626 Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar
controversial. As a composite figure, he probably did have
some historical basis, however. There are hints of someone
with a similar name now and again in the 13th century, but
there is little beyond a name. The first known reference to
a popular enthusiasm for stories about a Robin Hood
appeared in 1377 in one of the texts of William LANG-
LAND’s PIERSPLOWMAN.During the 15th century, the Robin
Hood ballads, such as Robin Hood and the Monkin 1450,
established enduring themes. By 1500 he, as a yeoman,
was inseparably associated with his skill as an archer and
believed to have been a master of disguise and the leader of
a band of “merry men.” He had become a courteous and
benign outlaw who treated the rich in ways they deserved.
A class hero, he nonetheless respected the Crown, except
in his indulgence in deer poaching. He fought against
abuses of power while yet showing little concern for the
real conditions of the PEASANTRY. He was religious but had
little respect for corrupt clergy. Other plays and works pro-
vided the other characters of the fully developed legend,
such as Friar Tuck and Maid Marion.
See alsoOUTLAWRY.
Further reading:R. B. Dobson and J. Taylor, eds.,
Rymes of Robyn Hood: An Introduction to the English Out-
law(London: Heinemann, 1976); John C. Bellamy, Robin
Hood: An Historical Enquiry(Beckenham, Kent: Croom
Helm, 1985); John C. Holt, Robin Hood(London: Thames
and Hudson, 1982); Maurice Keen, The Outlaws of
Medieval Legend, 3d ed. (London: Routledge, 2000);
Stephen Thomas Knight, Robin Hood: A Complete Study of
the English Outlaw(Cambridge: Blackwell, 1994); John
Matthews, Robin Hood: Green Lord of the Wildwood(Glas-
tonbury: Gothic Images, 1993).
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar(El Cid Campeador, al-Sid, the
Lord), history and legends of(ca. 1043–1099)merce-
nary soldier, hero of a Spanish epic story
Rodrigo Díaz was born into a family of the lower nobility
in the village of Bivar near Burgos. He was raised at the
court of Ferdinand I of CASTILEand LEÓN(r. 1038–65)
and educated with Sancho II of Castile (ca. 1065–72), the
future king of Castile, who made him a leader of his
army. In January 1072, at Golpejera, he defeated Sancho’s
brother, Alfonso VI of León (r. 1065–1109). A few
months later, however, Sancho was assassinated or died
during a siege at Zamora. Alfonso VI was suspected of
ordering the death but inherited the Crown anyway,
becoming the king of Castile and León (r. 1072–1109).
Despite resenting a humiliating OATH of purgation
imposed on him by Rodrigo Díaz, Alfonso still needed
Díaz de Vivar’s military ability and sent him to collect a
protective tribute from the emir of SEVILLEand then to
conduct a campaign against GRANADA.
SERVING GOD AND MAMMONOn his return to Castile, Rodrigo fell completely out of
favor because of his feuds with other court nobles.
Alfonso VI exiled him in 1081, and he entered the service
of the Muslim ruler of Saragossa. In 1082 he took pris-
oner Ramón Berenguer II (r. 1076–82), the count of
BARCELONA, on the first of two occasions. Two years later,
he defeated Sancho I Ramírez (r. 1063–94), the king of
ARAGON. In 1097 Alfonso VI, whose kingdom was threat-
ened by the ALMORAVIDS, recalled him. But a second ban-
ishment soon forced Rodrigo, whose lands had been
expropriated by the king, to consider moving on VALEN-
CIA. He captured fortresses leading to the city and
defeated an army sent by the count of Barcelona in 1090.
He then defended the emir of Valencia from an Almoravid
attack. But in 1093, after his Muslim ally or employer
was assassinated during a revolt in Valencia, Rodrigo laid
siege and captured the town the next year. With the help
of Peter I of Aragon (r. 1094–1104), he stopped Muslim
advances at the Battles of Cuarte in 1094 and Bairén in- After suppressing rebellions by Muslims in Valen-
cia, he championed the Christians there and turned the
major MOSQUEof the city into a CATHEDRAL.
Reconciled yet again with Alfonso VI, he ruled Valen-
cia in his name. Rodrigo did not promote toleration
among Christians and Muslims, who had once been
allies. He had married a woman named Jimena or
Ximena; their only son was killed in a battle in 1097. In
1098 he married his daughters to the king of NAVARRE
and the count of Barcelona. Their descendants became
the kings of Castile and León in the 12th century and
even entered the royal line in ENGLANDthrough a 13th-
century marriage. He died on July 10, 1099, in Valencia.
The city was back under Almoravid rule by 1102.
Rodrigo was a skilled mercenary soldier who
worked for whoever paid most. He was considered a
cruel oppressor by the Muslims but a saint by some
Christians. His name Cid, given to him by the Muslims,
means “lord.” The Poem of the Cidwas written about - In it he was presented unrealistically as a brave,
loyal, resourceful, wise, courageous ruler and ideal
KNIGHT.
Further reading:The Poem of the Cid,trans. W. S.
Merwin (London: Dent, 1959); Simon Barton and
Richard Fletcher, eds., The World of El Cid: Chronicles of
the Spanish Reconquest(Manchester: Manchester Univer-
sity Press, 2000), especially 90–147; Richard Fletcher,
The Quest for El Cid(New York: Oxford University Press,
1989); Richard Hitchcock, “Al-Sıd,” Encyclopedia of Islam
9:533–535; Colin Smith, “The Cid in Epic and Ballad,” in
European Writers: The Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Vol. 1, Prudentius to Medieval Drama,ed. William T. H.
Jackson and George Stade (New York: Charles Scribner’s
Sons, 1983), 113–136.
Roger I (1031–1101)count of Sicily and Calabria
Roger was born in 1031, the youngest son of Tancred
of Hauteville (fl. 1000–35). He joined his relative in
Calabria, ROBERTGUISCARD, in 1057 and was especially