The Cantar de Mío Cid, or Poema de Mío Cid as it is
also known, serves as the only remaining literary
manifestation of an essentially complete epic poem
in Castilian. Like classical epic poems such as The
Odyssey or The Iliad, the Cantar de Mío Cid is a narrative poem that recounts the challenges, successes,
and failures of Rodrigo de Vivar—the epic hero. Rodrigo, also known as the Cid—meaning lord in Arabic—lived from 1043–99 and gained the epithet
campeador, or “great warrior,” for his bravery in establishing the border between Navarre and Castile
in the early 1060s. The epic story of Rodrigo was
immortalized by Hollywood in 1961 with El Cid,
starring Charlton Heston as Rodrigo and Sophia
Loren as his wife, Jimena. Unlike many cinematic
adaptations, El Cid substantially relies on the epic
poem for its plot, characters, and themes.
The poem itself consists of 3,730 poetic lines
and is divided in three parts or cantares. Rodrigo’s
epic struggle has two aspects: the Cid’s political
estrangement from King Alfonso; and the personal
crisis related to the dishonor of his daughters by
their husbands—the Infantes de Carrión. One of
the many artistic achievements of the Cantar de
Mío Cid is the manner in which the poem intertwines such different plot lines, creating a tapestry
in which Rodrigo reveals himself both as a brave
soldier and military strategist as well as a father
and husband. The first cantar centers on King Alfonso’s decision to give credence to those members
of the court who are jealous of Rodrigo and have
accused him, in his absence, of having stolen much
of the Moorish tribute that he was charged with
collecting. Accepting the king’s order for his exile
from Castile and León, Rodrigo visits his wife, Jimena, and his two young daughters, Elvira and Sol,
to say good-bye. Rodrigo cries openly (v. 277) and
appeals to God to allow him successfully to marry
his daughters. The remainder of the first cantar
centers on Rodrigo’s need to survive and provide
for his entourage of vassals. He achieves this by
conquering Moorish lands and finally capturing
the count of Barcelona, whom he frees after three
days of imprisonment.
In the second cantar, the Cid’s military victories
continue with the conquest of Mediterranean
lands, including the city of Valencia. Additionally,
Rodrigo gains considerable wealth through the defeat of the king of Seville and King Yucef of Morocco. In each case, he sends a portion of this new
wealth to Alfonso to whom he continues to remain
faithful even in exile. At Alfonso’s court, jealousy of
the Cid and his success grows to the point that the
noble but cowardly Infantes de Carrión offer to
marry the Cid’s daughters in order to enrich themselves. Unaware of their true motives, the king
agrees to the marriages and pardons the Cid. The
second cantar concludes with the marriage of
Elvira and Sol—the Cid’s daughters—in Valencia.
The final cantar brilliantly interweaves the Cid’s
heroism in battle with his love and concern for his
family. The Cid’s sons-in-law repeatedly reveal
their cowardice both in the Cid’s household in Valencia and in battle against King Búcar. Confronted
with the Cid’s growing wealth and power as well
as the mockery of their behavior, the Infantes decide to take revenge on the Cid through their marriages to Elvira and Sol. They request to take their
leave of Valencia in order to show Elvira and Sol
their homeland in Carrión. Upon arriving in Corpes, they spend the night and make love to their
wives. But the following morning, they instruct
their entourage to go ahead while they brutally
beat Elvira and Sol, leaving them for dead. The
Cid’s reaction to this dishonor is significant in that
he does not immediately take revenge. Rather, he
demands justice of King Alfonso, who calls all the
parties to court in Toledo. At court, the Cid requests the return of his prized swords—given as
gifts to the Infantes—as well as the dowry that he
had bestowed on them. In addition, he demands
an explanation from the Infantes as to why they
dishonored his daughters. When they boast of
their behavior, the Cid requests that his family’s
honor be restored through battle. At this moment,
two messengers arrive at court asking for the marriage of the Cid’s daughters to the princes of
Aragon and Navarre, of which they will be queens.
This proposal will bring much additional power,
wealth, and honor to the Cid, and King Alfonso accedes to the proposal. As scheduled, three weeks
later, the representatives of the Cid not surprisingly
defeat the Infantes de Carrión. The poem closes
with the remarriage of Elvira and Sol, a symbolic
act that genetically connects all future kings of
Spain to the Cid—the national epic hero.
This connection between the Cid and the kings
of Spain has contributed to the nationalist interpretation of the Cantar advocated by the great Hispanist Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968). In
His “traditionalist” conception of the origins of the
Cantar, Menéndez Pidal sought to free the poem
from any foreign influence—especially the French
epic tradition—and he asserted that the poem
emerged from a process of collective authorship
around 1140. This theory has been countered by
the British Hispanist Colin Smith, who has proposed an “individualistic” interpretation of the
poem’s origins. He has suggested that a man
named Per Abad wrote the poem around the year
1207—the date with which the poem closes. For
Menéndez Pidal, Abad is not the author but the
scribe, or copyist, and the date is not the date of the
poem’s original composition but rather of the creation of the sole existing manuscript.
Aside from its nationalist implications and the
competing theories of authorship, the Cantar de
Mío Cid is distinguished by its realism. In contrast
to the Chanson de Roland (SONG OF ROLAND) in
France, the Cantar de Mío Cid is “veristic” epic.
The Cid is not a superhuman figure but a man
who does heroic deeds as he loves and cares for his
family. He does not seek conflict with King Alfonso
or the Moors but harmony on both a political and
personal level. At the same time, the Cantar contains moments of humor and irony. Just as a nineyear-old girl can show bravery when the people of
Burgos hide in their homes, the Infantes can show
their cowardice when a lion escapes its cage in the
Cid’s household.
Bibliography
Chasca, Edmund de. El arte juglaresco en el Cantar de
Mío Cid. Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1967.
———. The Poem of the Cid. Boston: Twayne, 1976.
Montaner, Alberto, ed. Cantar de Mío Cid. Barcelona:
Crítica, 1993.
Menéndez Pidal, Ramón. Cantar de Mío Cid. 3 vols.
Madrid: Bailly-Baillière, 1908–1911.
———. En torno al Poema del Cid. Barcelona:
E.D.H.A.S.A., 1963.
Smith, Colin. The Making of the Cid. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1983.
John Parrack