CICONI, TEortvino ( IA24 (131. An Italian tl born in San Daniele (Friaul).
lie studied in Padua. and in 1848 participated ill the insurrection in Tuscany, Venice, and Rome. Subsequently he became known as a journalist and poet. His comedy Le pecorel le snia reit e (1557) was his first important popular success. ()then dramatic works, such as Lc ta osehe Lint/cite and 1.a riri nri t a , confirmed his reputation.
CID, or CID CAMPEADOR, Sp. pron. thou kii - ( Sp , Lord Conqueror). The name given in histories, traditions. and songs to the most celebrated of Spain's national heroes. is so much of the mythical in the his tory of this personage that hypercritical writers, such as :\lasilea. have doubted his existence; but recent researches. more partieularly those of Dozy, and the investigation of newly discovered Arabic sources. have succeeded in separating the historical from the romantic. The following is the result of these inquiries: Rodrigo or Iluy Diaz (Roderic the son of 1)iego). generally known as buy Diaz de Ilivar. was descended from one of the proudest families of Castile. mule first appears in a written in 1064, during the reign of Ferdinand the Great of Leon. Under Sancho son of Ferdinand. he became standard-bearer and commander of the royal troops. In a war between t he two brothers, Sa Itch° II. and Alfonso VI. of Leon, it was a stratagem of Roderic's—whi•h, according, to modern notions, was anything but honorable— that secured the victory of Sancho at Llantada over his brother, who was forced to seek refuge with t he .Noorish King of Toledo (1071). Ile appears at this time to have already been called the Curopeador, a word supposed to answer to our 'champion.' the assassination of his friend and pa tron, King Sancho, he required the next heir. Alfonso, to clear himself by oath of any par ticipation in Ills brother's murder. ere the nobles of Leon and Castile should do homage to him. By this act he incurred the new monarch's 6111114y; an enmity which, however, politic King concealed ill the hour of danger, and he even consented to marriage with his cousin Ximena, daughter of Diego, Duke of As turias. But when the King thought the ser vices of Roderic no longer necessary to his own safety. he lent a willing ear to the hatter's per sonal enemies. and banished hint in 10ti1. 11oderic then joined the Moorish King of Saragossa. in
service lie fought against both Alitsletris and Christians. It was probably during this exile that he was first called the ('id or Sid, all Arabic title which means lord. Ile frequently defeated the King of Aragon and the Count of Barcelona, the latter of whom, Berenguer Ramon II_ he took prisoner.
lie was again reeonciled to the King, but only for a short time, when he was el to a seeond exile. In order to support his family and numerous followers. he now saw himself loreed to carry his sword against the Moors. over he gained a victory, and established himself as sovereign or lord of Valencia (1094). Ile retained possession of Valencia fire years. during which time he took many neighboring fortresses. lle died of grief in 1099, on learning that his relative and comrade in arms, Alva• Fafiez, had been vanquished by the Moos, and that the army which he had sent to his assist ance bad been defeated near Akira. After the Cid's death, his widow held Valencia till 1102, when she was obliged to capitulate to the Al and flee to Castile, where she (lied in 1104. ller remains were placed by those of her lord in the monastery of San Pedro de Carderm, near Burgos. The Cid had a son. who was slain by the .)lours in a battle near Consuegra. lie also left behind him two daughters, one of whom was married to the Count of Barcelona, the other to the Infante of Navarre, through whom the kings of Spain claim kindred with "NM ('id c/ Carapea dor." Belies of the 'Blessed Cid,. as he is still called in Spain, such as sword. shield, banner, and drinking-cup. are still held in great reverence by the populace. The numerous Cid romances that were first published in the Sixteenth Century contain the most romantic improbabilities concerning the life and deeds of the Cid. Consult Slim de curios romances ( 1550) , and Romancer° general ( 1604 ) . These romances were taken from the ancient can tares (national songs) and poemas, most of which are entirely lost. The most important of modern works on this subject are: Dozy, Recherches sur l'histoire politique ct litterair• do l'Espagne pen dant lc moycn iige (3d ed., Leyden. ISSI ) ; Hu ber, Gesehiehte des ('id, etc. (Bremen, 1829), and Southey, Chronicle of the Cid (London, ISOS). Consult also Willemaers, Le Cid (Brussels, IS73).