The Poem of the Cid

One of the finest of epic poems, and the only one to have survived from medieval Spain, The Poem of the Cid recounts the adventures of the warlord and nobleman Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar - 'Mio Cid'. A forceful combination of heroic fiction and historical fact, the tale seethes with the restless, adventurous spirit of Castille, telling of the Cid's unjust banishment from the court of King Alfonso, his victorious campaigns in Valencia, and the crowning of his daughters as queens of Aragon and Navarre - the high point of his career as a warmonger. An epic that sings of universal human values, this is one of the greatest of all works of Spanish literature.

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Rita Hamilton read Spanish at King's College, London and held various academic positions at the university, finally becoming a Fellow in 1973. She died in 1982.

Janet Perry studied Spanish, French and German, becoming a Lecturer at King's College, London in 1921, a post she held for twenty-three years. She died in 1958.

Ian Michael is a Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford and King Alfonso XIII Professor of Spanish Studies for the University.