El cantar de Mío Cid
He even affirms that there could be a second jugglar from San Esteban de Gormaz (both villages are in the province of Soria). Other studies consider that it could have been written by an Arabian working for the Cid, or by one of the monks of Cardeña (in Burgos), even by Per Abat himself. The truth is that we do not know who the author is, and we will probably never know it.
It has French influences, but it is of great relevance because of its clarity, its composition, the progression of the theme, and because of its originality in the main topic and the artistic way it is written.
The actual copy was made in 1207 by someone called Per Abbat. It was lost for centuries and it was not found until the end of 18th Century in the Monastery of the ‘Clarisas’ in Vivar del Cid (in Burgos). Nowadays, this manuscript is kept in the National Library, a primary institution to learn Spanish.
There are some pages missing: the first one and two more in its interior. In total it has 3.730 verses, which are irregular, although the most predominant are those of 14 syllables. Its narrative is of great strength, very realistic and spontaneous.
It consists of three parts:
- Cantar del Destierro, when the Cid is expelled from Burgos.
- Cantar de las Bodas, about his daughters’ wedding with Carrion Counts (from Palencia).
- Cantar de la afrenta Corpes, about the offence that the Carrion Counts made to Cid’s daughters.
It is of great importance to remark that the image of the Cid represented the idea of a hero that would remain in the Spanish literature for ever: a man who became a hero thanks to his integrity and morality, and not for being a hero with supernatural powers. The things that happen to him are real, although exaggerated. His behaviour is completely human and warm. This is another feature of this work: its popular feeling which shows the nature of Castille by that time.
To sum up, it can be said that the great value of the Spanish song of ‘Cantar de Mio Cid’ lies in the right decision of merging the main topic with the characters and the style, together with its natural essence.
