Loyalty to one's King

"As soon as the Cid caught sight of the King he ordered all his men to haltÐ'...He 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 Ð''loyalty' and Ð''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 earning his place back into King Alfonso's heart. He acknowledges the fact that the Cid is one of his knights and serves him. Also it starts to show that the King is displeased with Garcia Ordonez.

The Cid then later defeats a Moorish army of over 50,000. From the spoils he collected, he sent 200 horses to King Alfonso with a message that said "He would serve the King as long as he lived." To serve the King for as long as he lived is a very bold statement made by the Cid, proving how loyal he is to the King. Upon receiving the gift, King Alfonso was very pleased and made a speech to Minaya and Pedro Bermudez, "Listen both of you. The Cid Campeador is doing me good service, and he shall have the pardon he so richly deserves." At this point, King Alfonso has found new respect for the Cid and is very impressed by the Cid's loyalty to him and openly accepts the Cid back into his kingdom. At which point they arrange for a meeting to be held to announce the Cid's acceptance back into the King's favor.

Upon seeing the King, the Cid dismounts his horse and gets on the ground and eats grass in front of King Alfonso. Displaying how he is inferior to the King. By doing such an act in front of his men and army is in despicable. "With tears of joy streaming from his eyes he showed in this way his complete submission to his liege lord." The Cid was who his army and men looked up to, and acting almost like a pet of King Alfonso in front of his own men shows what great respect he has for King Alfonso. The King was very displeased with this act and quickly told the Cid to stand up and "Kiss my hands but not my feet." The Cid refuses and replies "I beg a favour of you, my liege lord, that as I kneel here you grant me your pardon in the hearing of all this assembled company." Even after the King told the Cid to get up, he wouldn't. But at this moment, there is almost a mutual respect between the King and the Cid. The Cid remains loyal and respectful towards the King and the King is respectful towards the Cid also.

The Cid displays another great sign of loyalty and respect once again when King Alfonso ask that the Cid marry his daughters to the Infantes of Carrion. Although the Cid did not agree with the idea, he respected King Alfonso so much he gave the right of marriage to King Alfonso. The Cid said he would not give his daughters hand to marriage, and that the King should do it instead. The Cid was so loyal to the King that he even gave his daughters away to him. Unfortunately, at this point, it shows that to much loyalty might not be extremely good.

After the Cid's daughters Dona Sol and Dona Elvira got married to the Infantes of Carrion they were happy for a while, until rumors started stirring up about how the Infantes of Carrion were cowards. While the Cid was asleep, a pet lion escaped from his cage, Diego and Fernando Gonzalez hid with fear, while the Cid's knights protected the Cid. The Gonzalez brothers were enraged by the