R O D R I G O  D I A Z  de  V I V A R  'EL CID' 1043-1099

 

 

Steer your path through life by our GOLDEN COMPASS the quest for eternal happiness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At some point in our lives we will all feel strongly about an issue, enough to take arms (action).

 

 

 

 

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (1043-1099 CE), better known as El Cid, from the Arabic assid, meaning 'lord', was a famed Spanish knight and general, so famous even his sword had a name: Tizona. He first came to prominence as a commander of the armies of King Ferdinand I of Castile and Leon (d. 1065 CE), a position he gained aged just 22. After a dispute with a rival commander in 1081 CE, El Cid was exiled and he then served the Moorish king al-Mu'tamin (1081-85 CE) at Zaragoza. A decade of victories against rival Moors and Spanish kings followed and he acquired another nickname, El Campeador ('The Champion').

 

 

 

 


El Cid - Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar

 

 

 

 


Deciding it would be more profitable to fight for himself, El Cid took Valencia in 1090 CE. In theory, he still represented the Spanish king Alfonso VI (r. 1077-1109 CE) but El Cid was now a ruler in his own right. The great general died in 1099 CE, but his body was paraded before his army to ward off an Arab attack, just as El Cid had been instructed to arrange by Saint Peter in a dream on his deathbed. The trick worked and Valencia withstood the onslaught, albeit temporarily, for later in the same year it did finally fall to the Muslim Almoravids.

 

The great commander's body was buried at the monastery of San Pedro in Castile. El Cid was not just missed by his warriors but even his horse Bavieca who, according to legend, never let anyone else ride him after his master's demise. Following his death, El Cid's legend only grew, particularly fuelled by the 1142 CE epic poem Cantar del Mio Cid ('Song of the Cid').

 

 

 

HISTORICAL LEGENDS

Saint George is based on a soldier in the Roman army who was martyred in 303 CE (Patron saint of knights)
Sir Galahad - Knight of the Round Table 12-15th century CE literature (King Arthur legend)
Siegfried - Brunhilde & King Gunter (Kriemhild, Burgundian [Nibelung] princess) c. 1200 CE


HISTORICAL KNIGHTS

Robert Guiscard - 'The Crafty' (c. 1015-1085 CE) [Norman]
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar - 'El Cid' (1043-1099 CE)
Godfrey of Bouillon - The Swan Knight (circa 1060-1100)
Sir William Marshal - 'The Greatest Knight that Ever Lived' (c. 1146-1219 CE)
Richard I - 'The Lionhearted' (1157-1199 CE) King of England from 1189 to 1199 CE
Sir William Wallace - Braveheart (c. 1270-1305 CE)
Sir James Douglas - 'The Black Douglas' (c. 1286-1330 CE)
Bertrand du Guesclin - 'The Eagle of Brittany' (c. 1320-1380 CE)
Edward of Woodstock - 'The Black Prince' [of Wales] (1330-1376 CE) 
Sir Henry Percy - 'Hotspur' (1364-1403 CE) 



 

 

 

 

 

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  EL CID - RODRIGO DIAZ DE VIVAR - NOBLE SPANNISH KNIGHT

 

Please use our GOLDEN COMPASS to navigate this story, or revisit our BEGINNING OF THE QUEST 

 

 

 

 

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