This is the story of Don Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, chief marshal of the royal army, who was exiled from his native Castile by the weak King Alfonso in 1089. Banished from his two little daughters and his lovely wife, he rode out of Castile at midnight, between the teeth of a wild and snarling mountain range, and journeyed into the South, where Moorish invaders had ruled for centuries.

Makes available, for the first time in English translation, four of the principal narrative sources for the history of the Spanish kingdom of León-Castile during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Three chronicles focus primarily upon the activities of the kings of León-Castile as leaders of the Reconquest of Spain from the forces of Islam, and especially upon Fernando I (1037-65), his son Alfonso VI (1065-1109) and the latter's grandson Alfonso VII (1126-57). The fourth chronicle is a biography of the hero Rodrigo Díaz, better remembered as El Cid, and is the main source of information about his extraordinary career as a mercenary soldier who fought for Christian and Muslim alike. Covers the fascinating interaction of the Muslim and Christian worlds, each at the height of their power. Each text is prefaced by its own introduction and accompanied by explanatory notes.

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar—also known to historians as El Cid—was an eleventh century Spanish military commander who led both Christians and Moors into battle. In the pages of Eerie magazine, however, writer Budd Lewis and artist Gonzalo Mayo transform El Cid into a larger-than-life fantasy warrior, battling dragons, trolls, and sirens for his life—and demons for his soul! This deluxe hardcover collects every El Cid adventure that ran in Warren Publishing's Eerie magazine in the mid-1970s, featuring the elaborately detailed artwork of Mayo, plus Eerie's original historical background feature. * Cover painting by Sanjulian, frontispiece by Bernie Wrightson (Frankenstein)!

Rodrigo Díaz, the legendary warrior-knight of eleventh-century Castile known as El Cid, is still honored in Spain as a national hero for liberating the fatherland from the occupying Moors. Yet, as this book reveals, there are many contradictions between eleventh-century reality and the mythology that developed later. By placing El Cid in a fresh, historical context, Fletcher shows us an adventurous soldier of fortune who was of a type, one of a number of "cids," or "bosses," who flourished in eleventh-century Spain. But the El Cid of legend--the national hero -- was unique in stature even in his lifetime. Before his death El Cid was already celebrated in a poem; posthumously he was immortalized in the great epic Poema de Mío Cid. When he died in Valencia in 1099, he was ruler of an independent principality he had carved for himself in Eastern Spain. Rather than the zealous Christian leader many believe him to have been, Rodrigo emerges in Fletcher's study as a mercenary equally at home in the feudal kingdoms of northern Spain and the exotic Moorish lands of the south, selling his martial skills to Christian and Muslim alike. Indeed, his very title derives from the Arabic word sayyid, meaning 'lord' or 'master.' And as there was little if any sense of Spanish nationhood in the eleventh century, he can hardly be credited for uniting a medieval Spanish nation. This ground-breaking inquiry into the life and times of El Cid disentangles fact from myth to create a striking portrait of an extraordinary man, clearly showing how and why legend transformed him into something he was not during his lifetime.--From publisher description.

And so the Cid rode out of the gates of history - and into legend. Viewed at one level, Rodrigo Diaz, from the little town of Burgos in Castile, was just another warlord, like countless others. That he fought for Muslim as well as Christian sent a shudder of outrage through the whole of Christendom; the man was a traitor to his God as well as his king. Why, then, was an epic film starring Charlton Heston made about the man known as El Cid? Why is he the national hero of Spain and why is there a statue to him in his native Burgos, and in New York City, three thousand miles and a thousand years away from the man and his times? Acclaimed author M.J. Trow peals back the layers of legend. He reveals the facts of the Cid's life and places his life in the context of the times, looks at how the Cid became the hero of the Reconquista in his own time and in later centuries, examines the way Spain's politicians and ruling elite have used the icon of the Cid, and discusses why the man and his story have fascinated numerous writers, from the 16th century to modern times.

The very name El Cid sums up much of the special character of medieval Spanish warfare. It comes from the Arabic al sayyid, master or chieftain, and seems to have been given to Rodrigo de Vivar by his Muslim foes. But was it given in recognition of El Cid's victories against Islam in the 'Reconquista' – or because this Castilian nobleman was as content to serve beside the Muslims as to fight them? The story of the Christian conquest of the Iberian peninsula which gave rise to the legend of El Cid, is here examined by David Nicolle, who outlines the history, tactics, arms and armour of the period.

This book is an inspiring biography about an extraordinary Catholic knight chosen by God to save his nation from Islamic aggression. Known by the honorary title of El Cid, Rodrigo Diaz is an epic hero who is relevant to our time. Exiled by his king, insulted and maligned by those who should have supported him, he selflessly fought against seemingly insurmountable odds to save Christian Spain. Commanding the respect even of his enemies, upon his death a Muslim historian acclaimed him a "miracle among the great miracles of the Almighty." The Cid is an example of what can be achieved through devotion to duty, prayer, and trust in God.