Colada and Tizona, the Two Legendary Swords of El Cid
Throughout history the sword has held a special place of pre-eminence. It has evolved beyond a mere practical and versatile weapon to become something symbolic.
This is however not entirely fair. The sword was given this prominence because it was the weapon of the officer and the gentleman, a dashing suggestion of violence brought into polite society and on display for general titillation.
This is certainly what the sword became, thrust into the limelight in this way. But in truth the sword in the battlefield became more and more a backup weapon.
Common soldiery often carried swords too since forever, just look at the kit of a Marian-era Roman legionary, but soldiers primarily fought with spear and lance. Officers on horseback had swords but these were weapons of last resort: officers were supposed to direct the battle and were not generally expected to be in the thick of things.
But the image of the sword and its association with the nobles and the military leaders in history ensures it retains this elevated position in the public consciousness. Swords have meaning, and there have been more famous swords than any other weapon in history.
Some are truly mythical, the weapons of legendary gods and kings. Arthur’s Excalibur is perhaps the most famous of these, but there are many others.
Later history is also filled with legendary swords, some of which still survive. And amongst these swords few are as famous as Colada and Tizona, the legendary swords of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, known as El Cid.
The Swords of the Reconquista
El Cid is one of the most interesting characters in medieval Spanish history. Born in 1043, this knight and lord of Castile would come to dominate the Spanish levant at the head of his retinue of knights, fighting during his lifetime in the armies of both the Christians and the Spanish Moors.
It would be the latter who gave him his famous name, the honorific “as-Sayyid” being corrupted by local Spanish speech into El Cid. But it would be his final battle against the Moors which earned him his place in history as a hero of Spain, portrayed down the centuries since as the ideal medieval knight.
EL Cid’s final days saw him facing an enormous Moorish army at Valencia. Legend says that he was wounded in an early skirmish and died of his wounds that night, but that his wife had his body strapped into armor and saddle and sent out at the head of a charge the next day, routing the besiegers are winning him a victory beyond death.
El Cid’s two swords were famous as the personal arms of the man. Much of what we know about them comes from the epic poem Cantar de Mio Cid in which it was said that El Cid won them in personal combat from the Count of Barcelona and from Yusuf ibn Tashfin, co-founder of Marrakech and king in the Almoravid Empire.
The two swords would go on to be presented by El Cid to his sons-in-law, known as the Infantes de Carrión. However they were recovered by EL Cid after the men beat and abandoned their wives: they were no longer worthy to wield them.
The names of the swords are somewhat obscure, but Colada seems to refer to acero colado or “cast steel”, referring to the high quality of the blade’s manufacture. Tizona might mean something like “firebrand” but may simply mean “sword” given another sword with the same name owned by James I of Aragon more than a century later.
The poem also contains many legends associated with these swords. Colada is said to strike down a Spanish prince, cleaving armor and shield alike like butter as the defender screams in fear of the deadly blade.
Tizona has even more fantastical properties. It was said to only be truly powerful in the hands of a suitable wielder, causing one opponent to cry out in surrender as soon as it was unsheathed. It was also said to have defender El Cid even after his death: lying with his body in state it struck down a Jew who dared touch the corpse, prompting him to convert to Christianity.
Such tales are ever associated with such legendary weapons, but there is something about these which set them apart from legends. El Cid was without a doubt a real person, and the swords were real too. And, amazingly, both survive to this day.
Well, maybe, and at best one and a half of them survive. We have a sword blade with a newer, 16th century hilt attached, which is traditionally identified as Colada and which is preserved in the Royal Palace of Madrid. We only have tradition to go on here, but this could possibly be El Cid’s famous steel blade.
The story of the sword Tizona however is more complicated. Records state that it was given by Ferdinand II of Aragon to Pedro de Peralta, count of Santisteban de Lerín, some time in the latter 15 th century, and kept at Marcilla Castle in Navarre.
The provenance of this particular sword since is easy to follow. It was subsequently moved to Madrid, and then to the Museum of Burgos, where it remains to this day. The question is not whether this is that sword, but whether this is Tizona.
The sword itself states this clearly: written along the blade are the words “Yo soy la Tizona [que] fue hecha en la era de mil e quarenta”: “I am the Tizona which was made in the year 1040.” The blade itself also appears old enough, as far as anyone can tell.
But this inscription itself is definitely later, as again is the hilt, which has resulted in some dismissing the entire thing as a forgery. There is even some confusion as to whether the swords as preserved have become mixed, and that this “Tizona” sword was originally the “Colada” sword.
So it is with historical uncertainty. These swords remain preserved and many believe them to be the legendary swords of El Cid. Perhaps in the future the truth can finally be uncovered.
Top Image: The legendary Spanish hero El Cid is said to have had two swords, Tizona and Colada, and it is possible that at least one of them survives today. Source: Zarateman / Public Domain.
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