Essay/Term paper: The poem of the cid- a reflection on ruy diaz de valencia 2

Essay, term paper, research paper:  English Term Papers

El Cid is an epic tale that twlls of legendary warriors and kings. It was written about the
year eleven hundred and has unkown author. The story centers on Ruy Diaz, more
commonly known as El Cid. El Cid losses his king's respect and admiration. Exactly why El
Cid lost the king's favor is nor known, but his heroic struggle to regain it is well documented.
He overcame the great odd placed against him and became an excellent vassa. El Cid is a
perfect medieval vassal because he follows his faith, is a great leader, and shows homage to his
king.
El Cid devotes his entire life to following what he feels are God's wishes. The most
notable occasion where El Cid shows his devotion to his faith is in teh first verse. As El Cid is
being exiled he said, "I give Thee thanks, O God, our father in heaven. My wicked enemies
have contrived this plot against me." This shows even in his lowest moment he still thanks Gos
for all he has given him. El Cid shows the deepness of his faith before going into battle He
always asks God to be with him, and after he and his men win each battle El Cid always thanks
God for letting it happen. He believes God let it happen, he never thought it is him.
Ruy Diaz is an extrodinary leader. He is always fearless before going into battl; he
does not even consider that he might not be victorious. When El Cid is badly outnumbered his
tactics and battle plans always cause him to come out hte clear victor. An exampe where El Cid
shows his supperior tactics is in page 53, verse 27. El Cid was encamped in front of Alcocer for
fifteen weeks. El Cid realizes that Alcocer was not going to give up without a fight so he
devises a plan. He tricks the people of Alcocer to come out. El Cid began picking up parts of
his camp and leaving as if he was out of reserves. The people of Alcocder fall for this trick, and
they think El Cid would lose badly in battle. The people of Alcocer fall for this trick and leave
thinking about all the treasures that they were going to win. However, once the people of
Alcocer are a good distance from the city El Cid attacks easily defeating them. This is only one
example where El Cid shows his superior leadership ability.
On major aspect of being a leader, that is usually overlooked, is having a great love for
one's folloers. El Cid always is looking out for his men's best interests. He is not a dictator to
his men; El Cid always shoid they did not have to fallow him into battle. El Cid only wants to
achive glory with men that were willing to fight and die for him. After the battles he gave a
large amount of the treasure to his soldiers. By giving such a large amount of treasure to his men
it kept his men happy and made them more likely to fallow him.
In the feudal system it is the vassal's duty to show homage to the athority above them.
El Cid doues this throughout teh book. While El Cid was exiled he no longer was obligated to
show erspect to Alfonso, his king, but he continued toregard it as his duty. Whenever El Cid
won a battle or receives a signifiicant amount of riches he sent mre than the king's share to him.
When El Cid returns to Burgos he shows his admiration to the king by kneeling before him and
picking grass with his teeth. This act shows king Alfonso that El Cid is below him, and it shows
how much respect El Cid has for Alfonso.
The story of El Cid is an inspirational tale of a person overcoming the odds placed
against him. Most people would not have acted as honorably as El Cid when done such an
injustice. However, El Cid overcame these obstacles by having faith, being a leader, and
showing respect to his king. For these reasons El Cid is a classic novel not just in Spain but
throughout the entire world.