Comparing The Cid And The Song Of Roland

Although The Poem of The Cid was written during the Spanish crusades, The Cid could not be further from the heroic crusader ideal, as established, for example, in The Song of Roland. Roland was so passionate, so convinced of the rightness of his beliefs that he was willing to demonstrate all of his heroic qualities in the pursuit of achieving martyrdom as posthumous evidence of his devotion and courage. Charlemagne and God himself bless Roland’s mission to kill as many heathens as he can. The Cid, on the other hand, begins the narrative exiled by his king, and he fights to make money and a living for himself and his family, not as part of a “holy war” to overtake Muslim lands for Christendom. The Cid cannot be labeled an example of the crusader heroic ideal, but
Jerome, who came from “the east” (France) and “longed to face the Moors on the field of battle and urged My Cid to undertake further adventures against them” (53), is presumably disappointed when The Cid instead gifts him a bishopric in Valencia, “where he would be rich” (54). That decision, of course, makes sense with what the narrative has established of The Cid’s characterization. The Cid now “has goods and lands and gold and honor too” and so has no more desire to seek out Muslims to fight (97). He is offering Jerome what he sees as a great gift; after all, the only reason The Cid fights is for the spoils, and by giving the spoils without making him fight, The Cid believes he is doing Jerome a favor. But Jerome has the crusading fervor, and he wants to fight Muslims because that is what a crusader does for God and Christendom. The Cid grants him his wish in allowing Jerome to strike the first blow in a few subsequent battles, but the contrast is clear: The Cid fights for an end goal, while Jerome, a “true” crusader, fights Muslims for the honor of fighting