It seems the more I read chronicle like writings, the more I tend to enjoy them. The World of El Cid: Chronicles of the Spanish Reconquest is a book that consists of four different chronicles by different original authors that depict the deeds of the different Kings of Leon and Castile, and now legendary knight, El Cid. In addition, these chronicles also includes quite a few stories of the deeds of certain nobles.

Being the longest conflict in human history, the Iberian reconquest is such an incredible complex topic. The chronicles narrated here are from the events in the 11th and 12th centuries. One of the most interesting aspects during this time in history was the political nature of the Christian Kingdoms and Moorish Taifas. The different political alliances, and intrigue during this era was absolutely incredible. At times, I even found it to be comical.

Unlike other chronicle works that I’ve read, here the writings are shown in a sequential timeline order of the events. We get to read the state of the Iberian Peninsula before the existence of El Cid, and chronicles that occur well after his death.

Reading this book without any prior knowledge might be somewhat confusing. It certainly doesn’t help that all the kings and queens have the same name!

For anyone new wanting to read this fantastic book, I would first highly suggest viewing the YouTube Real Crusades History Channel, El Cid and Reconquista playlist.