Slaying People instead of Monsters (or What makes the Cid special)
"El Cid" is very different from all the other epics in the sense that there are no fantastic, mythical creatures in it. There are no dragons nor cyclopes nor sea monsters. Yet, the Cid has something to fight: Muslims. The epic is very realistic in terms of the opponents the hero has to fight.
The Cid defines his heroism by fighting battles against the Moors and by killing some of them but he also shows mercy and just takes all their money and takes over the cities they occupy. Therefore, the Cid is a new kind of hero. He does not have to slay monsters, and yet, he is still noble, strong and heroic. But being a hero here means, possessing the characteristics of chivalry, being merciful towards the enemy, being religious, and being loyal to your king. In "Das Nibelungenlied" these chivalrous characteristics are also evident (ere, triuwe, etc.) but there is still this animalistic side of the hero that just fights the mystic creatures.
Nevertheless, the Cid also defines his masculinity by violence. In that he is not different from the other epic heroes such as Odysseus who hangs a bunch of women from a tree and deprives a cyclops of his eye sight or Siegfried who slays a dragon and is bathing in its blood. Apparently, violence is a vital part of being a hero, if not the most unifying characteristic of an epic hero. The degrees to which the hero is violent certainly varies and also the ways in which he is violent but never the fact that he has to commit an act of violence to be heroic. No one gains fame by just being cunning and clever; the hero also has to be strong. And strength in the epic is proven by violent behavior and by killing/ slaying things.
The Cid defines his heroism by fighting battles against the Moors and by killing some of them but he also shows mercy and just takes all their money and takes over the cities they occupy. Therefore, the Cid is a new kind of hero. He does not have to slay monsters, and yet, he is still noble, strong and heroic. But being a hero here means, possessing the characteristics of chivalry, being merciful towards the enemy, being religious, and being loyal to your king. In "Das Nibelungenlied" these chivalrous characteristics are also evident (ere, triuwe, etc.) but there is still this animalistic side of the hero that just fights the mystic creatures.
Nevertheless, the Cid also defines his masculinity by violence. In that he is not different from the other epic heroes such as Odysseus who hangs a bunch of women from a tree and deprives a cyclops of his eye sight or Siegfried who slays a dragon and is bathing in its blood. Apparently, violence is a vital part of being a hero, if not the most unifying characteristic of an epic hero. The degrees to which the hero is violent certainly varies and also the ways in which he is violent but never the fact that he has to commit an act of violence to be heroic. No one gains fame by just being cunning and clever; the hero also has to be strong. And strength in the epic is proven by violent behavior and by killing/ slaying things.
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| The Cid fighting with a Moor |
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