{"product_id":"el-cid","title":"El Cid","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A fascinating study of historical mythmaking... Concise and absorbing'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePaul Freedman, author of \u003ci\u003eOut of the East\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRodrigo Díaz lived a violently colourful life in eleventh-century Spain. An ambitious military leader, exile and brutal mercenary, he served Christian kings, fought against Christian princes in service of Muslim rulers, raided and killed Muslims and eventually struck out on his own, carving out an independent principality. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile Rodrigo the man is long dead, El Cid lives on: a superhero; a quasi-saint; the 'spirit of Spain', according to military dictator Franco; and a champion of medieval Spanish multiculturalism. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNora Berend uncovers how el Cid has been transformed across the centuries, confronting the gulf between truth and legend and examining how a military adventurer became a hero to people on opposite ends of the political spectrum. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat is it about this man that appeals to us? And why do we transform the most unsuitable people into heroes?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Would the real El Cid please stand up? Nora Berend's fascinating new book covers nearly a thousand years of history and myth-making about this eleventh-century warrior . . . and presents all the delicious ironies of history'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eProfessor Marc David Baer, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Ottomans: Khans, Caliphs, and Caesars\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxfordbookstore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44787035898035,"sku":"9781399709637","price":1160.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0718\/4164\/4723\/files\/blk_imp_17477345219781399709637.jpg?v=1762813349","url":"https:\/\/oxfordbookstore.com\/products\/el-cid","provider":"Oxfordbookstore ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}