Rodrigo was feared by his enemies but they respected him all the same The Moors were impressed by his tactics and called him by another name Al Sayyid was the word in Arabic lord or master in the English tongue In Spanish simply El Cid and it stuck when his tale was sung Rodrigo fought for Castile and his skill won him many new friends Among them Martin Antolinez Pedro the Mute and Álvar Fáñez Rodrigo's army grew Men joined him from far and wide To fight for El Cid Campeador was a source of great pride
But something irked King Alfonso to this day it is still unknown why did he exile my Cid Because Cid's fame surpassed his own The good knight took his gear He said goodbye to his children and wife He rode out on Babieca to build his family a better life 0001 But Rodrigo did not ride alone so loved was El Campeador His men did not leave his side Cid left Castile a thousand strong 157 El Cid bore Alfonso no grievance he had more pressing concerns To feed and manage an army left him few places to turn
He fought for whoever would take him Christian king or Islamic emir He became a mercenary the Spanish plain was cloaked in fear His men tore down from Burgos into the land of Al Andalus As Rodrigo claimed victories so did case his exile's noose El Cid's skills were unmatched he fought with cleverness and zeal And he always sent his spoils back to the king of Castile My Cid set his sights on Valencia a grand city on the eastern shores Here he would bring his family once taken from the Moors
So El Cid set to the task and laid siege to that coastal city For three hard years he drained it of food water and pity VAIRAVIMINE At last the old town fell and my Cid strode in with his knights He let the old Moors stay and even gave them civic rights Now that he had the prized city Muslim lords had little recourse TCC MOS Than to call upon harsh Berber tribes to stop this Christian force And he aimed to quash El Cid beneath his horse's hoof So came the Almoravids all led by Ibn Yusuf
