The Washington herald., 1914-09-20
Led Troops to Victory
IL Days After His Death
As Censors Of Today Conceal News from Enemy So the De-
mise Of Cid Campeador Was Kept from Moors Until His
Corpse on Horse Drove Them Into the Sea.
BY JOHN JAY DAILY.


History has a way OF repeating itself,
but up to date 1t has recorded only one
warrior who led his troops into battle
after his death. That was Don Rodrigo
Laynez. Count Of Bivar. the noted Span
ish fighter. who, twelve days after his
demise, advanced against the Moors, out
side the city OF Valepcia.
The story OF how the Count Of Bivar,
afterwards known as the Cid Campeador
which means Lord Champion, planned
the battle in which his corpse was TO
take such a leading part. reads like
page from the Thousand and One Nights.
instead of an incident in history. He
ordered that the enemy be kept ignorant
of his death and that his body be en-
balmed and mounted on his favorite
charger. In this manner the dead gen.
eral was carried out on the field of bat
tie and there defeated thirty-six Moorish
at the head Of an army too numerous to
count.
The story of the Cid is particularly in
teresting at this time The loss OF
great general by any of the armies now
lighting in Europe might be used to ad-
vantage by the other side, but II is GER
tain that the censors, who are nov max
ing It impossible to get news from the
European battle fields would do their
story Told by Soutuhey.
Such a terror to the Moors was
Roderigo Laynez and so superior did he
seem to all other warriors OF that time
that they called him FL Seid, Arabic for
the Lord. His appellation finally be-
came "Cid Campeador." The Cid is sup
posed to have been born about the year
IO2S On account of the Spanish love of
romance the history of this great fighter
has been so intermingled with fable that
IL Is now almost impossible to get at
the real facts. The Poem OF the Cid"
one OF the longest poems in the Spanish
language, gives a long account OF him
and his conquests. The many battles he
waged against the Moors are set forth
in this poem and authorities agree that
the general outline is fairly accurate.
1t was from the Poem of the Cid"
and other Spanish works, that Southey
translated and compiled his Chronicle
of the Cid" This work is now recognized
as an authoritative chronicle Of the Cid s
strenuous activities.
How the Cid led his troops into battle
after his death is best related by Southey.
In the eleventh book OF the Chronicle
OF the Cid" Southey tells that after the
Cid had won Valencia from the Moors
and had held possession of it for FIVE
years, during which time the Christians
and Moors had lived peacefully together.
he was informed that King Bucar of
Morocco. whom he had conquered, was
advancing on the city with thirty-siX
Moorish kings and an army so great in
numbers It could not oe counted.
As soon as this news reached the Cid
he began to devise methods to meet the
attack. He Immediately ordered that all
Moors be banished from Valencia until
the result OF the invasion should be
known.
Had Vision of st. Peter.
On the same night in which the Cid
was informed of the coming Of the |
Moors the Spanish warrior had a vision. |
in which st. Peter appeared to him. say
ing: ''Sleepest thou. Rodrigo, or what
art thou doing?" And the Cid made am !
swer: What man art thou who askest ,
me?' And he said: Il am St. Peter. the (
prince OF the apostles. who come to thee .
with more urgent tidinGs than those for
which thou art taking thought concern
ing King Bucar: and it is that thou art !
to leave this world and go to that which !
hath no end; and this will be in thirty
days But God will show favor unto !
thee, so that thy people shall discom- |
fort King Bucar. and. though being dead, !
shall win this battle"
This vision wrought great changes in /
the Cid, who. on relating II the next
morning to his courtIers. said he was
''as certain that all this woVld come to