Carmen Campidoctoris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Carmen Campidoctoris |
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| The lay of the Champion | |
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| Also known as | Poema latino del Cid (Latin poem of the Cid) |
| Author(s) | unknown |
| Language | Latin |
| Date | composed around 1083 |
| Manuscript(s) | Unique manuscript. Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms. lat. 5132 |
| Genre | epic poetry |
| Verse form | sapphic-adonic verses |
| Length | 128 verses in 32 stanzas |
The Carmen Campidoctoris ("Song of the Champion") is a very old Latin poem. It was written a long time ago, around the year 1083. This poem is super important because it's the earliest known story about a famous Spanish hero named El Cid Campeador. The poem has 32 parts, called stanzas, and a total of 128 lines. It was found in a monastery in the 1600s and is now kept in a library in France.
Contents
What the Poem is About
The poem tells the story of three big wins for El Cid. First, he beats a champion from Navarre. Then, he defeats Count García Ordóñez de Cabra. Finally, he faces Berenguer Ramon II, Count of Barcelona.
The poem starts with the writer saying they are not good enough to sing about such a great hero like El Cid. It quickly talks about El Cid's younger days. It mentions his first victory over the Navarrese champion. It also shows his loyal service to King Sancho II of Castile and King Alfonso VI of León.
The poem says that some enemies turned King Alfonso against El Cid. This led to El Cid being sent away from the king's court. But El Cid still won against García Ordóñez's army, which King Alfonso had sent after him.
The poem then describes El Cid getting ready for a battle. This battle was against the Count of Barcelona near a place called Almenar. The poem gives a lot of detail about El Cid's armor and weapons. Sadly, the poem ends suddenly before the battle even begins. It seems like it was never finished.
El Cid's Weapons
The Carmen Campidoctoris gives us the first look at El Cid's weapons in literature. It talks about his chainmail, which is like a shirt made of metal rings. He also had a silver helmet with a golden gem on it. He carried a lance, which is a long spear.
The poem mentions a sword with golden decorations. Some people think this might be Tizona, one of El Cid's famous swords. He also had a shield that showed a "fierce shining golden dragon." This is the only description we have of El Cid's shield!
El Cid's Family
The poem also tells us about El Cid's family background. It says he came from a "more noble family." It adds that there was "none older than it in Castile." This might mean his family wasn't the most important noble family, but they were still better than some.
When and Who Wrote It
The person who wrote the Carmen was very good at Latin. They probably wrote it for people who were well-educated, maybe at the Ripoll monastery. The poem's rhythm and rhymes suggest it was meant to be read aloud to a group. Experts think the poem was written between 1083 and about 1100.
Why a Catalan Monk Wrote About a Castilian Hero
You might wonder why a monk from Catalonia would write about a hero from Castile. It has to do with the time it was written, around 1083, and the politics in Catalonia then.
At that time, two brothers, Berenguer Ramon II and Ramon Berenguer II, were trying to rule Catalonia together. But it was not working well. The land was divided, and the area where Ripoll monastery was located went to Ramon Berenguer. The bishop of that area supported Ramon.
So, the Carmen was probably written by people who supported Ramon. They wanted to celebrate his brother's defeat by El Cid. This happened just before a civil war started in Catalonia.
The Name "Campeador"
The poem is the first place where El Cid is called campi doctor. This Latin phrase means "teacher of the field" or "skilled in the field." In Old Spanish, this became campeador. It's possible that the anonymous author of the poem invented this name for El Cid.
The library at Ripoll might have had old Roman military books. These books could have used the term campi doctor for a "drill instructor." It's not fully known how this old term came to mean something like "champion" in Spain during El Cid's time.
See also
In Spanish: Carmen Campidoctoris para niños
