“As soon as the Cid caught sight of the King he ordered all his men to haltHe knelt down on his hands and knees on the ground and with his teeth he pulled up a mouthful of grass.
With tears of joy streaming from his eyes he showed in this way his complete submission to his liege lord, Alfonso. ” What would cause a grown man to act in such a manner? The Cid was the ruler of Valencia, and the leader of thousands of soldiers. The Cid has defeated countless enemies and have been victorious in all his wars, he could have been almost thought of as a man without fear. Yet, as soon as he caught sight of the King who has exiled him from his land, he broke down and acted like an animal in front of the King.
The loyalty’ and respect’ the Cid has for King Alfonso is the deepest between any characters in the entire poem. Although loyalty and respect is the deepest between the Cid and King Alfonso, there is also a great amount of loyalty and respect among different characters also. Such as the Cid and his loyal vassal Minaya, the Cid to his wife Don Jimena, his two daughters Dona Elvira and Dona Sol, and the Cid to his army. Loyalty and respect are very important themes that progresses stronger and stronger throughout the poem, loyalty can do good and bad to loved ones, but in this poem, it eventually led to conflicts with severe consequences. The Cid stayed loyal to King Alfonso throughout the entire poem. Never once did the Cid say anything bad or offensive towards the King.
Although King Alfonso ostracized the Cid from his land, the Cid still respected the King and stayed loyal to him. The Cid was framed by Count Garcia Ordonez, Ordonez accused the Cid of greed. Ordonez told the King that the Cid kept money from him, which upset the King and eventually led to the Cid being exiled from the land. After being exiled, the Cid left the land with a small army and conquered numerous enemies and land. Even though King Alfonso was the one who sent the Cid away, the Cid tried to regain the position he once had in King Alfonso’s heart. In trying to do so, the Cid sent “thirty horses, all saddled and bridled, with swords hanging from their saddlebows.
” King Alfonso was pleasantly surprised by such an action. This again proves the amount of loyalty and respect the Cid has for King Alfonso. Not only does he still remain loyal to the King, he even sends a great portion of his rich spoils from his victory to the King. King Alfonso in return respects the Cid’s actions and allows people from his own land to go and serve in the Cid’s army. As the Cid’s army grew, the Cid conquered greater opponents. All along the way, the Cid fought under King Alfonso’s name and in the name of Christianity.
The Cid considered the land he conquered also to be the land of King Alfonso. After winning a major battle with the Moorish people, the Cid prepared 100 saddled horses to give to King Alfonso. The Cid sent the horses with Minaya, his right hand man. With the gift he also asked the king to allow his wife and two daughters to join him in his kingdom of Valencia. By doing so, it shows another great sign of respect and loyalty to King Alfonso.
He could just invade the land and take his family away from King Alfonso’s grasp, but yet he sends a gift of one hundred saddled horses and asks for “permission” for his family to join him in Valencia. The King was very impressed to see the gift that the Cid has sent, and sees the fact that the Cid still truly respects him. When Garcia Ordonez sees this he says “Apparently there are no men at all in Moorish territory. ” Which annoyed the King, and the King responds saying “No more of that. At least he serves me better than you do.” At this point it is clear that the Cid is .
