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A review by paul_cornelius
The Quest for El Cid by R. a. Fletcher, Richard A. Fletcher
4.0
First, this is a good book. Informative, trenchant, and convincing, despite the author's occasional awkward syntax or frustrated word choices. It reminds me of an era of historical study not so long ago that avoided sentimental assurances meant to assuage contemporary feelings or, alternatively, settle for psychologically driven needs to reinforce disintegrating national mythoses.
Instead, the Spain that Fletcher describes emerges from the Visigothic remnants of the sixth century to the disintegrating Islamic caliphate of the 11th century. This is the world into which El Cid was born, a fissile society prone to intrigue, opportunity, and violence.
Finally, Fletcher notes that his is not a work meant to "stand up to academic scrutiny". And, indeed, it does not. Little ground is given to a review of the literature or the historiograhy of the period. Neither is his source material as helpful as it could be, although in all honesty this sort of intellectual breeziness is a hallmark of much contemporary British scholarship--at least as it compares with its American contemporaries. Nevertheless, this slim volume remains a valuable read, an important, even, survey of the time and the persons involved.
Instead, the Spain that Fletcher describes emerges from the Visigothic remnants of the sixth century to the disintegrating Islamic caliphate of the 11th century. This is the world into which El Cid was born, a fissile society prone to intrigue, opportunity, and violence.
Finally, Fletcher notes that his is not a work meant to "stand up to academic scrutiny". And, indeed, it does not. Little ground is given to a review of the literature or the historiograhy of the period. Neither is his source material as helpful as it could be, although in all honesty this sort of intellectual breeziness is a hallmark of much contemporary British scholarship--at least as it compares with its American contemporaries. Nevertheless, this slim volume remains a valuable read, an important, even, survey of the time and the persons involved.