Reconquista Chronicles

This first instalment in the Chronicles tells of Rodrigo's rise to prominence when he became the champion of Prince Sancho of Castile. This is but the beginning of a tale which still stirs the blood a millennium after it began. The legend that was El Cid began more than a thousand years ago and time has meant that reality and fiction are intertwined like the threads of a spider's web. This is the story of a time when brother fought brother and Christian fought Christian. Power was all and Spain was riven by strife which was political, religious and familial! One man came from the harsh land of Castile to make one land and one state. Spain truly began with Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, El Campeador, El Cid. His story is told through the eyes of the warrior who spent his life at his side. William Redbeard came from humble origins but he was destined for greatness too as he walked in the seemingly endless shadow of El Cid.

The Christian armies of Spain are on the rise and are taking back the land controlled by the Taifa States. All seems well and the star that is Rodrigo de Vivar continues to rise. All of this ends when King Fernando dies, and his heirs begin a self-destructive civil war. Only the knight respected by both Christian and Muslim alike, the man known as El Campeador can unite the troubled land of Spain. We see the troubles of Spain through the eyes of the man who trained Rodrigo, William Redbeard, and it is through him that we see the effect the civil war has on the ordinary people. When King Sancho is murdered then all hope seems to disappear and Rodrigo and Will Redbeard have to choose which side they are on.

Sent into exile once more Don Rodrigo de Vivar has just Will Redbeard and two warriors for companions. Over the next years, he creates the legend of El Cid defeating enemy after enemy. Fighting overwhelming odds, he succeeds every time until, at last, he has his fiefdom of Valencia. This is the final chronicle in the series and details the last eighteen years of the life of the man known as El Cid. Although this is the last in the series it is a stand-alone book. Forget the film and listen to the reality of the man who was the greatest knight of his age; some would say, any age!