Legendary Swords From Famous Myths

Just as the historical Frankish emperor Charlemagne grew to legendary proportions in French stories, so too did the real-life Spanish warlord Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar become larger than life in the stories told of him. As Britannica explains, Diaz was a Castilian warlord who became a national hero for his fierce and fearless fighting in

Just as the historical Frankish emperor Charlemagne grew to legendary proportions in French stories, so too did the real-life Spanish warlord Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar become larger than life in the stories told of him. As Britannica explains, Diaz was a Castilian warlord who became a national hero for his fierce and fearless fighting in the 11th century during the Muslim occupation of Spain. In Spanish, he was known as El Campeador ("the champion"), but he is more famously known by a name derived from the Arabic al-sīd, or "lord": El Cid. In the 12th century, an epic poem called "El cantar de mio Cid" ("The Song of My Cid") turned El Cid into a true legend, inflating his presence into an idealized medieval knight and exemplar of bravery, chivalry, and piety. It is, of course, in this poem that El Cid is given not one, but two legendary swords.

The first of the two swords is called Tizon (or Tizona, both meaning "firebrand"), which the poem calls "well worth a thousand golden marks." El Cid wins Tizon in battle with its previous owner, King Yussuf, and it is revealed that the power of the sword is proportional to its wielder. The stronger the one who holds it, the more powerful it is, to the point that it causes cowering fear in the hearts of unworthy opponents. His other sword, Colada, doesn't seem to have any magic powers.

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