The quest for El Cid - Hardcover

Fletcher, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 009173889X ISBN 13: 9780091738891

Publisher: Hutchinson, 1989

Synopsis

When El Cid died in Valencia in July 1099, he was the most famous person in Spain. This study, set against the background of Spanish political and social life, traces the life story of the fanatical Catholic nationalist who was dedicated to the re-conquest of Spain from the Moors. Richard Fletcher has also written the historical study, "The Life and Time of Diego Gelmirez".

About this title

About the Author

Richard Fletcher is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of York and is the author of numerous books on medieval Spain, including the forthcoming Moorish Spain.

From Library Journal

Beginning students, sophisticated scholars, and the general reader interested in Spanish medieval history will benefit from this provocative, learned, and elegantly written study of Rodrigo Diaz (c.1043-99)--El Cid--the 11th-century soldier of fortune who became the Spanish national hero. Fletcher begins by sketching the historical scene in Spain and Europe. After an imaginative discussion of the complicated sources of El Cid's life, he describes his aristocratic family background, knightly education, early military campaigns, service at the court of king Sancho II, exile spent as a mercenary soldier in Muslim service, and ultimate triumph as Prince of Valencia. The concluding chapter, as exciting as a murder mystery, explains the growth of the El Cid legend. As an important story fascinatingly told, and as a rich mine of information about many facets of Spanish and Muslim medieval cultures, this book is highly recommended.
- Bennett D. Hill, Georgetown Univ., Washington,
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hutchinson
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 009173889X
• ISBN 13: 9780091738891
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 220