Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 3.djvu/853

 CID

769

CID

agraphy. Towards the close of his life Cicognara became an enthusiast for niello, and wrote a memoir which has since remained a classic ( Memorie spettanti ilia Btoria della calcografia, Prato, 1831, with atlas). rhe appearance of this treatise created such a demand for this kind of enamel that many spurious pieces svere manufactured and sold as part of the Count's collection, and Cicognara himself was, in consequence, iccused of counterfeiting. But modern critics have exonerated him. His last enthusiasm had for its abject rare engravings, with which his curio-hunting liad made him singularly familiar; he collected over 3000 belonging to the fifteenth and sixteenth cen- turies, and after his death they were catalogued by his nephew, Count Nanetti, and Ch. Albrizzi, under the title, "The First Century of Calcography" (Ven- ice 1837).

Diedo, Discorso funcbre (Venice, 1834); Zanettt, Cenni

Hograftii (Venice, 1834); Dtjtct and 1'iwi.owski, Manuel

ie Vamateur tTatampe* (Paris, 1888), I, Pt. II; Malamani,

/ cunti Lfopoldo Cicognara, tratte dai documerUi

iriginali (Venire, 188S, 2 vols.).

Louis GlLLET.

Cid, El (Rodrigo, or Rtty, Diaz, Count of Bivar), [he great popular hero of the chivalrous age of Spain, ?. at Burgos, c 1040; d. at Valencia, 1099. He was given the title of seiil or cid (lord, chief) by the Moors, md that of campeador (champion) by his admiring shadow over the history of this brave knight, to such m extent that his very existence has been questioned; here is. however, no reason to doubt his existence. We must, at tin' same time, regard him as a dual per- tonality, and distinguish between the historical Cid md the legendary Cid. History paints him as a free- jooter, an unprincipled adventurer, who battled with ■qua] vigour against Christians and Moors; who, to urther his own ends, would as soon destroy a Chris- tian church as a Moslem temple; who plundered and slew as much for his own gain as from any patriotic notives. It must be borne in mind, however, that he facts which discredit him have reached us through lostile Arab historians, and that to do him full justice ie should be judged according to the standard of his ■ountry in his day. Vastly different indeed is the 'id of romance, legend, and ballad, wherein he is jictured as the tender, loving husband and father; courageous soldier; the noble, generous sonqueror, unswervingly loyal to his country and his ring; the man wdiose name has been an ever-present nspiration to Spanish patriotism. But whatever nay have been the real adventures of El Cid Cam- oeador, his name has come down to us in modern imes in connexion with a long series of heroic achieve- ments in which he stands out as the central figure of die long struggle of Christian Spain against the Mos- em hosts.
 * ountrymon. Tradition ami legend have cast a deep

Ferdinand I, at his death (1065), had divided his loiiiiiiicms between his three sons, Sancho, Alfonso, itii 1 ' .an ia, and his two daughters, Elvira and Urraca, 3xacting from them a promise that they would respect his wishes and abide by the division. Hut Saneho, to whose lot had fallen the Kingdom of Castile, being the eldest, thought that he should have inherited the oinions of his father, and he resolved to re- pudiate his promise, claiming that it had been forced from him. Stronger, braver, and craftier than his brothers, he cherished the idea of despoiling them and his sisters of their possessions, and becoming the Bole successor of his father. At this time, Rodrigo Diaz was quite young, and Sancho, out of gratitude for the aervicesof Hodrigo's father to the State, had retained his son at the court and looked after his education, especially his military training. Rodrigo later ren- dered such distinguished sen ices in the war in which Sancho became mvolved with Aragon that he was made aljercz (standard-bearer or commander-in-chief) HI.— 49

of the king's troops. After ending this war with Ara- gon, Sancho turned his attention to his plan of de- spoiling his brothers and sisters (c. 1070). He suc- ceei le< 1 in adding to his dominions Leon and Galicia, the portions of his brothers, but not until in each instance Rodrigo had come to his rescue and turned apparent defeat into victory. The city of Toro, the domain of his sister Elvira, was taken without trouble. He then laid siege to the city of Zamora, the portion of his sister Urraca, and there met his fate, being treach- erously slain before the gates of the city by one of Urraca's soldiers (1072). Learning this, Alfonso, who had been exiled to the Moorish city of Toledo, set out in haste to claim the dominions of his brother, and succeeded him on the throne as Alfonso VI, though not without opposition, from his brother Garcia, in Galicia, and especially in Castile, the inhabitants of which objected to a Leonese king. The story is told, though not on the best historical authority, that the Castilians refused Alfonso their allegiance until he had sworn that he had had no hand in his brother's death, and that, as none of the nobles was willing to administer the oath for fear of offending him, Rod- rigo did so at Santa Gadea before the assembled no- bility. If this be true, it would account in a great measure for the ill-will Alfonso bore Rodrigo, and for his subsequent treatment of him. He did not at first show his hatred, but tried to conciliate Rodrigo and the Castilians by bestowing upon him his niece Jimena in marriage (1074). It was not long, however, before he had an opportunity to satisfy his animosity. Rod- rigo having been sent by Alfonso to collect tribute from the King of Seville, Alfonso's vassal, he was accused, on his return, by his enemies of having retained a part of it. Whereupon, Alfonso, giving free rein to his hatred, banished him from his dominions (1076). Rodrigo then began his career as a soldier of fortune, which has furnished themes to Spanish poets of early and modern times, and which, idealized by tradition and legend, has made of him the champion of Chris- tian Spain against her Moorish invaders. During this period of his career, he offered his sendees and those of his followers first to one petty ruler and then another, and often fought on Ins own account, war- ring indifferently against Christians and Moors, al- ways with distinguished success, and incidentally rising to great power and influence. But in times of neces- sity his assistance was sought by Alfonso, and in the midst of his career of conquest he hastened to the latter's support when he was hard pressed by Yusuf, the founder of Morocco. Through some mistake or misunderstanding, however, he failed to join the king, who, listening to the complaints and accusations of the ( 'id's enemies, took from him all his possessions, imprisoned his wife and children, and again banished him from his dominions. Disgraced and plundered, the Cid resumed his military operations. Upon his return from one of his campaigns, hearing that the Moors had driven the Christians from Valencia and taken possession of the city, he determined to re- capture it from them and become lord of that capital. This he did (1094) after a terrible siege. He spent the remainder of his days there. His two daughters were married to the Infante of Navarre and the Count of Barcelona respectively. His remains were trans- ferred to the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeiia, near Burgos, where they now rest.

The exploits of El Cid form the subject of what is generally considered the oldest monument of Spanish literature. This is an epic poem of a little over 3700 lines as it has reached us (several hundred lines being missing), the author of which, as is not uncommon with works of those days, is unknown. The date of its composition has long been a disputed question. Many critics whose names must be mentioned with respect, among them Dozy and Ticknor, place it at the beginning of the thirteenth century ; but to-day the