Mio Cid Poem: Medieval Epic Poetry in Castile

Medieval Epic Poetry: The Mester de Juglaria

The first appearance of epic poetry is due to epic poems in which the deeds of heroes are recounted. These poems were anonymous and intended to publicize events, meant to serve as an example, and encourage the people. Their intention was to entertain. The dissemination of these songs was oral and was in charge of the troubadours, who went through the villages reciting these poems accompanied by musical instruments. The office of the minstrels is known as Mester de Juglaria and was based on oral sources. They used versos de arte mayor, assonance, and rhyme, plus fixed formulas. References to the auditorium were frequent. Castilian epic poetry is distinguished by its realism and the use of the epic epithet in appointing the heroes. The epics seem to be the origin of ballads, stated in writing from fifteenth-century romances.

Texts Preserved in the Crisis

Many more epics were spread than are retained today. In the Castilian epic, we retain the Cantar de Mio Cid, the Mocedades de Rodrigo, and the Song of Roncesvalles. None has been completely preserved.

Cantar de Mio Cid

The poem or Cantar de Mio Cid is the first epic poem preserved in the Romance language. The only existing manuscript was copied by Per Abbat and has 3700 verses.

Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar

The main character is Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, an eleventh-century Castilian gentleman belonging to the lower nobility of Castile. Tensions with King Alfonso VI led to his exile in 1081. He achieved important victories and regained the confidence of the king. However, there is no shortage of fabricated data and recreation that involves any particular literary work.

Authorship

Spread orally from their inception, these poems attracted the attention of educated authors, and they decided to pick up the tradition and fix it in writing. The poem is anonymous. There are two theories, according to the philosopher and historian Menendez Pidal. The original is cast in two versions:

• a) The oldest, whose author would be in the area of San Esteban de Gormaz, reflects more faithfully the historical facts.
• b) A more modern minstrel from Medinaceli added more fabricated features.

Structure

The poem consists of three songs:

• Cantar del Destierro (vv 1-1084): The Cid is slandered by jealous nobles, and the king banishes him from Castile. He undertakes the recovery of his honor through various conquests, culminating with the kingdom of Valencia.
• Cantar de las Bodas (vv 1085-2277): Upon regaining the king's confidence, he prepares the weddings of his daughters with the Infantes of Carrion. However, they demonstrate their cowardice and only want to marry for economic interest.
• Cantar de la Afrenta de Corpes (vv 2278-3733): The Infantes' cowardice causes them shame. They must contend with two men in the host of the Cid. In the end, the Cid's daughters are married to the Infantes of Navarra and Aragon.

Theme

The theme of the poem is the recovery of the Cid's honor, who, with his effort and courage, makes his way. Public honor is restored when the Cid regains the confidence of Alfonso VI. Private honor is restored when the outrage of his daughters is resolved with the king. The hero is shown as measured. El Cid shows an example of fidelity to the king and firmly believes in justice. He reflects eleventh-century Castile and the class of knights. The protagonist is a human character, a character so human that he can serve as an example for the people.

Style

The poem is composed of irregular versos de arte mayor with assonance and rhyme. Its style is simple and contains a number of fixed formulas, repetitions, and parallelistic epic epithets. The author varies the tenses to avoid monotony and uses expressions to draw the attention of the listener. It emphasizes realism and the emergence of humorous elements in some episodes.