Was there a real El Cid?

Question

I have just watched the Movie of El Cid and wondered if such a person existed and if so what is his true history?. I also wonder if he was as pure as the Hollywood movie makes him out to be. I mean no offence to anyone when I ask this, but I am trying to differeniate Hollywood licence from reality.

Answer 1

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (Vivar c.1040 – 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-sīd 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."

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. 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".

Answer 2

Yes, Ruy Díaz de Vivar or El Cid actually existed and was a warrior that helped to get Spain back from the Arabs´domain in the Middle Ages. He was from Castilla, Spain and fought under King Alfonso of Spain´s commands.

Answer 3

Rodrego Diaz of Bevar Known as el Cid (the lord) named by a Moslum freind , he was a real figure from Spanish history and he was the warrior as portraid , a hero of his people yes he was that to but there the legand ends , his king Alfonso 6 banished him and he traveled with a band of Catillian knight fighting battles against the Moors , from there side of the story he was known for his extreem cruelty. his most famous achievment was the capture of Valencia in 1094 and he was then reconciled with his King Alfonso he was not killed in that battle but died in 1099 at the age of 56, his real achievment was his freindship with other races in a time when any other faith than your own was a enemy to be killed

Answer 4

I'm sorry I don't know the full in's and out's and I'm sure someone will give you a better reply, but yes there definitely was an EL CID. He was a true figure from history who helped to rid the Moors from Spain.

Answer 5

Yep...Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar...called El Cid Campeador. He was a Castilian nobleman, a military and political leader who conquered and governed the city of Valencia.

Answer 6

Wee feller. Worked with El Eddy.

Answer 7

Yes, his real name was Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, and there is a website about him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cid

Answer 8

you have the answer

now you might read:
Le Cid
de Pierre Corneille
one of the most well known french piece

Answer 9

Yes. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_cid

Answer 10

not in the book or movie you are referring to.