El Cid
The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Remove from wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Adding to library failed
Please try again
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
LIMITED TIME OFFER
£0.99/mo for first 3 months
Offer ends January 21, 2025 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pay £0.99/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
-
Narrated by:
-
Sophie Roberts
-
By:
-
Nora Berend
About this listen
Paul Freedman, author of Out of the East
'Lively, original and fascinating'
David Abulafia, Literary Review
'An enthralling study . . . exceptionally fascinating'
Washington Post
Rodrigo Díaz lived a violently colourful life in eleventh-century Spain. An ambitious military leader, exile and brutal mercenary, he served Christian kings, fought against Christian princes in service of Muslim rulers, raided and killed Muslims and eventually struck out on his own, carving out an independent principality.
While Rodrigo the man is long dead, El Cid lives on: a superhero; a quasi-saint; the 'spirit of Spain', according to military dictator Franco; and a champion of medieval Spanish multiculturalism.
Nora Berend uncovers how el Cid has been transformed across the centuries, confronting the gulf between truth and legend and examining how a military adventurer became a hero to people on opposite ends of the political spectrum.
What is it about this man that appeals to us? And why do we transform the most unsuitable people into heroes?
'Would the real El Cid please stand up? Nora Berend's fascinating new book covers nearly a thousand years of history and myth-making about this eleventh-century warrior . . . and presents all the delicious ironies of history'
Professor Marc David Baer, author of The Ottomans: Khans, Caliphs, and Caesars©2024 Nora Berend (P)2024 Hodder & Stoughton Limited