Row erupts in Spain over legendary knight El Cid's sword

By Sinikka Tarvainen Jun 10, 2007, 14:33 GMT

Madrid - A millennium after the death of the legendary Spanish knight El Cid, a row has erupted over his alleged sword.

The solid, 0.75-metre sword with a black handle, called La Tizona, has been known as Spain's answer to King Arthur's Excalibur or Charlemagne's Joyeuse.

Until now, nobody doubted that the sword, which was on display at Madrid's Military Museum for more than 60 years, once belonged to the country's national hero.

But when the northern region of Castile and Leon recently purchased the sword from its owner for 1.6 million euros (2 million dollars) in order to solemnly display it near El Cid's tomb in the cathedral of Burgos, the Culture Ministry suddenly debunked its myth.

El Cid never held the sword in his hand, the ministry announced, quoting four studies maintaining that the weapon had been forged long after the warrior's death.

The Castile and Leon authorities have held their ground, accusing the ministry of jealousy because it has lost custody of the sword, and stressing that the sword has long been attributed to El Cid.

The colourful history of the Tizona begins with Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (1043-99), known as El Cid ('the lord') Campeador, a Castilian nobleman and military leader who finally established himself as an independent ruler.

El Cid was a mercenary who served both Christian kings and Muslim rulers in Moorish Spain, but Christian Spain later adopted him as a national hero.

The real El Cid may have engaged in pillage and other less reputable activities, but literature - such as the 12th-century epic poem El Cantar de Mio Cid - and a 1961 Hollywood movie starring Charlton Heston have portrayed him as a valiant and exalted figure.

Legend says El Cid snatched the Tizona from a Moorish opponent during a fight. He then gave it to a count who passed it on to the grandfather of Ferdinand the Catholic, the king who defeated the Moors and sent Christopher Columbus to the Americas.

In 1516, King Ferdinand is believed to have given the sword to the newly titled Marquis of Falces for services performed for the crown. The story says the marquis could have chosen land or palaces, but preferred the sword of El Cid.

The Tizona then allegedly passed on in the Falces family, which allowed the Military Museum to exhibit it from 1944 onwards, until the present marquis, Jose Ramon Suarez del Otero y Velluti, sold it to the region of Castile and Leon.

What would be more fitting than placing the sword in the cathedral of Burgos, the city where El Cid may have been born and where he lies buried next to his wife, Dona Jimena.

The regional authorities glowed with pride until the Culture Ministry interfered, estimating the real value of the sword at between 200,000 and 300,000 euros.

The ministry quoted four recent studies saying that the sword had not been forged in the 11th but in the 14th or 15th century.

Factors supporting that theory include the guard of the sword, a feature not in use in El Cid's time, and the late origin of most of the metal the blade is made of.

'There are no reliable documents linking the Tizona with El Cid,' archaeology professor Fernando Quiroga said.

Castile and Leon, however, continues insisting on the authenticity of the sword, which is supported by one earlier study.

The region intends to 'launch' the Tizona by making it the centrepiece of a September exhibition marking the 800th anniversary of El Cantar de Mio Cid in the Burgos cathedral.

If the Culture Ministry turns out to be right, however, not all is lost.

Castile and Leon can take consolation in the historic value of the sword which, even if it was never brandished by El Cid, is undoubtedly a rare piece, with only four of its kind existing in Spain.