The Cid departs Vivar in banishment and is refused lodging in Burgos, as the townspeople fear King Alfonso's punishment.

Martín Antolínez deceives the moneylenders Raguel and Vidas into lending the Cid 600 marks using sand-filled chests as collateral.

The Cid arrives at the Abbey San Pedro de Cardeña to bid farewell to his wife Doña Jimena and daughters Sol and Elvira.

The Angel Gabriel visits the Cid in a dream and promises that everything he starts will always end well.

The Cid tricks the people of Alcocer into opening their gates, then turns his army around and conquers the city.

The Cid defeats Count Ramón of Barcelona at the pine woods of Tévar and captures the famous sword Colada.

The Cid besieges Valencia for nine months until the city surrenders on the tenth month and he becomes its ruler.

Doña Jimena and her daughters arrive in Valencia, where the Cid rides out on his horse Babieca to greet them.

The Carrión nobles ask King Alfonso to arrange their marriages to the Cid's daughters, Doña Sol and Doña Elvira.

The Cid kneels before King Alfonso at the banks of the river Tagus, and the king formally pardons him.

Doña Sol and Doña Elvira marry the Carrión heirs Fernando and Diego González at Saint Mary's church in Valencia.

The Carrión brothers beat Doña Sol and Doña Elvira savagely with leather straps in the Corpes forest and leave them for dead.

Muño Gustioz brings the Cid's message to King Alfonso, reporting the daughters' beating and demanding justice against the Carrión heirs.

At the Toledo court, the Cid demands his two swords Colada and Tizón be returned, and the Carrión heirs comply.

The Cid's daughters are wed to the Princes of Aragon and Navarre, and the Cid himself dies at Pentecost.

The Cid is unjustly exiled from Castile by King Alfonso and sets out with a small band of men to rebuild his reputation through military conquest. After securing funds through a deception on two moneylenders and bidding farewell to his family, he raids Muslim territories, growing his army and wealth with every victory. His greatest triumph comes with the conquest of Valencia, which earns him enough prestige for King Alfonso to grant him a full pardon at the river Tagus. Encouraged by the king, the Cid reluctantly allows his daughters to marry the Carrión nobles, a match that ends disastrously when the brothers beat and abandon the women in the Corpes forest. The Cid seeks justice through the king's court in Toledo, methodically recovering his swords, his daughters' dowry, and winning a trial by combat against the Carrión heirs. The epic closes with the Cid's daughters married to the Princes of Aragon and Navarre, and the Cid himself dying in full honor at Pentecost.

The Cid's journey from banishment to restored family honor.

A nine-year-old girl opens a locked door to tell the Cid that King Alfonso forbids anyone to shelter or feed him.

Martín Antolínez brings bread and wine to the Cid's starving company camped outside Burgos and joins the Cid's cause.

Doña Jimena weeps at matins and prays for the Cid's safe return, recalling Christ's many miracles.

The Cid and his men ambush and capture the Moorish city of Castejón, seizing gold, silver, and livestock.

Moorish King Tamín sends 3,000 soldiers to besiege the Cid at Alcocer, cutting off the camp's water supply.

The Cid sends Minaya to King Alfonso with thirty bridled horses won from the Moorish forces.

King Alfonso pardons Minaya and allows men to join the Cid's campaign without punishment, but cannot yet pardon the Cid.

The French bishop Don Jerónimo arrives eager to fight Moors, and the Cid installs him as Bishop of Valencia.

Abengalbón, the Cid's Muslim ally in Molina, escorts Doña Jimena and her daughters safely toward Valencia.

King Yusef of Morocco attacks Valencia with 50,000 men but is defeated and flees across the Júcar river.

The Cid's lion escapes in the palace; Fernando hides under a couch and Diego squeezes himself behind a wine press.

King Búcar of Morocco attacks Valencia, and the Carrión brothers flee the battlefield in fear rather than fight.

Félix Muñoz finds Doña Sol and Doña Elvira half-dead in the Corpes forest, revives them, and leads them out of the mountains.

Pedro Bermúdez defeats Fernando González in single combat using the sword Tizón, forcing Fernando to concede the fight.

Muño Gustioz defeats Ansur González in single combat, completing the Cid's three victories in trial by combat.

Alongside the main plot, a series of crucial secondary events define the Cid's rise from exile to triumph. From the small-town girl who refuses him entry to the brave citizen Martín Antolínez who defies the king's orders to join him, the Cid's journey is shaped by the people who surround him. His military campaign grows through the ambush at Castejón and a grinding siege at Alcocer, while the Muslim ally Abengalbón proves one of his most reliable friends by safely escorting the Cid's family across Spain. The arrival of King Yusef's massive Moroccan army and the cowardice of the Carrión brothers during the lion incident and King Búcar's attack expose the true character of the men in the Cid's circle. When the Carrión brothers abandon the Cid's daughters in the Corpes forest, it is the loyal Félix Muñoz who finds them and saves their lives. Justice is ultimately delivered through trial by combat, where the Cid's three knights each defeat a Carrión opponent and restore the family's honor.

The battles, allies, and moments that shaped the Cid's campaign.

The Cid prays at the Church of Santa María before departing Burgos, camping outside the town walls with nothing to eat.

A farewell banquet at San Pedro de Cardeña rings the monastery's bells and draws hundreds of new volunteers to the Cid's cause.

Minaya Álvar Fáñez joins the Cid as he leaves Castile, refusing all gifts until he can prove himself in battle.

The Cid frees Castejón's prisoners after receiving ransom, choosing to leave peacefully rather than risk fighting King Alfonso's forces.

Pedro Bermúdez rushes into battle at Alcocer against the Cid's direct orders, forcing the entire army to follow him.

Count Ramón refuses to eat for three days after his defeat; the Cid wins his loyalty through diplomacy and releases him.

The Cid decides to let his beard grow untrimmed as a visible sign of his love and loyalty to King Alfonso.

Minaya presents King Alfonso with one hundred horses, but Don García Ordóñez rises to insult the Cid before the court.

King Alfonso grants permission for the Cid's family to travel to Valencia, and the Carrión nobles immediately begin plotting to marry the daughters.

The Cid reluctantly agrees to consider the Carrión marriage proposal, privately telling his wife the decision belongs to the king.

Shamed by the Cid's men for their cowardice, the Carrión brothers secretly decide to leave Valencia with their wealth and find more powerful wives.

Abengalbón confronts the Carrión brothers after a Moor overhears their murder plot, then abandons them on the road to Molina.

The Cid demands the 3,000-mark dowry be returned; the court forces the Carrión heirs to repay it in goods, ruining their family.

Don García insults the Cid's beard at court; the Cid retorts by publicly humiliating García over his own defeat at Cabra castle.

Martín Antolínez defeats Diego González in single combat using the sword Colada, avenging the honor of Doña Sol.

Behind the Cid's victories lies a series of pivotal choices and revelations that redirect the story at every turn. The farewell banquet at San Pedro de Cardeña draws hundreds of new volunteers, and Minaya's refusal of gifts until he proves himself in battle establishes the deep loyalty that sustains the campaign. Early battlefield decisions—like Pedro Bermúdez's unauthorized charge at Alcocer—set the tone for the Cid's men, while the Cid's diplomatic handling of Count Ramón reveals how he wins allies without needless cruelty. The marriage plot turns on the Cid's reluctant submission to the king's wishes, and the Carrión brothers' secret decision to abandon their wives exposes the ambition and dishonor at the heart of their family. At the Toledo court, each exchange—from the return of the swords to the bitter debate over the dowry and the public humiliation of Don García—strips the Carrión heirs of their pretensions. The final duel delivers the last reckoning, as one of the Cid's own knights defeats one of the brothers using the very sword the Cid had gifted them.