The Poem of the Cid

Students of Spanish literature have long been familiar with this eight-hundred-year-old epic detailing the legendary exploits of the soldier-adventurer Ruy Díaz of Bivar, El Cid, and of his part in the long struggle between Christianity and Islam. The epic poem recounts the adventures of the Cid; of his peerless steed, Babieca, and of his two famous swords, Colada and Tizón; of his wife, Do?a Ximena, and his two daughters, Do?a Elvira and Do?a Sol, who found sanctuary with Abbot Don Sancho in the monastery of San Pedro de Carde?a during the Cid's exile; and of the despicable and black-hearted princes of Carrión, Diego and Fernando González.