El Cid

An authoritative new history: The life and afterlife of a medieval hero and an exploration of heroism, myth-making and national identity through the centuries.

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'A fascinating study of historical mythmaking... Concise and absorbing'
Paul Freedman, author of Out of the East

'Lively, original and fascinating'
David Abulafia, Literary Review

Rodrigo Díaz lived a violently colourful life in eleventh-century Spain. An ambitious military leader, exile and brutal mercenary, he served Christian kings, fought against Christian princes in service of Muslim rulers, raided and killed Muslims and eventually struck out on his own, carving out an independent principality.

While Rodrigo the man 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.

What is it about this man that appeals to us? And why do we transform the most unsuitable people into heroes?

'Would the real El Cid please stand up? Nora Berend's fascinating new book covers nearly a thousand years of history and myth-making about this eleventh-century warrior . . . and presents all the delicious ironies of history'
Professor Marc David Baer, author of The Ottomans: Khans, Caliphs, and Caesars