Cantar de Mio Cid is an epic poem describing the life of knight Rodrigo Díaz. In the tale, el Cid is exiled from Castilla for allegedly stealing from the king, Alfonso VI. He then wins back his honor through a series of battles and in return, the king forces his sons to marry el Cid’s daughters. When el Cid’s army insults the sons, they retaliate by leaving and beating his daughters. The daughters then marry two other princes, which leads to Spain’s unification. The poem takes place during the 11th century.
Although the author of Cantar de Mio Cid is anonymous, there are rumors that this epic poem was actually authored by a man named Per Abbat because he signed the only existing copy at the time. Others are skeptical of Abbat’s involvement, which is why the author remains unknown still today.
There’s some discrepancy about when the piece was written, but most historians can agree it was around the year 1207 CE. The 13th century on the Iberian Peninsula consisted of change and tension. The Visigoths, a Catholic group of invaders, had peacefully ruled until the 8th century when the Muslim Moors invaded and started to take over. The Visigoths were able to push them back a little, but it was clear that the Moors would win the south and center. This led to the political and religious tensions felt during the 13th century. This was the time of the Reconquista in Spain, in which the now united northern kingdoms of León and Castilla began to take back land from Moorish rule, including Castilla, León, Galicia, Aragón, Navarra, and Cataluña by the time this poem was written. This state of change and tension made it the perfect time for a story about unification to be written.
During the late 12th and early 13th centuries, there were a number of monarchs in Spain, all reigning based on region. There was a king of Castilla, a king of Aragón, a king of León, etc. until the unification of Isabella and Ferdinand. Feudal society was very much the reigning way of life, especially among the Christians whose main source of commerce was agriculture. There was a strong military presence due to the Reconquista, which made trade important to merchants between cities. Especially due to the Moorish influence in the south, the arts, science, and education flourished. The first Spanish universities emerged in Palencia and Salamanca and Spanish writing grew prevalent, probably due to the influence of Cantar de Mio Cid.
Spanish during this time was what we refer to today as Old Spanish. But during this time period, the language was changing rapidly. The Iberian Peninsula had been subject to the influence of the Visigoths and later on, the Moors. The Moors injected strong Arabic influence into Spanish that still exists today. Because of the Reconquista, trade was at an all time high, and that mixed with the introduction of universities brought much international influence into Spanish, including from Greek, English, and other romance languages. Some dialects of Spanish became stronger, like Basque, but the standard dialect borrowed heavily from Spain’s neighbors and friends.