Cantar de mio Cid • Poem of my Cid
El Cantar de Mio Cid (or El Poema de Mio Cid , literally The Song of My Lord), also known in English as The Lay of the Cid and The Poem of the Cid is the oldest preserved Spanish epic poem ( epopeya ). [ 1 ] The Spanish medievalist Ramon Menendez Pidal included the "Cantar de Mio Cid" in the popular tradition he termed the mester de juglaria . Mester de juglaria refers to the medieval tradition according to which popular poems were passed down from generation to generation, being changed in the process. These poems were meant to be performed in public by minstrels (or juglares), who each performed the traditional composition differently according to the performance context—sometimes adding their own twists to the epic poems they told, or abbreviating it according to the situation. On the other hand, some critics (known as individualists) believe "El Cantar del Mio Cid" was composed by one Per Abbad (in English, Abbot Peter ) who signed the only existing manuscript copy, and as such is an example of the learned poetry that was cultivated in the monasteries and other centers of erudition. Per Abbad puts the date 1207 after his name, but the existing copy forms part of a 14th century codex in the Biblioteca Nacional de Espana (National Library) in Madrid , Spain. It is, however, incomplete, missing the first page and two others in the middle, and is written in medieval Spanish , the ancestor of the modern language.
The protagonist of the poem is the historical Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (c. 1045-1099), also known as Cid (a dialectal form of the Arabic word sayyid, 'lord' or 'master') and Campeador ('Battler' or 'Victor'). The poem begins with the departure of Rodrigo from his home in Vivar, the first of two exiles of Rodrigo decreed by Alfonso VI, king of Castile and Leon (1065-1109). In the poem this first exile (1081) and the second (1089) are conflated and lead to the Cid's military campaigns in the Spanish Levant, culminating in the Cid's conquest of the Moorish kingdom of Valencia (1094). Here Rodrigo will remain with his wife and children as an independent prince until the end of his life.
In the narration of these events the poem follows the historical later life of this extraordinarily successful warrior, the Campeador. But as the story draws to a satisfying resolution with the pardoning of the Cid by his king, another story emerges. The Cid now becomes a more passive protagonist as inexorable forces pit him in a mythological struggle against evil. In this story two well-born youths from Alfonso's court scheme to use their good name to garner marriage with the Cid's daughters. The Cid's success in warfare has made him a rich man and these young men, infantes ('heirs') of Carrion, expect that their marriages will be a quick and easy route to untold wealth. Although the Cid's natural instincts and good sense tell him not to accept these marriages for his daughters, his loyalty to Alfonso leads him straight into the snares of these evildoers.
The Cid and his family pay a heavy price for his loyalty to the king. Once the infantes are welcomed into the Cid's court in Valencia, he no longer seems able to control events, his authority begins to erode, and eventually he allows himself to be put into a position from which he can no longer ensure the well being of his daughters. Finally it is King Alfonso who acts on the Cid's behalf in calling his kingdom to court for a trial. In the course of this judicial process the Cid ably restores his lost honor and his daughters marry again, this time to men of the highest nobility, the heirs to the crowns of Navarre and Aragon.
In the poem the Cid proves himself an unyielding adversary in battle and in court. Rodrigo Diaz was certainly an exceptional warrior, winning battles in unprecedented fashion and subduing the mighty kingdom of Valencia. He was most certainly the envy of his peers and it seems that his king harbored resentment towards him as well. Sources nearly contemporary with the Cid go to great lengths to emphasize his unflagging loyalty to Alfonso, but only in the poem does this loyalty have near-tragic consequences. Reminiscent of ancient epic heroes, this victor has a flaw, and in spite of his battlefield victories and the wealth they bring him, he fails to protect his family from the wickedness of the infantes. But in the overcoming of adversity lies the universality of the Cid's story , and the merit of the poetic tradition that has kept him alive for these one thousand years since his historical death.
Commentary:
Rodrigo or Ruy Diaz de Vivar, known as the Cid, from an Arabic word meaning 'lord,' or 'master,' is Spain's national hero. He has accordingly been seen as the embodiment of the ideals, naturally rather abstract, most valued by each succeeding generation. As a result, there has been a tendency to simplify his character. The epic Cantar de mio Cid , however, shows very little inclination to abstraction. Rather, it portrays a man of his time, admirable in what he does and says, a master of war, of unsurpassed bravery but even more remarkable for his intelligence and his astute judgment. But in making these comments, we inevitably fall into the habitual abstractions. Let us try to follow the story on its own terms, as it offers a direct experience of a world radically different from ours.
The poem begins as the Cid, exiled by the king, leaves his village of Vivar, near Burgos in Castile, on his way into Moorish territory. The first folio (the first two pages) of the only surviving manuscript of the poem is lost. An idea of its content can be inferred from several historical texts called chronicles, drawn from a lost version or versions of the poem. The first lines may have alluded to the motive for the Cid's exile (see below), and probably recounted the news of the king's proclamation, the hero's speech to his vassals inviting them to accompany him on his journey – necessarily a military campaign – and a favorable response by Alvar Fanez, his "diestro braco" or right-hand man.
The Moorish or Arabic-speaking presence in Spain was tremendously influential in the country's history, and is fundamental to the poem. The "moros" dominated Spain after their invasion from North Africa beginning in 711, but by the eleventh century the Christian kingdom of Leon, toward the northwest of the Peninsula, had become the greatest power, and was exacting yearly tribute from the Moorish kingdoms to the south and east, fragmented but prosperous compared to the north. The Cid of history (c. 1045-1099) was a native of Castile, a sometimes rebellious part of the kingdom of Leon. According to the poem, the Cid was sent by the king to collect tribute money from the Moorish king of Seville. Leonese nobles close to the king convinced him that the Cid had kept much of the money for himself. They are the "enemigos malos" of the poem, and their false accusation led to his exile.
In historical fact, while the Cid was indeed a great warrior hero, exiled not once but twice by king Alfonso VI, the plotting courtiers and the accusation are poetic inventions. To give some sense of the chronology, the first historical exile occurred in 1081; the hero's conquest of Valencia, retold later in the poem, was completed in 1094. After the Cid's death, his memory must have entered oral tradition, assumed poetic form, and evolved over the next century, to be written down in its present form by around 1207. This manuscript, a copy, dates from the following century. Perhaps other written versions, influenced by French or Latin texts, contributed to the poem's development, but much of the special character and interest of the work derives from its oral nature.
The departure scene that begins the manuscript is a moving passage and at the same time gives an incisive portrait of the Cid, who as an epic hero represents the values and traits most highly regarded by his society. In these few lines we see a man of deep human feeling, of measured speech, devout, admired and beloved by the people of Burgos, who accepts adversity with no hint of resentment against the king. His image will be amplified as the poem progresses, but not in the form of commentary, as has been done in the foregoing sentence. Rather, the poem presents or displays the hero's character, and relives each scene; the original audience, who were listeners rather than readers, would have experienced it (ideally) as if in the Cid's presence.
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/cid
