Indispensable Enemies, Subjects, and Friends: The Political Instrumentalization of Muslims in the Cantar de mio Cid

The alternately hostile and sympathetic depictions of Muslims, along with the complementary colonial strategies of fighting against them and negotiating with their cultural difference, are central to the heroic ideals of the twelfth-century Castilian epic Cantar de mio Cid. Through their crucial roles of enemies to be defeated, allies with whom to negotiate, and subjects to rule, Muslims become instrumental for the Christian hero to acquire the wealth, military reputation, and political power that the poem celebrates. Through its ambivalent depictions of Muslims, the Cantar de mio Cid clearly shows how the acquisition of power in a politically fragmented and culturally diverse Iberia depended not only on military strength but also on forging alliances with non-Christians and governing heterogeneous populations.