Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, El Cid Campeador, is one of the great figures in the history of Spain. In this documentary video in Spanish we tell you the complete biography of El Cid, so that you can learn in depth the story of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar apart from the legend spread by the 'Cantar de mio Cid'. #biography #cid #history This video is likely to cause some controversy. And the fact is that, when talking about Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, it is not always easy to separate the historical figure from the myth. The oldest biography of El Cid Campeador is the 'Historia Roderici'. Roderici means "Rodrigo" in Latin and the work was written between the years 1180 and 1190, when the Castilian warrior had been dead for about eighty years. But, as many of you know, the legend of this military leader was popularised above all through minstrels and a literary work that incorporates many fictional episodes: the 'Cantar de mio Cid', composed around the year 1200, about a hundred years after his death. So the Cid universe that has come down to us today is the result of a mixture of reality and myth. Thus, for example, there is no historical evidence that the Cid had two swords called Tizona and Colada or a horse that responded to the name of Babieca. And, although it is true that he had two daughters, they were not called Doña Sol or Doña Elvira. Before talking to you about the place and time in which Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar was born – that is, the Iberian Peninsula in the 11th century – we must go back to the year 711, which was when the Muslims crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to begin the conquest of what we now call Spain and Portugal. In the summer of that same year, in the battle of Guadalete, fought near that river in the present-day province of Cádiz, the Visigoth king Don Rodrigo was defeated by the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate, commanded by Tariq ibn Ziyad. The Mohammedan domination had begun to decline in an evident way centuries before the conquests of the Catholic Monarchs, after the so-called 'fitna' of al-Andalus, a period of civil war within the Umayyad dynasty that took place in this territory in the 11th century, between the years 1009 and 1031, and which concluded with the dissolution of the Caliphate of Córdoba, which was divided into numerous kingdoms called taifas. This fragmentation of al-Andalus, which meant a growing weakness, was joined by the rise of great Christian lords in the north, among whom we find, in the middle of this 11th century, the powerful Fernando I, count of Castile and king of León, known as the Great. In this historical context of permanent war, our protagonist was born: Rodrigo Díaz or Rui Díaz. By the way, the exact date of his birth is unknown: it was between 1040 and 1050. Most sources place it in 1043; others, however, between the years 1048 and 1050, given that, as these experts point out, in the 'Carmen Campidoctoris', also called 'Latin Poem of the Cid', which celebrates the exploits of the Castilian warrior and was probably written by a contemporary of his, it is stated that Rodrigo was an "adolescent" when in the year 1067 he participated in his first single combat. And where was the Cid born? Yes, you're probably thinking: "I know that one: in Vivar." There is no documentary evidence that this was the case, but as epic sources always speak of Rodrigo Díaz as "the one from Vivar", it is quite likely that his mother did indeed give birth to him in this small town located a few kilometers from Burgos. Thank you for visiting our channel. We are Raquel de la Morena and Pedro Estrada, journalists and writers. In our videos we will tell you stories aimed especially at curious minds. Biographies, legends, mysteries, historical and literary curiosities... If you want to hear and see them, you are welcome! As writers, we are authors of historical romance novels ('El corazón de la banshee' and '¿Quién diablos eres?', a work that won the 5th Titania Prize), young adult books (such as the mirror novel 'La maldición de Trefoil House') and also children's and young adult books (such as the collection 'Vinlandia', also published in France by the publishing house Hachette). Get our latest books: 'Who the hell are you?': https://amz.run/5Bh9 'The Heart of the Banshee': https://amz.run/5Bh6 'The Curse of Trefoil House': https://amz.run/5Bh4 'Zen': https://amzn.to/3fBzSYk 'Vinlandia' Collection: https://amz.run/5CTK https://amz.run/5CTL https://amz.run/5CTN Follow me on social media: Instagram ????: / raqueldlmorena Twitter: / raqueldlmorena Facebook: / raquel-de-la-morena-423244607874154 Goodreads: / 5398610.raquel_de_la_morena Web: http://www.raqueldelamorena.com ----------- Script: Raquel de la Morena and Pedro Estrada Editing, audio and video: Pedro Estrada Music: 'Yonder Hill and Dale', Aaron Kenny