Loyalty Makes Legends

One of El Cid's Great Virtues

As General Patton once noted, loyalty is not a one-way street, not something that is given only from servants to masters and soldiers to commanders. “There is a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top,” he said. “Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates.”

The Song of the Cid dramatizes the power of loyalty from the top down. The rise of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, better known as El Cid, was driven by the loyalty he inspired in his men, which in turn was driven by his loyalty to those same men. The theme is simple enough—you get what you give. This is how the great man stays great, as Patton said.

Banished from Castile for reasons unknown at the beginning of the song, Rodrigo found no fewer than sixty followers decided to share his hardship. Imagine the pull a man must have to make others volunteer to follow him into exile, knowing the uncertainty and difficulty that lies ahead. Their loyalty moved Rodrigo to the core. To one knight, he said, “You've come, Martin Antolinez, my loyal follower! Oh, I wait for the day when I can reward you!” Rewarding them became Rodrigo’s highest concern. He prayed, “May God, our Father in heaven, ensure that those who have left their homes and come to me will be rewarded at my hands, before I die, double whatever their loss may be!”

Such vows make for very nice gestures, but top-down loyalty must be proven through more than just words—it must be proven by victories. The great man, if he is to remain great, must give Ws to his loyal followers.

Rodrigo did just that. Stunning victories over numerically superior Moorish forces invigorated his men, giving them a reason to continue following him. Soon enough Rodrigo and his growing band were conquering increasingly prized territories in Moorish Spain. “Knights and soldiers on foot,” the bard says, “now all alike were rich: you couldn't have found a poor man among them, for those who serve a good master always live well."

What a tremendous lesson—a great master makes his servants rich.

After a successful ambush at Castejón, Rodrigo offered the lion’s share of the spoils to his top lieutenant, Alvar Fanez, who then politely declined, saying his own performance in that battle wasn’t quite good enough and he would not accept such prizes until he has truly shown Rodrigo what he can do. Fanez’s devotion was almost childlike: he was the kind of boy who makes his father watch him do tricks on his bicycle again and again until he is satisfied that he’s done it right, all in hopes of impressing the old man. He longed to make Rodrigo proud—because Rodrigo was the kind of man whom you wanted to make proud.

Even the Moorish towns that he conquered came to love him and gladly paid him tribute, knowing “he would never betray them.” He was, after all, a man who “in all his life […] had never gone back on his word.” The Moors of Alcocer were actually disappointed when he and his men marched out.

Rodrigo was even loyal to those who didn’t deserve loyalty—namely the king who banished him unjustly. In exile, Rodrigo still served Alfonso, regularly sending back the spoils of his conquest to the king. These were a beautiful displays of loyalty—and on a deeper level such displays also communicated how far superior Rodrigo is to Alfonso. He held no grudges for the tremendous hardships he suffered at the hands of King Alfonso.

This loyalty is why El Cid is referred to throughout the song as “mio Cid.” He belongs to his devotees, and we belong to him.