Ximena
May 26, 2010, filed under: Characters,El Cid, by LexAs far as epics go, El Cid is considered one of the more romantic ones. Rodrigo Diaz of Bivar and Ximena Gormaz are the prototypical, star-crossed lovers. The story goes that Rodrigo, defending his ailing father’s honor, must duel Ximena’s father, Count Gormaz. Rodrigo does so, but accidentally kills Gormaz in the duel. Ximena (pronounced: she-mane-ah) loves Rodrigo desperately, but she is sworn to the duty of her father. To preserve her father’s honor, Ximena must ask the king for satisfaction, who orders his best knight to duel Rodrigo to the death. Thankfully, Rodrigo wins and marries Ximena (but family get-togethers were strained).
Interestingly enough, this story is nowhere to be found in the original epic poem. It comes from an off-shoot written in 1360 called Mocedades de Rodrigo, which chronicled the exploits of a young El Cid. Las Mocedades was then used as the basis for Corneille’s 1636 play, Le Cid. Corneille’s play was exceedingly popular and the story was cemented into Cid folklore.
It was also a major plot point in Anthony Mann’s 1961 film El Cid. Ximena was played by Sophia Loren (opposite Charlton Heston) and she does a terrific job with the part; she really sells the idea of a woman torn between duty to her father and her passion for her lover (Heston doesn’t deserve her!).
The El Cid that we’ve come to know is a story about love and honor–two of the most powerful motivating forces known to man (and woman). And they are themes I will be carrying over into Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid. My own interpretation of Ximena isn’t quite as heart-stopping as Loren’s but she can stop Rodrigo’s heart so that’s all that matters. Below are the pencils, followed by the colored version of Ximena.
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