Buy used:

$14.99

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Monday, May 13 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest delivery Wednesday, May 8. Order within 6 hrs 9 mins

Select delivery location

Used: Acceptable | Details

Sold by -OnTimeBooks-

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (24) from $6.44 & FREE Shipping

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Name: The Poem of the Cid: Simpson, Lesley Byrd: 9780520250109: Amazon.com: Books
Rating: 3.9 (14 reviews)

Lesley Byrd Simpson

Follow

The Poem of the Cid Paperback – January 22, 2007

by Lesley Byrd Simpson (Translator)

3.9 14 ratings

Part of: World Literature in Translation (27 books)

See all formats and editions

Students of Spanish literature have long been familiar with this eight-hundred-year-old epic detailing the legendary exploits of the soldier-adventurer Ruy Díaz of Bivar, El Cid, and of his part in the long struggle between Christianity and Islam. The epic poem recounts the adventures of the Cid; of his peerless steed, Babieca, and of his two famous swords, Colada and Tizón; of his wife, Doña Ximena, and his two daughters, Doña Elvira and Doña Sol, who found sanctuary with Abbot Don Sancho in the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña during the Cid's exile; and of the despicable and black-hearted princes of Carrión, Diego and Fernando González.

Part of series

World Literature in Translation
Print length

157 pages
Language

English
Publisher

University of California Press
Publication date

January 22, 2007
Dimensions

4.38 x 0.5 x 7.19 inches
ISBN-10

0520250109
ISBN-13

978-0520250109
See all details

Elizabeth Pollard
66
Paperback
31 offers from $5.35
R. K. Narayan
737
Paperback
136 offers from $1.91
Anonymous
80
Paperback
99 offers from $2.14
Anonymous
82
Paperback
37 offers from $3.98

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lesley Byrd Simpson was a renowned translator of many great works of Spanish literature. His translations of The Celestina and The Poem of the Cid (both UC Press books) in particular preserve the vigor and colloquial flavor of the original.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press; First Edition (January 22, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 157 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0520250109
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520250109
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.38 x 0.5 x 7.19 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,099,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #327 in Spanish Poetry (Books)
- #2,134 in European Literary History & Criticism
- #4,245 in Literary Criticism & Theory

Customer Reviews:
3.9 14 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Lesley Byrd Simpson

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5

14 global ratings

2 star

0%

1 star

12%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

K. Jump

IMMORTAL TALE OF CHIVALRY AND HEROISM

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2002

The Poem of the Cid (here translated by Lesley Byrd Simpson) is required reading for anyone interested in tales of high adventure, honor, and chivalry, for these things are the backgone of one of literature's greatest sagas: the tale of Ruy Diaz of Bivar,the Cid, and Spain's greatest knight.
Unfairly exiled from his King's country, the Cid throws himself into Moorish Spain to battle, plunder, and rebuild his name. Eventually the Cid's heroism explodes the King's enmity, and he returns home in glory. But the Cid errs in marrying his unsuspecting daughters to the craven Princes of Carrion, unleashing such suffering and dishonor on the girls that only a colorful trial by combat can satisfy the Cid's lust for revenge and heal his family's wounded honor.
Rich in medieval tapestry and flavor and a more realistic depiction of the "chivalric code" than one finds in parallel works (the Cid, for all his honor, is not above deceiving his enemies--or some of his friends!), The Poem of the Cid is highly recommended to anyone born with the spirit of a knight in their heart.

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Honest Citizen

Classic of Western Canon

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2016

Verified Purchase

An excellent classic of Western Canon.

Helpful

Guillermo Maynez

The greatest Spanish epic

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2001

This book should belong to the universal, or at least Western, canon of all times. It is the foundation of Spanish literature and national myth. And, for those who think classics, especially medieval, are boring, surprise, it is not at all.
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, the Cid, is a great warrior who, because of political intrigue, is dismissed by his master. He leaves and continues his fight against the Moors, who are the masters of most Spain since the 9th century. He conquers Valencia and starts forging his legend, fighting not only the Moors but other traitors to the cause of unfying Spain. One of the best and most famous scenes is the marriage of his two daughters, Urraca and Ximena. The book is written in truly epic style, full of adventures, battles, duels and, especially all the Medieval flavor that makes it unforgettable. In a good translation, the grandiosity of many sentences should be neatly perceived. It's hard to stop recommending this great work of art, a true belonger to the best classic literature the West has produced.

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

Andrew Paxman

A Dark Ages blockbuster, a Spanish celebration

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2010

This jolly romp through Moorish Spain has a lot in common with the modern Hollywood blockbuster: a roguish and indestructible hero, a respectful attitude towards different cultures, and an alternating of bloody action with moments of boisterous camaraderie and farce. Spain's national epic, it's the kind of tale that kept Dark Ages audiences rapt, like England's Beowulf, sparking imaginations by the firelight. Thanks to Simpson's jovial and well-paced translation, its vigour still resonates.

But where the Anglo-Saxon epic warns of the fallibility of great men, the Spanish saga exalts its hero unabashedly. It celebrates the Cid's valour and generosity of spirit; it delights in his capacity for trickery. Above all it trumpets his honour, for though the historical Cid is best known for helping drive the Muslims from central Spain, this literary hero - "he who in happy hour girded on his sword" - is much less a crusader than an adventurer. His opponents are as often fickle Spanish nobles as Moorish kings, and while he is always careful to thank God for his victories, the Cid is interested less in accruing lands for Christendom than in accumulating booty for his comrades and inches for his beard, the ever-lengthening symbol of his manhood. Some Moors are his friends, and the man he names as bishop of Valencia wields a sword more readily than a Bible.

So beneath its Christian veneer, The Poem of the Cid is rather a pagan tale. Does its obsession with honour and its rank in the Spanish canon say something about Spain's national character? Perhaps. It certainly evokes values recurrent in its history, as in the conquest of the Americas and its aftermath: honour (which is "glory" by another name), zeal for booty, Christianizing as a pretext for earthly aims, and even the privileging of fair complexions - the Cid's virtuous daughters are "white like the sun."

4 people found this helpful

Helpful