El Cid Epic

1. PART A (The Movie)
The hero El Cid’s character through the film
PART B (The Poem)
Women characters in the poem
PART C (The Song)

2. El Cid is a brave warrior but not
warlike (aggressive). He is
discerned for his political
acuteness and shows generosity
to the defeated rival. This way he
wins friendships and alliances.
PART A (The Movie)

3. El Cid shows courage and self-confidence. He
doesn’t hesitate to take responsibility for the take
over of a whole city.

4. El Cid controls his feelings and
forgives (offers life) even to those
who offended, betrayed him or
pursued his death.

5. El Cid is Courageous. He
follows his principle. He
defends the truth and
fairness, even towards the
king.

6. Disobedience to the king is not
triggered by personal ambition.
He doesn’t seek the take over of
power when he is offered the
kingdom of Valencia and
remains faithful to the
institution of the king of Spain.

7. The women in the epic of El Cid, do not
have a leading role. Although their
presence runs throughout the whole
play, and it is decisive for the evolution of
the plot. These women are Dona Jimena,
the wife of El Cid and his 2 daughters
Elvira and Sol.
PART B
WOMEN CHARACTERS IN THE POEM

8. RELATIONSHIPELCID-JIMENA
Dona Jimena feels love and admiration for
her husband. She is completely loyal and
dedicated to him. He is her lover and her
‘’master’’. She is supportive to his decisions
and his adventures. She does not complain
for staying all by herself, for staying in with
her children. She feels agony for his luck
and prays for his salvation.
A)

9. ‘’Dona Jimena (El Cid’s
wife) with their two
daughters and their
nannies comes to say
goodbye and bends
with tears to kiss her
husband’s hands.’’
(59-60)

10. Also El Cid treats his wife with respect. He
feels love and comfort for her and his
daughters. He takes care of them and feels
pain about their separation, because when
he is exiled, they stay behind in a
monastery by order of the king Alfonso.
Their separation is part of his punishment
and also a way of pressure.
B)

11. ‘’El Sint with tears hugs his daughters’’
(61)
‘’He expresses his love to
his wife’’
(62)
‘’He prays to god to meet again’’
(63)

12. And when he conquers Valencia and attempts
reconciliation with the king, the first thing that he
asks for the king is to allow his loved ones to come
close to him.
Indeed their release, will be the first step for the
reconciliation of the 2 men.
C)

13. ‘’El Cid welcomes his family. Dona Jimena kneels
in front of him’’
46-347)
‘’El Cid hugs his wife and daughters and his
joy is transferred to his soldiers’’
348)
‘’He welcomes his wife and daughters to
Valencia, which he conquered for their sake’’
49)
50 ‘’He leads them to the highest tower’’

14. MARRIAGE
The potential grooms, Diego and
Ferrando neither love, nor respect El
Cid’s daughters. They underestimate
them because they are Princes who
belong to the upper class and El Cid
belongs to the inferior
aristocracy. For
them, marriage is a way to become
rich, as they will be given a large
dowry by
El Cid.
A)

15. ‘’Princes Minaya and Fermuez
discuss to ask El Cid's daughters
for marriage’’
07)
8) ‘’They announce it to the King’’

16. Marriage is an important event for a
woman's life. However, the two
daughters don't get to decide if they
want to get married, nor do their future
husbands. These decisions are made by
King Alfonso and their father gives
his consent.
B)

17. ‘’The king suggests to Sint the two princes as bridegrooms’’
451)
‘’Sint replies that he (the king) should decide’’
453)
456) ‘’The king announces the wedding’’

18. THE ABUSE OF WOMEN
The two princes are proven to be
cowards and are mocked by the
companions of El Cid. They feel
humiliated and ask to return to their
homeland with their wives. On their
way, though, they treat them with
disrespect and cruelty. They hit them
without mercy and they abandon them
half-naked and blood-covered, to be
eaten by vultures.

19. ‘’The 2 princes announce to their
wives (El Cid's daughters) that they
will abandon them in the mountains
for revenge’’
(588-
589)

20. ‘’One of the wives ask them to be
killed’’
591)
‘’The Princes hit them with
wands’’
(593)
‘’They assume that the
women are dead and they
leave’’
597)

21. THE REVENGE
The women’s abuse is considered the
biggest indignity for them, their father,
his knights and the king who had
arranged their marriage. El Cid seeks
satisfaction and starts the revenge of the
case from the ‘’Gathering of the
Aristocrats’’ and the duels that will end
with the defeat and humiliation of the
two princes by El Cid’s knights.

22. ‘’Two knights with ambassadors,
ask from El Cid to marry his two
daughters’’
727)
‘’El Cid requests the King's
approval in order to arrange this
marriage’’
28-729)
‘’The King
approves’’
730)

23. PART C (THE SONG)
Erotokritos is romance in verse
written by Vincenzo Cornaro in
early 17th century in Crete and
remains very popular to this day. It
projects the basic ideals of the time
bravery, beauty and wisdom.

24. We adjusted in the musical setting
of Erotokritos three stanzas of the
(epic) poem of the El Cid.

25. ‘’El Cid hugs and say goodbye to his young
daughters and his wife’’
1)
‘’Dinner was set up in the city to
say goodbye to El Cid’’
64)
‘’On the bridge outside the city several
knights, who left their home and property,
are waitinh El Cid to follow him’’
65)