Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar / El Cid

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian nobleman and military leader in medieval Spain. The Moors called him El Cid (Spanish pronunciation: [el̟ˈθið]), which meant the Lord (probably from the original Arabic al-sayyid, السَّيِّد), and the Christians, El Campeador, which stood for "Outstanding Warrior" or "The one who stands out in the battlefield". He was born in Vivar del Cid, a town near the city of Burgos. After his death, he became Castile's celebrated national hero and the protagonist of the most significant medieval Spanish epic poem, El Cantar de Mio Cid.