Cantar de Mio Cid: A Brief Socio-historical Introduction
The Cantar de Mio Cid is considered one of the first texts written in the Spanish language. Written anonymously in 1207 it captures the story of the Reconquista through the form of an epic poem. In order to understand the socio-historical context in which this was written one must begin with the fall of the Roman Empire.
Between the 3rd and 5th centuries what was once the great Roman Empire began to crumble and disintegrate, leaving behind large populations of people without any form of authority. The next set of authority to take over the area was the Visigoths, who came in towards the beginning of the 5th century. The reign of the Visigoths lasted for nearly three centuries. After the death of the king Wittiza around 711 there was an internal struggle within the kingdom. The usurper of the throne, Roderic, was believed to have murdered Wittiza in order to take the throne. Supporters of Wittiza turned to the nearby Umayyad Muslims in Africa to come help restore power to the rightful heir to the throne.
Led by the Berber commander Tariq ibn-Ziyad, a small Muslim army crossed the straight of Gibraltar in 711 and desiscively defeated King Roderic. In only seven years the small Muslim army was able to bring most of the Visigothic Kingdom under their control. The remaining Visigoths who did not want to live under Muslim authority were pushed up into the northern most part of Spain. The Islamic prescence in the Iberian Peninsula was long, lasting eight centuries from 711 through 1492.
In 756 there was a change of power in the Islamic empire. The majority of the Umayyad family was assassinated and the Abbasid family promptly took over. The surviving Umayyad prince, Abd al-Rahman, fled to the farthest corner of the Islamic empire, the Iberian peninsula. Once there he took control, declaring the Iberian Peninsula, known as Al-Andaluz, as a separate Caliphate, effectively breaking away from the Islamic empire now ruled by the Abbasids.
The Caliphate of Cordoba lasted from the 8th century through the 11th when it was finally abolished in 1031. Al-Andaluz was broken up in to mini-states and principalities known as taifas. At this point the Christians living in the north of Spain began to spread south again, reclaiming territory that had been occupied by the Muslims. In 1086 the Almoravid ruler of Morocco crossed the straight of Gibraltar to help fight back against Alfonso VI, King of Castile and Leon. By 1094 the Muslim taifas had be reunited under the rule of the Almoravids. In 1195 the Almoravids were succeeded by the Almohads, another Bereber dynasty. In 1212 the luck of the Muslims began to change with the victory of Alfonso VIII at the Battle Las Navas de Tolosa.
The Almohads led for another decade before the death of their ruler. This death led to civil wars amongst the Muslims and the re-establishment of the taifas. The Christians from the north were able to quickly conquer most of the taifas, with the exception of Granada. Finally in 1492 Granada fell and the Christians controlled the entirety of the Iberian Peninsula.
Written in 1207, the Cantar de Mio Cid was written during the time in the Reconquista when Muslim power was beginning to weaken and the luck of the Christians was just starting to change. This epic poem tells the story of El Cid, broken up into three main parts, the Cantar del destierro, the Cantar de las bodas de las fijas de Cid, and the Cantar de la afrenta de corpes. The Cantar del destierro sets the scene for the story, telling of the exile of el Cid from Castille and of his decision to fight in the Reconquista against the Moors in order to regain his honor. The Cantar de las bodas de las fijas de Cid, the section which this phonetic analysis will focus on, recounts how el Cid defended the city of Valencia restoring his honor. After his victory he decides to marry his daughters to the infantes of Carrión. The final section, the Cantar de la afrenta de corpes, tells of the abuse of el Cid’s daughters by the infantes of Carrión and the subsequent duel between the infantes and el Cid’s men. El Cid’s men win the duel, restoring el Cid’s honor, and his daughters are allowed to remarry to the infantes of Navarre and Aragon.
Why I Chose This Text
I chose to work with Cantar de Mio Cid because I find the history of Islam in Spain to be fascinating, and this piece of work was written during the Reconquista when the Moors still occupied southern Spain. I am currently taking an art history class that focuses on the arts of Islam, including some found in Spain. Another reason why I chose this particular piece of work is because I think it would be interesting to take a look at one of the languages spoken in Islamic Spain. The final reason why I chose this particular piece is because I took a course while abroad in Spain focusing on the history of Islam in Spain, and I feel that this may make this particular piece easier for me to work with.