El Cid

'A fascinating study of historical mythmaking... Concise and absorbing'

Paul Freedman, author of Out of the East

Rodrigo Diaz lived a violently colourful life in eleventh-century Spain. By turns an ambitious military leader, exile and brutal mercenary, he served Christian kings, fought against Christian princes, massacred Muslims and eventually struck out on his own, carving out an independent principality.

But the man Rodrigo is long dead. El Cid lives on: a superhero; a quasi-saint; the 'spirit of Spain', according to military dictator Franco; and a champion of medieval Spanish multiculturalism.

Nora Berend uncovers how el Cid has been transformed across the centuries, confronting the gulf between truth and legend and examining how a military adventurer became a hero to people on opposite ends of the political spectrum. The story of the Cid forces us to confront what makes us human. What is it about this man that appeals to us? And why do we transform the most unsuitable people into heroes?

A fascinating study of historical mythmaking. Nora Berend shows what can be pieced together about the eleventh-century mercenary known as El Cid, as well as the complicated legendary "afterlife" built on his career. How did this opportunistic knight, who served Christian kings, Arab rulers and most of all his own interests, became a symbol of Spanish unity and Castilian-dominated national identity? Concisely and absorbingly, Berend supplies the answers. -- Paul Freedman, author of Out of the East

Nora Berend is Professor of European History at the University of Cambridge. She has published extensively on medieval history and has written for History Today among others.

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