Cover art for El Cid
Published
Sceptre, November 2024
ISBN
9781399709637
Format
Softcover, 256 pages
Dimensions
23.4cm × 15.3cm

El Cid The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary

Not yet released
Due November 12, 2024.
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'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?

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