El Cid Research Paper

El Cid, born in 1043 and dead by 1099, was a Castilian nobleman known for his military prowess. His life, defined by ever-evolving allegiances, reveals the chaotic state of Iberia during the second half of the eleventh century. The Taifa kingdoms—the successors of the Caliphate of Córdoba—divided Muslim rule, allowing Christian kingdoms to start achieving military success. This weakness resulted in the Taifas calling on the Almoravids from Morocco for military aid. While the Almoravids heeded the call, they eventually betrayed the Taifas and took much of Iberia for themselves. These events reflect the splintering of much of the Islamic world throughout the Mediterranean, which helped lead to the First Crusade. After his death, El Cid became a symbol for Christians trying to expel the Moors from Iberia. However, this symbol is a product of mythologizing, for he fought with the Taifa of Zaragoza after Alfonso VI exiled him.

An ecclesiastical crisis between reformist and conservative elements of the Catholic Church in Milan grew to become the
One of these elements was the actual ability of a lowly monk to be received by the leaders of the crusade, including the Papal legate, Adhemar of Ley Puy. During the harsh siege of Antioch from 1098 to 1099, St. Andrew came to Peter and revealed that the lance, which pierced Jesus’ side, lay buried in the Church of St. Peter in Antioch. Peter finally shared his visions after Kerbogah, the Turk governor of Mosul, besieged the Franks after they captured the city. While many doubted Peter’s visions, including chronicler-priest Flucher of Chartres, a lance was eventually “discovered” and came to symbolize God’s favor during the battle that broke Kerbogah’s siege. The lance, in general, signifies how the crusade took on prophetic and apocalyptic connotations for