The Poem Of The Cid- A Reflection

On Ruy Diaz De Valencia 2 Essay, Research Paper

El Cid is an epic tale that twlls of legendary warriors and kings. It was written about the

year eleven hundred and has unkown author. The story centers on Ruy Diaz, more

commonly known as El Cid. El Cid losses his king’s respect and admiration. Exactly why El

Cid lost the king’s favor is nor known, but his heroic struggle to regain it is well documented.

He overcame the great odd placed against him and became an excellent vassa. El Cid is a

perfect medieval vassal because he follows his faith, is a great leader, and shows homage to his

king.

El Cid devotes his entire life to following what he feels are God’s wishes. The most

notable occasion where El Cid shows his devotion to his faith is in teh first verse. As El Cid is

being exiled he said, “I give Thee thanks, O God, our father in heaven. My wicked enemies

have contrived this plot against me.” This shows even in his lowest moment he still thanks Gos

for all he has given him. El Cid shows the deepness of his faith before going into battle He

always asks God to be with him, and after he and his men win each battle El Cid always thanks

God for letting it happen. He believes God let it happen, he never thought it is him.

Ruy Diaz is an extrodinary leader. He is always fearless before going into battl; he

does not even consider that he might not be victorious. When El Cid is badly outnumbered his

tactics and battle plans always cause him to come out hte clear victor. An exampe where El Cid

shows his supperior tactics is in page 53, verse 27. El Cid was encamped in front of Alcocer for

fifteen weeks. El Cid realizes that Alcocer was not going to give up without a fight so he

devises a plan. He tricks the people of Alcocer to come out. El Cid began picking up parts of

his camp and leaving as if he was out of reserves. The people of Alcocder fall for this trick, and

they think El Cid would lose badly in battle. The people of Alcocer fall for this trick and leave

thinking about all the treasures that they were going to win. However, once the people of

Alcocer are a good distance from the city El Cid attacks easily defeating them. This is only one

example where El Cid shows his superior leadership ability.

On major aspect of being a leader, that is usually overlooked, is having a great love for

one’s folloers. El Cid always is looking out for his men’s best interests. He is not a dictator to

his men; El Cid always shoid they did not have to fallow him into battle. El Cid only wants to

achive glory with men that were willing to fight and die for him. After the battles he gave a

large amount of the treasure to his soldiers. By giving such a large amount of treasure to his men

it kept his men happy and made them more likely to fallow him.

In the feudal system it is the vassal’s duty to show homage to the athority above them.

El Cid doues this throughout teh book. While El Cid was exiled he no longer was obligated to

show erspect to Alfonso, his king, but he continued toregard it as his duty. Whenever El Cid

won a battle or receives a signifiicant amount of riches he sent mre than the king’s share to him.

When El Cid returns to Burgos he shows his admiration to the king by kneeling before him and

picking grass with his teeth. This act shows king Alfonso that El Cid is below him, and it shows

how much respect El Cid has for Alfonso.

The story of El Cid is an inspirational tale of a person overcoming the odds placed

against him. Most people would not have acted as honorably as El Cid when done such an

injustice. However, El Cid overcame these obstacles by having faith, being a leader, and

showing respect to his king. For these reasons El Cid is a classic novel not just in Spain but

throughout the entire world.