before god
and this assembly,
i do freely forgive those who have warred against me.
i promise to defend them
and to show them favor,
even as i defend and show favor to those that were ever loyal to me.
this, my written oath,
i entrust to this holy church.
castilians,
god has called upon me to become your king.
i now call upon you to kneel in sign of fealty.
rodrigo of vivar,
called the cid,
why do you alone refuse me fealty?
sire,
all those you see here,
though none dares say so,
harbor the suspicion that you may have counseled
your own brother"s death.
unless you can prove your innocence,
you will have no loyal subjects.
your kingdom will be torn by doubt.
thus i cannot give you fealty,
nor own you as my liege.
what will satisfy you of my innocence?
your oath upon the holy books.
you would ask me to swear?
sire, i do ask it.
very well.
will you swear that you had no part
in the ordering of king sancho"s death?
i so swear.
do you swear that you had no part
by way of counsel in king sancho"s death ?
i so swear.
do you swear that you had no part
by way of design in king sancho"s death ?
i swear it!
if you are forsworn,
may you die such a death as your brother did,
struck from behind by the hand of a traitor.
say amen.
you press me too far, rodrigo.
say amen.
amen.
"by edict of our most illustrious sovereign alfonso,
"king of castile, leon and asturias,
"be it known that rodrigo of vivar
"has outraged the royal personage
"and is hereby exiled for life.
"he has been accorded nine days from this day
"in which to depart from the realm,
"alone and without men at arms.
"all his property, his goods,
"his lands and his privileges
"are hereby forfeit to the crown.
"all vassels of the king
"are forbidden to provide him with food, lodging
"or any means of sustenance
"or to speak with him.
"let no man give him aid."
i thirst.
i thirst. lord knight, i thirst.
there is no spring nearby
from which a leper is allowed to drink.
i"m thirsty.
here.
it"s for you.
for you.
thank you, my cid.
how do you know my name?
there is only one man in spain who could humble a king
and would give a leper to drink from his own pouch.
who are you?
i am called lazarus.
may helping hands be extended to you
everywhere you go, my cid.
can you forgive me, rodrigo?
chimene.
would you take me with you?
but. . . now i. . .
have nowhere to take you.
if we are together,
it will not be nowhere.
i love you, rodrigo.
i love you.
you know what you risk
if you come with me, my love?
since my love is not a man like other men,
my life will not be like other lives.
it"s only now,
only now that i know
how hard the road would"ve been without you.
are you the one they call the cid?
yes.
then you must be the beautiful chimene.
do you not hate him anymore?
no, i do not.
my father says they"ll cut our hands off if we help you.
my father says they have eyes everywhere.
but my father said
if you walk very slowly it will soon be dark,
and no one will be able to see you if you go into our barn.
mmm.
i suppose we must leave soon,
before it gets too light.
no, one more moment. . .
to remember all of this.
have you ever slept in a more beautiful bedchamber?
never.
have you ever eaten better food? no.
nor drunk better wine, nor. . .
i love you.
dona chimene, my wife.
i"m so glad, rodrigo.
so glad.
must we go?
mm-hmm.
of what are you glad?
that you are no longer the king"s champion;
that you no longer have your knights and your armies;
and that you have only me.
we will find some hidden place where you are not known.
yes, a place like this.
and we will make our lives there.
if all men knew that banishment could be like this,
we"d have a world of exiles.
come.
we"ll look for your hidden place
before the others find it.
we"ll have a new life now.
lord god,
protect this woman i love. . .
and who is now,
finally, my wife.
el cid!
cid!
i am in exile!
without you, we are all in exile.
i can"t take you with me!
you"d lose your homes, your families!
every man here has already made the choice.
we want you to lead us!
you have no right to ask him!
he has done enough!
el cid! el cid!
but why him?
why?
for spain!
spain!
urraca!
i haven"t slept all night.
every time i close my eyes to sleep,
i dream the same dream
over and over.
i"m fighting an enemy whose face i can never see.
i cut him down with my broadsword. he falls.
but when i look down,
it isn"t my enemy lying at my feet.
it"s. . .
it"s my own right arm.
it was only a dream. ohh.
it was nothing.
our dream was short. i know.
there is no hidden place for a man like you.
there must be thousands who would gladly part.
why you?
why me?
please, let me carry away an image of you smiling
it would be a lie.
i will beseech god with my prayers.
i will tell him he must bring you back to me.
i must tell god how much i need you.
then we will see each other again.
don rodrigo.
we have not forgotten or forgiven the wrong you did our royal person.
but when danger threatens, it is a king"s duty
to put the welfare of his subjects above all else.
that is why we summoned you here.
sire, i have all these years lived
in the hope your majesty would call me.
especially now, since ben yusuf has landed on our shores.
ben yusuf has challenged us to meet him on the plains of sagrajas.
sire, you must not fight at sagrajas.
valencia must first be but we have already accepted the challenge.
my liege, you must first take valencia.
while the moors hold valencia,
ben yusuf can strike out from there,
overrun all spain.
your majesty must not let this happen.
look,
i have brought friends to help you in this fight.
how dare they not kneel to us?
sire.
these are kings.
they come here as allies.
we need no such allies. we are a christian kingdom!
we treat only with christians.
they"re ready to fight at your side for valencia.
they fear ben yusuf as we do.
they are your friends.
we do not consider them friends.
sire!
you risk having no spain at all!
don rodrigo,
you will join us at sagrajas...
and we shall annul your banishment and return your lands.
but if you are not at sagrajas,
we shall consider you and yours our enemies!
don rodrigo. i know why you have come.
your twin daughters are playing in the garden here.
this is your father.
you"re elvira?
then you must be sol.
you"re elvira.
you"re exactly alike.
i"m tired.
tired of exile.
now i can take you home to vivar
with honors.
i might be wrong to defy the king.
he commanded me to meet him at sagrajas.
i could be wrong.
if you did not have us, rodrigo,
would you even wonder?
i used to see so many of your hidden places
where i could"ve lived with you.
and no one would have known.
have you also found a place
where we could hide from ourselves?
i can"t leave you,
leave them here
unprotected.
but if you do what must be done for all spain,
that will be our best protection.
our moorish silks suit well your christian armor.
ah.
you"ll make a moslem of me yet, my lord.
how can anyone say this is wrong?
they will say so,
on both sides.
we have so much to give to each other
and to spain.
if we are not destroyed first.
once we take valencia,
then let ben yusuf try.
valencia is surrounded.
no one here can leave the city or enter it.
then our weapon is starvation.
may allah make the siege a short one.
may god help our king alfonso at sagrajas.
we could have beaten ben yusuf!
with a few more men we could have won!
a handful of knights and victory would have been ours.
dona chimene,
did you think we would permit your husband to go unpunished?
would you punish the man who is now spain"s only hope?
what if we were to place
dona chimene and her children in our deepest dungeons?
might not the cid then deliver himself into our hands?
sire,
this is a sanctuary.
there are no sanctuaries for the enemies of christ!
if you crush him, who then would stand against the invaders of spain?
it was his fault!
if he had come, we would have won.
sire?
it was not for lack of courage that we lost.
you shall see.
you saw!
i made no sound!
it was not through lack of courage that we lost!
it takes more than courage to make a king.
tell me his exact words!
the king said
he would not release chimene and the children.
what does the king expect i"d do?
that i would let my wife and children die in his dungeons?
no !
he hopes you will march on burgos to rescue her.
burgos!
well, then,
shall we disappoint our king?
what do we wait here for? to burgos!
my lord cid, wait!
my lord, the city is ready to fall.
more and more people are coming over to our side.
after all these months, we cannot leave!
don"t speak to me of valencia, my lord moutamin.
not now!
am i not a man, too, like you?
may i not sometimes think of my wife? my children?
well, then,
what must i do?
everything was taken from you.
how did you bribe the jailer to bring me your message?
with two words:
the cid.
even all these months in the dungeon
have not marred your beauty.
there are terrible rumors.
they are not rumors.
the cid has sent an ultimatum to the king.
unless you and the children are released at once
your husband will march against us here.
abandon valencia?
leave all spain unprotected?
yes, chimene, for you. why not?
help me and the children to escape.
come with us.
join rodrigo.
ifi thought it would stop him from coming here,
i would kill myself
and the children.
then your love is as desperate as mine.
halt! halt!
rodrigo, let me fight at your side.
we have need of such men.
count ordonez,
we must attack tonight.
soldiers!
citizens of valencia!
we have starved you!
now you are weak!
but we do not wish to attack you!
we are not your enemies!
ben yusufis your enemy.
he will bring you death and destruction!
people of valencia,
rid yourselves of your leaders!
join with us!
we bring you peace!
soldiers and citizens!
we bring you freedom! we bring you life!
we bring you bread!
we bring you bread! bread!
bread! bread!
my lord! el cid is throwing them food!
your starving soldiers have deserted the walls
and joined the people!
kill them! call out the black guard.
stop them!
run them down! kill them!
aaah!
king! king! king!
the city is yours!
take the crown.
proclaim yourself king!
all our battles we have fought for you.
we want you to rule us.
my lord cid!
we have given up everything for you.
we implore you to take the crown.
i take valencia. . .
in the name of my sovereign lord
alfonso,
king of castile, leon and asturias,
of sagunto and almenara,
of castrejon and alcantara,
king of christians and moors.
valencia for alfonso
by the grace of god, king of spain!
king! king! king!
what a noble subject.
if he had only a noble king.
king! king! king!
the crown of valencia!
the crown of valencia?
the cid
sends this to me?
what are his conditions?
there are no conditions.
but chimene,
he knew about the dungeon, his children.
he knew.
and yet he sends me the crown.
what kind of man is this?
he wants something.
what is it he wants?
my lord, the cid has asked for nothing.
but i ask!
my lord, the cid needs your help to defend valencia against ben yusuf.
no!
tell your lord, the cid,
that we seek neither his favor nor his help.
nor can he expect anything from us.
now go.
who has done more for you and spain?
go!
look. now you are also king of valencia.
i am king of nothing. no king at all!
i will make myself a king! alfonso.
i will! alfonso!
all men must die.
why not for a good cause?
what cause of yours could be worth
such torture?
the cid.
the cid? he is a man like other men.
he will die. i will kill him.
he"ll never die. never.
you dare think of him as we think of our prophet?
we do!
then this will be more than a battle.
it will be our god against yours!
where"s ordonez?
i sent him to see if ben yusuf was on the march. hasn"t he returned?
not yet, my cid.
ben yusuf's armada.
we should attack at dawn before they can all land
we"ll drive a wedge along the shore
and keep his forces split.
come.
i know, i know.
this is always the hardest time.
when the enemy has no face.
you have been through this a hundred times.
i need to know.
where do you find your courage?
i wish i knew.
each warrior each time must find it for himself.
come.
this is the battle we"ve waited for so long.
the last battle.
when we"ve won it, we"ll have peace.
open the gates.
for god, alfonso and for spain!
for god, alfonso and spain!
the cid is wounded. he goes back to valencia.
the cid is wounded.
no, fanez.
we attack again tomorrow.
you will need time to recover your strength.
must be tomorrow.
the enemy will only grow stronger
while we grow weaker.
but, my lord! tomorrow, fanez.
make the preparations.
go. cover their retreat. go!
close the gates! close the gates!
there will be a great loss of blood,
but the arrow must be withdrawn immediately.
will he live?
if the arrow is drawn, he has a chance.
if not, he will be dead within a few days.
chimene.
i must lead the attack tomorrow.
if the arrow is not withdrawn,
it is certain you will die.
not before tomorrow.
that"s all i need.
but it"s not all i need.
what will there be for you if this battle is lost?
someone else will lead them.
they have made me their heart.
but their heart is wounded.
it needs to rest.
we could take you to vivar.
we could cure you.
my love would not let you die.
we have not spent much time together.
yet it seems to me. . .
i will not let you.
you will live.
yet it seems to me that those who have spent a lifetime together
have not had more than we.
i want more! i want forever!
oh, the children.
the children.
chimene,
you can"t save my life.
you must help me give it up.
now.
lord moutamin.
it is the wish of my husband
that the arrow shall not be removed.
allah be praised! the cid is dead!
the cid is dead!
they dare not come out and fight !
let it be known everywhere the cid is dead!
the cid is dead! the cid is dead!
the cid is dead!
i tell you! the cid is alive!
he is well! i have seen him!
he will fight tomorrow!
he will be with us, leading the attack.
i promise!
you must. . .
you must believe me!
the cid is alive!
fanez? yes, my lord.
what are they saying?
all is well, my lord. very well.
the people are hopeful.
the army is eager to fight.
you always were a bad liar, fanez.
now tell me the truth.
i could not convince them. . .
that you are alive.
the cid is alive!
el cid! el cid!
cid! cid!
soldiers!
people of valencia!
you must not be frightened by the sound of a few drums.
in a few hours, they will be silenced forever!
i promise you,
tomorrow morning
i will ride with you!
cid! cid!
cid! cid! cid!
chimene.
i am here, rodrigo. i am here.
listen to me.
even if my strength fails me,
i must lead the attack tomorrow. yes.
i must!
you understand?
i must.
alive or dead,
i must be on my horse at the head of my soldiers.
you promise
you will do whatever needs to be done?
yes.
promise me.
i promise, rodrigo.
i promise.
yes.
i promise.
open the gates! it"s the king!
my lord, the king!
forgive me, my cid.
forgive me!
no!
my king kneels to no man!
to no man!
it"s not easy
for a man to conquer himself.
you have done that.
if only i could live to see spain at peace.
you will. you will!
no one can stand against us now.
we"ll drive ben yusuf back into the sea!
i have not failed.
spain. . .
has a king.
tomorrow we will fight side by side.
my king and i.
we will ride out together.
together.
no!
i will be at your side.
chimene!
ah, chimene.
chimene.
i promise.
i have not forgotten.
i want you and my children. . .
to remember me riding with my king.
tomorrow.
for god, the cid and spain!
and thus the cid
rode out of the gates of history
into legend.
back!
go back!
go back! aaah!
heavenly father,
open your arms to receive the soul
of one who lived and died
the purest knight of all.
the end