married a prince of Aragon, Ramiro, lord of Monzón, and his other daughter, María, married Ramón Berenguer III, count of Barcelona.
Aftermath - The great enterprise to which the Cid had devoted so much of his energies was to prove totally ephemeral. Soon after his death Valencia was besieged by the Almoravids, and Alfonso VI had to intervene in person to save it. But the king rightly judged the place indefensible unless he diverted there permanently large numbers of troops urgently needed to defend the Christian heartlands against the invaders. He evacuated the city and then ordered it to be burned. On May 5, 1102, the Almoravids occupied Valencia, which was to remain in Muslim hands until 1238. The Cid's body was taken to Castile and reburied in the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña, near Burgos, where it became the centre of a lively tomb cult.
The Cid's biography presents special problems for the historian because he was speedily elevated to the status of national hero of Castile, and a complex heroic biography of him, in which legend played a dominant role, came into existence; the legend was magnified by the influence of the 12th-century epic poem of Castile, El cantar de mío Cid ("The Song of the Cid") and later by Pierre Corneille's tragedy Le Cid, first performed in 1637. For authentic information historians have to rely mainly on a few contemporary documents, on the Historia Roderici (a reliable, private 12th-century Latin chronicle of the Cid's life), and on a detailed eyewitness account of his conquest of Valencia by the Arab historian Ibn 'Alqamah. [Encyclopaedia Britannica CD '97]

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GIVN Roderigo De Dias
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REPO @REPO2236@
TITL Ancestral File (R)
AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
PUBL Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998
_ITALIC Y
TITL Ancestral File (R)
AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
PUBL Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998
_ITALIC Y
REPO @REPO4820@
TITL Ancestral File (R)
AUTH The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
PUBL Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998
_ITALIC Y
DATE 21 May 2009
TIME 19:23:43

Rodrigo, a great national hero of Spain, is the subject of epic poemsa nd ballads. He was of distinguished Castilian ancestry and was borna t the Castle of Vivar near Burgos, Spain. The principal national her o of Spain since his exploits in the wars between the Christians and t he Moors as field commander for Sancho and successor Alfonso VI, he co nquered Valencia in 1094 and ruled over the city until his death. Hi s career has been immortalized in story and song, and the twelfth cent ury epic poems gave rise to such later major works as Corneille's 'ElC id' (1637), Massenet's opera 'Le Cid' (1885) and the American motionpi cture epic 'El Cid' (1963).

At the Battle of Graus (1063), the Moslem king of Zaragoza, Al-Muktadi r, defeated the king of Aragon, Ramiro I, who died at the battle (actu ally, some sources affirm a murderer was sent to kill him during the b attle). The King of Castile, Fernando, sent his son Sancho (future San cho II "the strong") to help his protected Al-Muktadir. Rodrigo Díaz h ad probably 20 years old at that time, and took part as member of Sanc ho's troop.

Rodrigo was the ruler of Valencia from 1094 until 1099. Tradition an d legend have cast a deep shadow over the history of this brave knight , to such an extent that his very existence has been questioned; ther e is however, no reason to doubt his existence. We must, at the same t ime regard him as a dual personality, and distinguish between the hist orical Cid and the legendary Cid. History paints him as a free booter , an unprincipled adventurer, who battled with equal vigour against Ch ristians and Moors; who, to further his own ends, would as soon destro y a Christian church as a Moslem temple; who plundered and slew as muc h for his own gain as from any patriotic motives. It must be born in m ind, however that the facts which discredit him have reached us throug h Arab historians, and that to do him full justice he should be judge d according to the standard of his country in his day. Vastly differen t indeed is the Cid of romance, legend, and ballad, wherein he is pict ured as the tender, loving husband and father; the gentle courageous s oldier; the noble, generous conqueror, unswervingly loyal to his count ry and his king; the man whose name has been an ever-present inspirati on to Spanish patriotism. But whatever may have been the real adventur es of El Cid Campeador, his name has come down to us in modern times i n connection with a long series of heroic achievements in which he sta nds out as the central figure of the long struggle of Christian Spaina gainst the Moslem hosts.

(ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_cid) Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (Viva r c.1040 - Valencia, 10 July 1099), known as El Cid Campeador, was ap etty Castilian nobleman, then military and political leader who conque red and governed the city of Valencia. Rodrigo Díaz was educated in th e royal court of the Castile and became the alférez, or chief general , of Alfonso VI, fighting against the Moors in the early Reconquista.L ater 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 sobrique ts. "El Cid" is derived from the word al-sid in the Andalusi Arabic di alect (from the Arabic sayyid, "sir" or "lord," a title of respect), w hile the title el campeador (the champion) was granted by his Christia n admirers and derives from the Latin campidoctor. These titles reflec ted the great esteem El Cid had among both Moors and Christians, as we ll as his fighting ability; Henry Edwards Watts wrote that el campeado r "[m]eans in Spanish something more special than 'champion'.... A cam peador was a man who had fought and beaten the select fighting-man oft he opposite side in the presence of the two armies." "El Cid" was pro nounced /el tsið/ (IPA) in medieval Castilian, but /el ?ið/ in modern standard Spanish (the c like the th in "thin" and the d like the thin "then".)

The exact date of El Cid's birth is unknown. Based on his participatio n in 1063 at the Battle of Graus, however, most historians believe tha t El Cid was born between 1043 and 1045, in Vivar (Bivar), a small tow n about six miles north of Burgos, the capital of Castilla. Historica l records show that El Cid's father was Diego Laínez, who was part min or nobility (infanzones) of Castile. Diego Laínez was a courtier, bure aucrat, and cavalryman who had fought in several battles. Despite thef act in later years the peasants would consider him one of their own,E l Cid's mother's family was aristocratic. However, his relatives were not major court officials: documents show that El Cid's paternal grand father, Lain Nuñez, only confirmed five documents of Ferdinand I's;hi s 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.

One well-known legend about the Cid describes how he acquired his famo us war-horse, the white stallion Babieca. According to this story, Rod rigo's godfather, Pedro El Grande, was a monk at a Carthusian monaster y. Pedro's coming-of-age gift to El Cid was his pick of a horse from a n Andalusian herd. El Cid picked a horse that his godfather thought wa s a weak, poor choice, causing the monk to exclaim "Babieca!" (stupid! ) Hence, it became the name of El Cid's horse. Today, Babieca appearsi n multiple works about El Cid. El Cid was educated in the Castilianro yal court, serving the prince and future king Sancho II, the son ofKin g Ferdinand I (the Great). When Ferdinand died in 1065, Sancho continu ed his father's goal of enlarging his territory, conquering the Christ ian and the Moorish cities of Zamora and Badajoz.

By this time, the Cid was an adult. He had, in 1067, fought alongsideS ancho against the Moorish stronghold of Zaragoza, making its emir al-M uqtadir a vassal of Sancho. In the spring of 1063, he fought in the Ba ttle of Graus, where Ferdinand's half-brother, Ramiro I of Aragon, ha d laid siege to the Moorish town of Graus which was in Zaragozan lands . Al-Muqtadir, accompanied by Castilian troops including the Cid, foug ht against the Aragonese. The party would emerge victorious, Ramiro Iw as 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".

Much speculation abounds about Sancho's death. Most say that the assas sination was a result of a pact between Alfonso and Urraca; some evens ay they had an incestuous relationship. In any case, since Sancho die d unmarried and childless, all of his power passed to his brother, Alf onso—the very person he had fought against. Almost immediately, Alfon so was recalled from exile in Toledo and took his seat as king of Leo n and Castile. While he was deeply suspected in Castile (probably corr ectly) for being involved in Sancho's murder, According to the epic o f El Cid the Castilian nobility, led by the Cid and a dozen "oath-help ers," forced Alfonso to swear publicly in front of St. Gadea's Churchi n 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 con temporary documents on the lives of both Alfonso VI of Castile and Leo n and Rodrigo Diaz do not mention any such event. This legend is belie ved because it adds to accounts of the Cid's bravery but there is no p roof that it took place. The Cid's position as armiger regis was take n away, however, and it was given to the Cid's enemy, Count García Ord óñez. Later in the year, Alfonso's younger brother, García, returned t o Galicia under the false pretenses of a conference.

During his campaigns, the Cid often ordered that books by classic Roma n and Greek authors on military themes be read in loud voices to him a nd his troops, both for entertainment and inspiration during battle. E l Cid's army had a novel approach to planning strategy as well, holdin g what might be called brainstorming sessions before each battle to di scuss tactics. They frequently used unexpected strategies, engaging i n what modern generals would call psychological warfare; waiting for t he enemy to be paralyzed with terror and then attacking them suddenly , distracting the enemy with a small group of soldiers, etc. El Cid ha d a humble personality and frequently accepted or included suggestion s from his troops. He remained open to input from his soldiers and tot he possibility that he himself was capable of error. The man who serve d him as his closest adviser was his nephew, Alvar Fáñez de Minaya.

The Cid was married in July 1074 to Alfonso's kinswoman Jimena de Gorm az (spelled Ximena in Old Castilian), the daughter of the Count of Ovi edo. This was probably on Alfonso's suggestion, a move that he probabl y hoped would improve relations between him and the Cid. Together theC id and Ximena had three children. Their daughters, Cristina and María , both married high nobility; Cristina, to Ramiro, lord of Monzón andb astard descendant of kings of Navarre; María, first to Infante of Arag on and second to Ramón Berenguer III, count of Barcelona. The Cid's so n, Diego Rodríguez, was killed while fighting against the invading Mus lim Almoravids from North Africa at the Battle of Consuegra (1097). Hi s own marriage and that of his daughters increased his status by conne cting 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 t he monarchies of France and Britain though his daughter Cristina'sson , García VI of Navarre, as well as every other monarchy in Europe thro ugh the previous two.

He was a cultivated man, having served Alfonso as a judge. He kept inl ife a personal archive with copies of the letters he mailed and import ant diplomas he signed as part of his cooperation in the king's admini stration. In the Battle of Cabra (1079), the Cid rallied his troopsan d turned the battle into a rout of Emir Abd Allah of Granada and his a lly García Ordóñez. However, the Cid's unauthorized expedition into Gr anada greatly angered Alfonso, and May 8, 1080, was the last timethe C id confirmed a document in King Alfonso's court. This is the generall y given reason for the Cid's exile, although several others are plausi ble and may have been contributing factors: jealous nobles turning Alf onso against the Cid, Alfonso's own animosity towards the Cid, an accu sation of pocketing some of the tribute from Seville, and what one sou rce describes as the Cid's "penchant" towards insulting powerful men.

However, the exile was not the end of the Cid, either physically or a s an important figure. In 1081, the Cid, now a mercenary, offered hiss ervices to the Moorish king of the northeast Spanish city of Zaragoza , Yusuf al-Mutamin, and served both him and his successor, Al-MustainI I. O'Callaghan writes:
At first he went to Barcelona where Ramón Berenguer II (1076 - 1082) a nd Berenguer Ramón II (1076 - 1097), refused his offer of service. The n he journeyed to Zaragoza where he received a warmer welcome. That ki ngdom was divided between al-Mutamin (1081 - 1085) who ruled Zaragozap roper, and his brother al-Mundhir, who ruled Lérida and Tortosa. TheCi d entered al-Mutamin's service and successfully defended Zaragoza agai nst the assaults of al-Mutamdhir, Sancho I of Aragón, and Ramón Bereng uer II, whom he held captive briefly in 1082. In 1086, the great Almo ravid invasion of Spain through and around Gibraltar began. The Almora vids, Berber residents of present-day Morocco and Algeria, led by Yuse f I, also called Yusef ibn Tushafin or Yusef ibn Tashfin, were asked t o help defend the Moors from Alfonso. A great battle took place onFrid ay, October 23, 1086, at Sagrajas (in Arabic, Zallaqa). The Moorish An dalusians, including the armies of Badajoz, Málaga, Granada, and Sevil le, defeating a combined army of León, Aragón, and Castile. According to Thomas:

The Andalusians encamped separately from the Murabitun. The Christianv anguard (Alvar Fañez) surprised the Andalusian camp before dawn; theme n of Seville (Al-Mutamid) held firm but the remaining Andalusians wer e chased off by the Aragonese cavalry. The Christian main body then at tacked 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 T ashufin. The Aragonese returned to the field, didn't like what they sa w, and started a withdrawal that became a rout. The Andalusians rallie d, and the Muslims drove Alfonso to a small hill. Alfonso and 500knigh ts escaped in the night to Toledo. Terrified after his crushingdefeat , Alfonso recalled the best Christian general from exile – the Cid. I t has been shown that the Cid was at court on July 1087. However, wha t happened after that is unclear.

Around this time, the Cid, with a combined Christian and Moorish army , began maneuvering in order to create his own fiefdom in the MoorishM editerranean coastal city of Valencia. Several obstacles lay in his wa y. First was Ramón Berenguer II, who ruled nearby Barcelona. In May 10 90, the Cid defeated and captured Berenguer in the Battle of Tébar. Be renguer was later ransomed and his son, Ramón Berenguer III, marriedth e Cid's youngest daughter Maria to ward against future conflicts. Th e Cid gradually came to have more influence on Valencia, then ruled b y al-Qadir. In October 1092 an uprising occurred in Valencia inspiredb y the city's chief judge, Ibn Jahhaf, and the Almoravids. The Cid bega n a siege of Valencia. The siege lasted several years; in December 109 3 an attempt to break had failed. In May 1094, the siege ended, and th e 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 Ci d was fully independent. The city was both Christian and Muslim, and b oth Moors and Christians served in the army and as administrators. In1 096, Valencia's nine mosques were converted into churches; Jérôme, aFr ench bishop, was appointed archbishop of the city.

On July 10, 1099, the Cid died in his home. Though his wife Jimena wou ld continue to rule for two more years, an Almoravid siege forced Jime na to seek help from Alfonso. They could not hold the city but both ma naged to escape. Alfonso ordered the city burned to prevent it from fa lling into the hands of the Moors. Valencia was captured by Masdali o n May 5, 1109 and would not become a Christian city again for over 12 5 years. Jimena fled to Burgos with the Cid's body. Originally buriedi n Castile in the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña, his body now lies at the center of the impressive Burgos Cathedral.

Legend has it that after El Cid died, his body was strapped to his hor se and sent into battle by his wife, who realized that his troops woul d be defeated if they knew their leader was dead. The troops rallied,t hinking that their leader was riding to fight beside them, and the ene my was so afraid of the invincible fighter that they retreated to thei r boats. Thus, El Cid is said to have won his final battle after hisde ath.
El Cid's sword "Tizona" can still be seen in the Army Museum (Museo de l Ejército) in Madrid. Soon after his death, it became one of the mos t precious possessions of the Castilian royal family. And in 1999, a s mall sample of the blade underwent metallurgical analysis which partia lly confirmed that it was made in Moorish Cordoba in the eleventh cent ury, although the report does not specify whether the larger scale com position of the blade identifies it as Damascus steel.

Modern audiences may know a romanticized story of the Cid from the 196 1 film starring Charlton Heston as the title character. Campeador is t he Romance or Vulgar Latin version of the Latin campi doctor or campid octus; the term can be found in writings of late Latinity (4th–5th cen tury) and can be found in some inscriptions of that era. After that pe riod it became rare, although still sometimes found in the writings o f the less educated writers of the Middle Ages. The literal significan ce of the expression campi doctor is "master of the military arts," an d its use in the period of the late Roman Empire appears to have signi fied only one who instructed new military recruits. But it was in curr ent usage when El Cid was still alive, and was applied to Rodrigo bya member of his circle in an official document promulgated in his name i n 1098.

Literally dozens of works were written about the Cid, which include L e Cid by French playwright Pierre Corneille in 1636; and the three-par t Spanish cantar de gesta epic Cantar de Mio Cid, also called The Layo f the Cid, The Song of the Cid, or El Poema del Cid. This work may hav e also been one of the many sources for Don Quixote's early inspiratio n: despite his steed Rocinante being less than capable, Don Quixote be lieves him to be better than Babieca. Jules (Émile Frédéric) Massenet 's 1885 opera Le Cid is a favorite of Plácido Domingo, who has sung th e role of Rodrigue (Rodrigo) many times since first performing it atCa rnegie Hall in 1976. There have been modern-day films about the Cid, such as El Cid (1961, starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren) and t he animated El Cid (La Leyenda) (2003). In the early 80s, there was a n animated series called Ruy, el Pequeño Cid, portraying the fictiona l adventures of El Cid as a child. In Oz, an HBO TV show, the ganglea der Raoul Hernandez is referred to as "El Cid" because of his leadersh ip skills. The Guy Gavriel Kay fantasy novel The Lions of Al-Rassan, set in an alternate universe version of medieval Spain, features Rodri go, a main character who is clearly modeled on El Cid. In the game Me dieval: Total War, El Cid was a general who could be bribed in the pro vince of Valencia, as one of the most useful generals in the game.

1.) "El Cid". The Catholic Encyclopedia.
2.) "Cid Campeador". The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. New York: Colu mbia University Press, 2001.
3.) "Ferdinand I, Spanish king of Castile and León". The Columbia Ency clopedia. 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
4.) "Ramiro I". The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. New York: ColumbiaU niversity Press, 2004.
5.) "Sancho III, king of Castile". The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed.N ew York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
6.) "Sancho III, king of Navarre". The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed.N ew York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
7.) Simon Barton and Richard Fletcher. The world of El Cid, Chronicle s of the Spanish reconquest. Manchester: University Press, 2000. ISBN0 -7190-5225-4 hardback, ISBN 0-7190-5226-2 paperback.
8.) Gonzalo Martínez Díez, "El Cid Histórico: Un Estudio Exhaustivo So bre el Verdadero Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar," Editorial Planeta (Spain, Jun e 1999). ISBN 84-08-03161-9
9.) Richard Fletcher. "The Quest for El Cid". ISBN 0-19-506955-2
Kurtz, Barbara E. El Cid. University of Illinois.
10.) I. Michael. The Poem of the Cid. Manchester: 1975.
11.) C. Melville and A. Ubaydli (ed. and trans.), Christians and Moor s in Spain, vol. III, Arabic sources (711-1501). (Warminster, 1992).
12.) Nelson, Prof. Lynn Harry. "Thoughts on Reading El Cid"..
13.) Joseph F. O'Callaghan. A History of Medieval Spain. Ithaca: Corne ll University Press, 1975
14.) Peter Pierson. The History of Spain. Ed. John E. Findling and Fra nk W. Thacheray. Wesport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1999. 34-36. Q uestia Online Library
15.) Bernard F. Reilly. The Kingdom of León-Castilla under King Alfons o VI, 1065-1109 Princeton, New Jersey: University Press, 1988.
16.) R. Selden Rose and Leonard Bacon (trans.) The Lay of the Cid. Sem icentennial Publications of the University of California: 1868-1918. B erkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1997.
17.) Steven Thomas. 711-1492: Al-Andalus and the Reconquista.
18.) Henry Edwards Watts. "The Story of the Cid (1026-1099)" in The Ch ristian Recovery of Spain: The Story of Spain from the Moorish Conques t to the Fall of Grenada (711-1492 AD). New York: Putnam, 1894. 71-91 . Questia Online Library
19.) La Legenda de las Mocedades de Rodrigo, or "La Crónica Rimada," a s it is sometimes called. This work has been thought to be even oldert han the "Poema del Cid" by some critics, among them so eminent authori ty as Amador de los Ríos.
20.) La Crónica General ó Estoria de España, written by Alfonso the Wi se.
21.) La Crónica del Cid, the manuscript of which was found in the ver y place where the Cid lies buried, the monastery of San Pedro de Carde ña. Its author and the time of its appearance are unknown.

#Générale#le Cid Campéador".Il servit d'abord le roi de Castille Sanche II, puis le frère ennemi de celui-ci Alphonse VI dont il épousa la cousine Jiména Diaz (Chimène). Tombé en disgrace il offrit ses services à de nombreux princes chrétiens ou musulmans auprès duquel il obtint son surnom "le Cid" de sidi (seigneur). En 1094, il s'empara du royaume maure de Valence dont il fut le souverain jusqu'à sa mort.

{geni:occupation} Conde de Vivar, rey de Valencia (1094-1098), Señor de Vivar, El Mío Cid, castilian nobleman, diplomat and military leader

{geni:about_me} Rodrigo Díaz (¿Vivar del Cid, provincia de Burgos?, c. 1048[3] – Valencia, 1099) fue un caballero castellano que llegó a dominar al frente de su propia mesnada el Levante de la Península Ibérica a finales del siglo XI de forma autónoma respecto de la autoridad de rey alguno. Consiguió conquistar Valencia y estableció en esta ciudad un señorío independiente desde el 17 de junio de 1094 hasta su muerte.

Se trata de una figura histórica y legendaria de la Reconquista, cuya vida inspiró el más importante cantar de gesta de la literatura española, "El Cantar de mio Cid". Ha pasado a la posteridad como el Campeador o el Cid (del árabe dialectal سيد sīdi, 'señor'). Por el apelativo «Campeador» fue conocido en vida, pues se atestigua desde 1098 en un documento firmado por el propio Rodrigo Díaz; el sobrenombre de «Cid», aunque se conjetura que pudieron usarlo sus coetáneos zaragozanos o valencianos. Aparece por vez primera en el Poema de Almería, compuesto entre 1147 y 1149. www.wikipedia.com

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Title
El Cid's charter of donation to the Cathedral of Valencia (1098). His signature is shown closeup in the image below.The name El Cid (Spanish: [el 'θid]) comes from the article el (meaning "the" in both Spanish and Arabic), and the dialectal Arabic word سيد sîdi or sayyid, which means "Lord" or "The Master". The title Campeador means "champion" or "challenger" in Spanish. Because of his exceeding prowess in arms, he was the natural challenger in single combats. In Spanish warfare, it was common for leaders of armies to pit two Champions against each other (similar to the story of David and Goliath) to determine the outcome of the conflict. This way neither side would lose a great number of men. The Cid was the champion of King Alfonso IV of Castile. He had gained the title of "Campeador" when he fought on behalf of Alfonso against the forces of Granada. He defeated his enemy disastrously, gathered much treasure, and captured Count García Ordóñez, leader of the Granadian army. He pulled Ordóñez' beard in the ultimate insult of those days, then returned to Burgos, the Castilian capital.

[edit] Life and career
El Cid's signature: Ego Ruderico, "I, Rodrigo".[edit] OriginsEl Cid was born 1043 AD in Vivar, also known as Castillona de Bivar, a small town about six miles north of Burgos, the capital of Castile. His father, 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, confirmed only five documents of Ferdinand I's, his maternal grandfather, Rodrigo Alvarez, certified only two of Sancho II's, and El Cid's own father confirmed only one.

[edit] Service under Sancho II
First paragraph of the Carmen Campidoctoris, the earliest literary treatment of El Cid's life, written by a Catalan partisan to celebrate El Cid's defeat of Berenguer Ramón.As a young adult in 1057, Rodrigo fought against the Moorish stronghold of Zaragoza, making its emir al-Muqtadir a vassal of Sancho. In the spring of 1063, Rodrigo fought in the Battle of Graus, where Ferdinand's half-brother, Ramiro I of Aragon, was laying siege to the Moorish town of Cinca which was in Zaragozan lands. Al-Muqtadir, accompanied by Castilian troops including El 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, thereby receiving the honorific title Campeador.

When Ferdinand died, Sancho continued to enlarge his territory, conquering both Christian and the Moorish cities of Zamora and Badajoz. When Sancho learned that Alfonso was planning on overthrowing him in order to gain his territory, Sancho sent Cid to bring Alfonso back so that Sancho could speak to him.

[edit] Service under Alfonso VISancho was assassinated in 1072, as the result of a pact between his brother Alfonso and his sister Urraca; In any case, since Sancho died unmarried and childless, all of his power passed to his brother Alfonso.

Almost immediately, Alfonso returned from exile in Toledo and took his seat as king of Castile and León. He was deeply suspected in Castile, probably correctly,[citation needed] of having been involved in Sancho's murder. According to the epic of El Cid, the Castilian nobility led by El 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[who?] as truth, but contemporary documents on the lives of both Rodrigo Diaz and Alfonso VI of Castile and León do not mention any such event. El Cid's position as armiger regis was taken away and given to El Cid's enemy, Count García Ordóñez.

[edit] ExileIn the Battle of Cabra (1079), El Cid rallied his troops and turned the battle into a rout of Emir Abdulallh of Granada and his ally García Ordóñez. However, El Cid's unauthorized expedition into Granada greatly angered Alfonso, and May 8, 1080, was the last time El Cid confirmed a document in King Alfonso's court. This is the generally given reason for El Cid's exile, although several others are plausible and may have been contributing factors: jealous nobles turning Alfonso against El Cid, Alfonso's own animosity towards El Cid, and an accusation of pocketing some of the tribute from Seville.

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 the Taifa of Zaragoza where he received a warmer welcome by its diverse and well cultured inhabitants.

El Cid depicted on the title page of a sixteenth-century working of his story.According to Moorish accounts:

Andalusian Knights found El Cid their foe ill, thirsty and exiled from the court of Alfonso, he was presented before the elderly Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud and accepted command of the forces of the Taifa of Zaragoza as their Master.

However, the exile was not the end of El Cid, either physically or as an important figure. In 1081, El Cid, went on to offer his services to the Moorish king of the northeast Al-Andalus city of Zaragoza, Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud, and served both him and his successor, Al-Mustain II. He was given the title El Cid (The Master) and served as a leading figure in a vibrant Moorish force consisting of Muladis, Berbers, Arabs and Malians.

O'Callaghan writes:

That kingdom was divided between al-Mutamin (1081–1085) who ruled Zaragoza proper, and his brother al-Mundhir, who ruled Lérida and Tortosa. El Cid entered al-Mutamin's service and successfully defended Zaragoza against the assaults of al-Mundhir, Sancho I of Aragón, and Ramón Berenguer II, whom he held captive briefly in 1082. In 1084, El Cid and the Moorish armies defeated Sancho of Aragon at the Battle of Morella near Tortosa. He was then troubled by the fierce conflicts between the Muladis of Badajoz and the Arabs of Seville.

In 1086, the Almoravid invasion of the Iberian Peninsula through and around Gibraltar began. The Almoravids, Berber residents of present-day North Africa, led by Yusuf ibn Tashfin, were asked to help defend the divided Moors from Alfonso. El Cid had probably commanded a large Moorish force during the great Battle of Sagrajas, which took place in 1086, near the Taifa of Badajoz. The Almoravid and Andalusian Taifas, including the armies of Badajoz, Málaga, Granada, Tortosa and Seville, defeated a combined army of León, Aragón and Castile.

Terrified after his crushing defeat, Alfonso recalled from exile the best Christian general: El Cid. It has been shown that El Cid was at court on July 1087; however, what happened after that is unclear.

[edit] Conquest of ValenciaFile:El Cid ordering the Execution of Ahmed.jpg
Engraving by Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville of El Cid ordering the execution of the instigator of the revolt and almoravid after his conquest of the city in 1094.Around this time, El Cid, with a combined Christian and Moorish army, began maneuvering in order to create his own fiefdom in the Moorish Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia. Several obstacles lay in his way. First was Berenguer Ramón II, who ruled nearby Barcelona. In May 1090, El Cid defeated and captured Berenguer in the Battle of Tébar (nowadays Pinar de Tévar, near Monroyo, Teruel). Berenguer was later released and his nephew Ramón Berenguer III married El Cid's youngest daughter Maria to ward against future conflicts.

Along the way to Valencia, El Cid also conquered other towns, many of which were near Valencia, such as Castejón and Alucidia.

El 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. El Cid began a siege of Valencia. A December 1093 attempt to break the siege failed. By the time the siege ended in May 1094, El Cid had carved out his own principality on the coast of the Mediterranean. Officially El Cid ruled in the name of Alfonso; in reality, El Cid was fully independent. The city was both Christian and Muslim, and both Moors and Christians served in the army and as administrators.

[edit] DeathEl Cid and his wife Jimena Díaz lived peacefully in Valencia for three years until the Almoravids besieged the city. El Cid was fighting one of the men when he was shot in the heart with an arrow. Valencia's troops were losing spirit when Jimena thought if she set the corpse of El Cid atop his horse Babieca, the morale of Valencia's troops would soar. Alfonso ordered the city burned to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Almoravids. Valencia was captured by Masdali on May 5, 1102 and it did not become a Christian city again for over 125 years. Jimena fled to Burgos with her husband's body. Originally buried in Castile in the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña, his body now lies at the center of the Burgos Cathedral.

[edit] Warrior and general[edit] Battle tacticsDuring his campaigns, El Cid often ordered that books by classic Roman and Greek authors on military themes be read aloud to him and his troops, for both entertainment and inspiration before 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 used this distraction in capturing the town of Castejón as depicted in Cantar de Mio Cid (The Song of my Cid)). El Cid accepted or included suggestions from his troops. In The Song the man who served him as his closest adviser was his vassal and kinsman Álvar Fáñez "Minaya" (meaning "My brother", a compound word of Spanish possessive Mi (My) and Anaia, the basque word for brother), although the historical Álvar Fáñez remained in Castile with Alfonso VI.

Taken together, these practices imply an educated and intelligent commander who was able to attract and inspire good subordinates, and who would have attracted considerable loyalty from his followers, including those who were not Christian. It is these qualities, coupled with El Cid's legendary martial abilities, which have fueled his reputation as an outstanding battlefield commander.

[edit] Babieca
Tomb of Babieca at the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña.Babieca or Bavieca was El Cid's warhorse. Several stories exist about El Cid and Babieca. One well-known legend about El Cid describes how he acquired the stallion. According to this story, Rodrigo's godfather, Pedro El Grande, was a monk at a Carthusian monastery. Pedro's coming-of-age gift to El Cid was his pick of a horse from an Andalusian herd. El Cid picked a horse that his godfather thought was a weak, poor choice, causing the monk to exclaim "Babieca!" (stupid!) Hence, it became the name of El Cid's horse. Another legend states that in a competition of battle to become King Sancho's "Campeador", or champion, a knight on horseback wished to challenge El Cid. The King wished a fair fight and gave El Cid his finest horse, Babieca, or Bavieca. This version says Babieca was raised in the royal stables of Seville and was a highly trained and loyal war horse, not a foolish stallion. The name in this instance could suggest that the horse came from the Babia region in León, Spain. In the poem Carmen Campidoctoris, Babieca appears as a gift from "a barbarian" to El Cid, so its name could also be derived from "Barbieca", or "horse of the barbarian".

Regardless, Babieca became a great warhorse, famous to the Christians, feared by El Cid's enemies, and loved by El Cid, who allegedly requested that Babieca be buried with him in the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña.[citation needed] His name is mentioned in several tales and historical documents about El Cid, including The Lay of El Cid.

[edit] Swords
TizonaA weapon traditionally identified as El Cid's sword, Tizona, used to be displayed in the Army Museum (Museo del Ejército) in Toledo. In 1999, a small sample of the blade underwent metallurgical analysis which confirmed that the blade was made in Moorish Córdoba in the eleventh century and contained amounts of Damascus steel.[citation needed]

In 2007 the Autonomous Community of Castile and León bought the sword for 1.6 million Euros, and it is currently on display at the Museum of Burgos.

El Cid also had a sword called Colada.

[edit] Marriage and familyEl Cid was married in July 1075 to Alfonso's kinswoman Jimena Díaz. The Historia Roderici calls her a daughter of a Count Diego of Oviedo, a person unknown to contemporary records, while later poetic sources name her father as an otherwise unknown Count Gomez de Gormaz.

Tradition states that when El Cid first laid eyes on her, he was enamored of her great beauty. Together El Cid and Jimena had three children. Their daughters Cristina and María both married into the high nobility; Cristina to Ramiro, Lord of Monzón, grandson of García Sánchez III of Navarre via an illegitimate son; María, first (it is said) to a prince of Aragon (presumably the son of Peter I) and second to Ramón Berenguer III, count of Barcelona. El Cid's son Diego Rodríguez was killed while fighting against the invading Muslim Almoravids from North Africa at the Battle of Consuegra (1097).

El Cid's own marriage and those of his daughters raised his status by connecting him to the peninsular royalty; even today, most European monarchs and many commoners of European ancestry descend from El Cid, through Cristina's son, King García Ramírez of Navarre and to a lesser extent via a granddaughter Jimena of Barcelona, who married into the Counts of Foix.

[edit] References Wikimedia Commons has media related to: El Cid

[edit] BibliographySimon Barton and Richard Fletcher. The world of El Cid, Chronicles of the Spanish reconquest. Manchester: University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-7190-5225-4 hardback, ISBN 0-7190-5226-2 paperback.
Gonzalo Martínez Díez, "El Cid Histórico: Un Estudio Exhaustivo Sobre el Verdadero Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar", Editorial Planeta (Spain, June 1999). ISBN 84-08-03161-9
Richard Fletcher. "The Quest for El Cid". ISBN 0-19-506955-2
Kurtz, Barbara E. El Cid. University of Illinois.
I. Michael. The Poem of El Cid. Manchester: 1975.
C. Melville and A. Ubaydli (ed. and trans.), Christians and Moors in Spain, vol. III, Arabic sources (711-1501). (Warminster, 1992).
Joseph F. O'Callaghan. A History of Medieval Spain. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1975
Peter Pierson. The History of Spain. Ed. John E. Findling and Frank W. Thacheray. Wesport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1999. 34-36.
Bernard F. Reilly. The Kingdom of León-Castilla under King Alfonso VI, 1065-1109 Princeton, New Jersey: University Press, 1988.
The Song of El Cid. Translated by Burton Raffel. Penguin Classics, 2009.
R. Selden Rose and Leonard Bacon (trans.) The Lay of El Cid. Semicentennial Publications of the University of California: 1868-1918. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1997.
Steven Thomas. 711-1492: Al-Andalus and the Reconquista.
M. J. Trow,El Cid The Making of a Legend, Sutton Publishing Limited, 2007.
Henry Edwards Watts. "The Story of El Cid (1026-1099)" in The Christian Recovery of Spain: The Story of Spain from the Moorish Conquest to the Fall of Grenada (711-1492 AD). New York: Putnam, 1894. 71-91.
Cantar de mío Cid - Spanish (free PDF)
Poema de Mio Cid, Códice de Per Abbat in the European Library (third item on page)
T.Y. Henderson. "Conquests Of Valencia"
[edit] Sources and external linksInformation about The Route of El Cid - English
[edit] Notes

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El Cid Ruy Diaz cafô con doña Ximena Gomez hija del Conde don Gomez Señor de Gormaz nieta del Rey de Leõ, en quien tuvo a don Diego Rodriguez, que murio en batalla con los Moros en Confuegra, y dize la hiftoria, que no dexò fucefsion. No obftante que è vifto el teftamento de don Alonfo Martinez Olivera, de quien en la tercera parte hago memoria, tuvo mas dos hijas doña Sol, que cafô (como efcrive Hieronymo de Çurita en los Anales libr. 1 capi. 33) con el Infante don Pedro hijo de el Rey don Pedro heredero de Aragon, y no dexô fucefsion. Y a doña Elvira, q cafô (como efcrive Eftevan de Garivay en el libr. 11 cap. 24) con el Infante don Ramiro Sãchez de Navarra hijo del Rey don Sãcho Garcia, de cuyo matrimonio fuceden todos los Reyes Chriftianos. Las Armas del Cid Ruy Diaz, dizen fueron en Efcudo roxo vna Vanda verde con Perfiles de oro. Y en efta conformidad vfan della oy los del linage de Mendoça, y los del linage de Antolinez. Y della haze memoria en fu Nobiliario Herna Mexia Veyntiquatro de Iaen lib. 3 capi. 25. A la qual acrecentaron los de Antolinez ocho Afpas de oro en campo roxo, por averfe hallado en la conquifta de Baeça. Y afsi fe vee en los Efcudos viejos del arco del Alcaçar de aquella ciudad. Fueron Martin Antolinez, y pero Bermudez fu hermano, y Nuño Guftios de Lincuella aquellos tres famofos Cavalleros, que en la villa de Carrion en prefencia de el Rey don Alonfo (que ganô a Toledo) fe combatieron en Eftacada con los Infantes de Carrion don Fernando y don Diego hijos del Conde don Gonçalo Gonçalez Señor de Carrion yernos del Cid, y con el Conde don Suero Gonçalez tio de los Infantes, por el vltraje que hizieron a las hijas del Cid en los Robledos de Cortes, donde los Infantes y el Conde fueron vencidos, y eftos tres Cavalleros quedaron con la victoria. Llevava Martin Antolinez para efte combate contra el Infante don Fernando la famofa efpada del Cid llamada Colada, q fu Mageftad tiene, y fe mueftra en Madrid en fu Real Sala de Armeria. En cuya hoja de la vna parte eftã efculpidas quatro letras, que dizen Si Si. Y en la otra parte otras quatro, que dizen No No. Efta efpada dize la general hiftoria, que ganô el Cid al Conde de Barcelona, en la batalla que vuo con el Rey don Pedro de Aragon. Refierela Garivay en el cap. 16 del libr. 11. Y el Arçobifpo de Toledo. Y la general hiftoria, aunque en los Anales de Aragon en el cap. 22 en el lib. 2 fe cõtradize el tiempo defta batalla. La otra efpada llamada Tizona (que el Cid ganô del Rey Bucar Señor de Tunez, quando le vencio en la batalla) llevava Pero Bermudez con la qual vencio al Infante don Diego. Y en memoria defte combate, y del Palenque donde fue la batalla, q eftava cercado de Cadenas, vfaron los de el apellido de Bermudez vna orla de Cadenas azules en campo de oro en torno del Efcudo, que fon quinze Iaqueles de oro y negro. Del qual linage à avido, y ay principales Cavalleros en el Reyno de Galizia. Martin Antonlinez de Burgos y fu hijo Martin Antolinez y otros de fu linage refiere la hiftoria del Cid, que eftan fepultados en el Monafterio de San Pedro de Cardeña, en cuya Capilla eftà el fepulcro y cuerpo del Cid. Y a lo q afirman Autores graves, no averfe vfado en Caftilla Efcudos de Armas en eftos tiempos, yo foy de opinion, que pues no fe puede negar, que en aquel tiempo fe vfavãn los Pavefes, fe deve creer, que en fu pintura lleuavan alguna Devifa, ya que no vfaffen della en fus Sellos ni Sepulcros, y que efta fueffe la que el Cid vfô en fu Paves. Y afsi aunque en los Previlegios y Sepulcros del Rey don Alonfo, que ganò a Toledo, ni en los Reyes fus anteceffores vemos Armas en el Paves fuyo que fe mueftra en el Monafterio de Sahagun, fe veen, como referi en el capit. 42 del libr. 1. Y efta razon fe fatisfaze, para no deshazer la comun opinion, de que el Cid vfô defta Devifa confervada y continuada en eftos dos linages de Mendoça, y Antolinez decendientes de fu tronco. Y la mifma Devifa fe puede entender, que vfô el Cid en fu Pendon, fi fe deve dar credito en efto a la general hiftoria, en ella dize en el cpa. 3 del lib. 4 que muerto el Cid pufieron fu cuerpo en San Pedro de Cardeña por mandado de el Rey don Alonfo en vn Tabernaculo labrado de oro y azul, y en el las Señales de los Reyes de Caftilla, y de Navarra, y Cid. Y efte es claro argumento de la mucha antiguedad de las Armas, Devifas, ô Blafones en eftos Reynos. Y no fatisfaze, no hallarfe efculpidas en los fepulcros, pues el propio lugar para que ellas fe inftituyeron, fue para los Pendones, y Efcudos. Y vfar de eftas Señales en la guerra, es antiguo en todas las edades, y en los Sepulcros fabemos quan moderno es, como efcrevire en otro lugar.
NOBLEZA DEL ANDALVZIA
Por Gonçalo Argote de Molina, Sevilla 1588.
De Anton Antolinez Alcalde de Baeça, y de fus Armas, y del linage del Cid Ruy Diaz de Bivar, y de los Antolinez y Bermudez. Cap. CXX. Pág. 130

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (*Vivar del Cid, Burgos, hacia 1048 – Valencia, 1099), conocido como El Cid Campeador, Mio Cid o El Cid (del árabe dialectal سيد sīdi, 'señor', y del latín campae docto, 'diestro enel campo de batalla', 'conocedor de la batalla'), hidalgo y guerrero castellano. Al frente de su propia mesnada llegó a dominar prácticamente todo el oriente de la Península Ibérica a finales del siglo XI, deforma autónoma respecto de la autoridad de rey alguno, aunque con el beneplácito del rey Alfonso VI, de quien siempre se consideró vasallo Rodrigo. Se trata de una figura histórica y legendaria de la Reconquista española, cuya vida es la base del más importante cantar de gesta de la literatura española, el Cantar de mio Cid.

Según el autor musulmán andalusí Ibn Bassam (1109):[1]
oe Este hombre, el azote de su tiempo, por su ansia de gloria, por laprudente tenacidad de su carácter, por su heroica valentía, fue uno de los milagros de Dios. ”

Referencia: 1885

apellido Prefijo Apellido: El Cid Campeador

Modificación: 29 noviembre 2008 14:30:30

Señor de Vivar y de Valencia
Héroe de la Reconquista española; guerreó a las órdenes del Rey Don Fernando I de Castilla y León.
A este último, hizo jurar en la Iglesia de Santa Gadea, que no había participado en el asesinato de su hermano Don Sancho II, en el cerco de Zamora.
Desterrado por Alfonso VI (hacia 1081) comenzó a luchar por su cuenta hasta convertirse en el más peligroso enemigo de los árabes.
En 1094 tomó Valencia, a su muerte, la ciudad quedó en manos de su mjer doña Jimena, hasta que fue reconquistada por los árabes
Su famosa leyenda se inmortalizó en el Cantar del Mío Cid

Better known as, El Cid. The word El Cid is derived from the word Al Sid in the Andalusian Moor Dialect from Arabic Sayyid, meaning chief or lord.
Rodrigo Dias de Vivar is the ancestor of many of Europe's Royal Houses

The Cid of history, though falling short of the poetical ideal which thepatriotism of his countrymen has so long cherished, is still the foremostman of the heroical period of Spain--the greatest warrior produced out ofa long struggle between Christian and Moslem, and the perfect type of theCastilian of the 12th Century. Rodrigo Diaz, called de Bivar, from theplace of his birth, better known by the title given him by the Arabs asthe Cid (El Seid, the lord) and El Campeador, the Champion par excellencewas of noble family. He is the most famous warrior in Spanish history andthe history of Mediaeval Spain without the Cid would be something morebarren than the Iliad without Achilles. Shortly after his marriage, theCid was sent to collect tribute from the King of Seville, whom he foundengaged in war with Abdullah, the King of Granada. His subsequent actionsserved to kindle against him the rancour of his enemies and the jealousyof the King of Castile, and the king took advantage of his absence tobanish him from Castile. Henceforth Rodrigo Diaz began to live the lifeof the soldier of fortune which has made him famous, sometimes fightingunder the Christian banner, sometimes under Moorish, but always for hisown hand. Among the enterprises of the Cid the most famous was againstValencia, then the richest and most flourishing city of the peninsula,and an object of cupidity to both Christian and Moslem. He took Valenciaafter a siege of nine months on June 5, 1094, and ruled for four yearswith vigor and justice. At length he suffered a crushing defeat and theblow was fatal to the aged Campeador, who died of anger and defeat inJuly, 1099. His widow maintained Valencia four years against the Moors,but was at last compelled to evacuate the city, taking with her the bodyof the Cid to be buried in the monastery of San Pedro at Cardena, in theneighborhood of Burges. The bones have since been removed to the townhall of Burges. Philip II tried to get him canonized, but Rome objectedand not without reason. His true place in history is that of the greatestof Guerrilles, the perfect type of that sort of warrior, of which thesoil of Spain has been most productive. The Cid of Romance, the Cid of aThousand battles, legends and dramas, the Cid as apotheosized inliterature, the Cid invoked by good Spaniards in every national crisis,whose name is ever inspiration to Spanish patriotism is a very differentcharacter from the historical Rodrigo Diaz--the freebooter, the rebel,the consorter of infidels and enemies of Spain. His wife outlived him 5years and was buried near him in Burges. He had two daughters, oneChristina married the infante Ramire of Navarre, the other, Maria Elvira,married Raymond IV (Raymond Berenger III) of Barcelona. Through her theCid became the ancestor of the later royal dynasty of Spain.

y

KNOWN AS "EL CID"; KNIGHTED BY SANCHO II OF CASTILE; BECAME
STANDARD-BEARER/COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND DEFEATED ALFONSO VI OF LEON AT GOLPEJERA
1072; AFTER ATTACKING THE MUSLIM KINGDOM OF TOLEDO IN 1081, FOR WHICH HE WAS
BANISHED, HE TOOK SERVICE WITH THE AMIR OF SARAGOSSA, WHOSE ARMY HE COMMANDED
FOR SEVERAL YEARS - AS A RESULT OF THE INVASION OF THE ALMORAVIDS HE ACQUIRED
THE ARABIC TITLE "SAYYID" (LORD), HISPANICIZED AS "CID"; HIS ONLY SON DIED IN
BATTLE 1097 WITHOUT ISSUE

Señor de Vivar y de Valencia
Héroe de la Reconquista española; guerreó a las órdenes del Rey Don Fernando I de Castilla y León.
A este último, hizo jurar en la Iglesia de Santa Gadea, que no había participado en el asesinato de su hermano Don Sancho II, en el cerco de Zamora.
Desterrado por Alfonso VI (hacia 1081) comenzó a luchar por su cuenta hasta convertirse en el más peligroso enemigo de los árabes.
En 1094 tomó Valencia, a su muerte, la ciudad quedó en manos de su mjer doña Jimena, hasta que fue reconquistada por los árabes
Su famosa leyenda se inmortalizó en el Cantar del Mío Cid

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Tijdbalk Rodrigo 'el Cid' "El Cid Campeador" Díaz de Vivar príncipe de Valencia

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