The last battle of El Cid, siege of Valencia, circa 1099
Illustration from A Brief story of the World by HB Niver. Date of publication not known but the final entry in the book is for world war 1, and the book is quoted as a resource in An English syllabus by E E Reynolds which was published in 1931 so most likely published in the 1920's. Info from wiki: El Cid and his wife Jimena Díaz lived peacefully in Valencia for five years until the Almoravids besieged the city. El Cid died on June 10, 1099.[13] His death was likely a result of the famine and deprivations caused by the siege.[13] Valencia was captured by Masdali on May 5, 1102 and it did not become a Christian city again for over 125 years. Jimena fled to Burgos, Castile, in 1101. She rode into the town with her retinue and the body of El Cid. After his demise, but still during the siege of Valencia, legend holds that Jimena ordered that the corpse of El Cid be fitted with his armour and set on his horse Babieca, to bolster the morale of his troops. In several variations of the story, the dead Rodrigo and his knights win a thundering charge against Valencia's besiegers, resulting in a war-is-lost-but-battle-is-won catharsis for generations of Christian Spaniards to follow. It is believed that the legend originated shortly after Jimena entered Burgos, and that it is derived from the manner in which Jimena's procession rode into Burgos, , alongside her deceased husband
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Photo credit: © Historical Images Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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