What do you think?
Rate this book
El Cid: The Making of a Legend
‘And so the Cid rode out of the gates of history – and into legend.’
Charlton Heston’s epic film of 1961 captured some of the magic and romance of eleventh century Spain and added immeasurably to the legend. The bone-crunching jousts for the city of Calahorra; the blighted love for Jimena; the dead Cid still riding out against his enemies, the Moors of Africa – it all captivated a generation.
But how much of it was true? Rodrigo Diaz from Bivar in Castile never lost a battle in the dozens that he fought. Some men branded him a traitor and a mercenary because he fought for Christian and Moslem alike, a self-serving warlord who fought for pay. Others saw him as a Christian knight, a crusader bent on winning Spain back from Islam.
Dozens of legends have grown up around the man and later generations have hi-jacked him for their own purposes. He became a symbol of nationalism to General Franco’s Fascists during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, and there are statues to him as far away as New York. He was a king’s champion and lived at a time when men’s lives were nasty, brutish and short. ‘But no one ever,’ as Heston’s film’s publicity said, ‘was quite like him.’
In this gripping narrative, historian and crime writer M.J. Trow goes beyond the legends to the complex and fascinating realpolitik of the eleventh century world, as vibrant as our own is today.
Charlton Heston’s epic film of 1961 captured some of the magic and romance of eleventh century Spain and added immeasurably to the legend. The bone-crunching jousts for the city of Calahorra; the blighted love for Jimena; the dead Cid still riding out against his enemies, the Moors of Africa – it all captivated a generation.
But how much of it was true? Rodrigo Diaz from Bivar in Castile never lost a battle in the dozens that he fought. Some men branded him a traitor and a mercenary because he fought for Christian and Moslem alike, a self-serving warlord who fought for pay. Others saw him as a Christian knight, a crusader bent on winning Spain back from Islam.
Dozens of legends have grown up around the man and later generations have hi-jacked him for their own purposes. He became a symbol of nationalism to General Franco’s Fascists during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, and there are statues to him as far away as New York. He was a king’s champion and lived at a time when men’s lives were nasty, brutish and short. ‘But no one ever,’ as Heston’s film’s publicity said, ‘was quite like him.’
In this gripping narrative, historian and crime writer M.J. Trow goes beyond the legends to the complex and fascinating realpolitik of the eleventh century world, as vibrant as our own is today.
392 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 15, 2007
53 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
M.J. Trow
149 books119 followersMeirion James Trow is a full-time teacher of history who has been doubling as a crime writer for seventeen years. Originally from Ferndale, Rhondda in South Wales he now lives on the Isle of Wight. His interests include collecting militaria, film, the supernatural and true crime.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 22, 2017
In my humble opinion the book was excellent. Yes I know there is little written record left of El Cid. Yes most of the El Cid legend is oral history that at a later date (sometimes centuries) was written down. It can be difficult to find the real man behind the legend, but I think the author did a good job.
May 6, 2010
El Cid has always interested me, and I found Trow's book very enlightening as to the time period. Because so little is known about Rodrigo of Vivar, the book could get a little full of "He must have," "It must have," "Perhaps," and "Maybe"'s, which makes the reader doubt the reliability of the writing. However, Trow is quite accurate as far as historians' knowledge of the subject and the time goes and "El Cid: The Making of a Legend" is an intriguing, light read.
August 21, 2024
Another overhyped national hero
The book is very informative but often rather overwhelming with its info dumps. The second half of the book seems mostly for scholars and got a bit too much for me..
Unlike the through later nationalistic propaganda ridiculously overhyped Richard Lionheart who was turned from zero to hero, Rodrigo is a tragical self made man who almost conquered himself a kingdom. Nevertheless, it is astounding that he was made into a national hero as he not really achieved anything of importance in the long run. Given the fact that he neither left a dynasty nor his conquests could be held by the Christians he just was a skilled opportunistic but rather unscrupulous war leader who caused a lot of harm out of mostly egotistical reasons. Compared with for example the Hungarian national hero Emeshe Hunyadi and the results of his victories El Cids accomplishments pale into obscurity..
Some comments regarding statements in the book:
According to Wikipedia the statement about the two-handed swords is inaccurate.
It is strange that the author seems to accept the Arthus legend as a fact as there was even less proof found for this than for the existence of Charlemagne.
The claim about the Austrians expanding into nowadays Switzerland is WILDLY historically inaccurate as the Habsburg dynasty came from Switzerland and controlled most of the territory.
The book is very informative but often rather overwhelming with its info dumps. The second half of the book seems mostly for scholars and got a bit too much for me..
Unlike the through later nationalistic propaganda ridiculously overhyped Richard Lionheart who was turned from zero to hero, Rodrigo is a tragical self made man who almost conquered himself a kingdom. Nevertheless, it is astounding that he was made into a national hero as he not really achieved anything of importance in the long run. Given the fact that he neither left a dynasty nor his conquests could be held by the Christians he just was a skilled opportunistic but rather unscrupulous war leader who caused a lot of harm out of mostly egotistical reasons. Compared with for example the Hungarian national hero Emeshe Hunyadi and the results of his victories El Cids accomplishments pale into obscurity..
Some comments regarding statements in the book:
According to Wikipedia the statement about the two-handed swords is inaccurate.
It is strange that the author seems to accept the Arthus legend as a fact as there was even less proof found for this than for the existence of Charlemagne.
The claim about the Austrians expanding into nowadays Switzerland is WILDLY historically inaccurate as the Habsburg dynasty came from Switzerland and controlled most of the territory.
March 10, 2020
This is a good read. I enjoyed the clear picture of 11th century Spain and how it differed from naive depictions of feudalism and chivalry.
Suffers a bit from repetition and needs one more proofreading.
Suffers a bit from repetition and needs one more proofreading.
September 20, 2025
Trow rather adroitly seperates the man from the legend; disappointingly little is known for certain, but what is known paints the Cid as a ruthless and mercenary freebooter, albeit a very successful freebooter.
June 16, 2023
The making of a legend.
Difficult to read at first but eventually gave me a good insight into the never ending war between Christians and Moslems to this very day.
Difficult to read at first but eventually gave me a good insight into the never ending war between Christians and Moslems to this very day.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews