THE SHADOW OF THE CID AND OTHER MEDIEVAL MYTHS IN THE FRANCOIST THOUGHT

Abstract

Francoist thought, bereft of arguments to legitimize and embed the figure of the Caudillo Francisco Franco in the history of Spain, sought its inspirational sources, among other ideal references, in various legends and myths of Spanish medieval stock: the Reconquista and the Crusades, or the all-out war against the Muslim infidel; that of Fernán González, supposedly the symbolic defender of Castilian unity and, by extension, of the rest of Spain; or that of El Cid, illusory archetype of the defender of the Fatherland, legendary vassal of constant faith and loyalty to his king and to his kingdom, utopian guardian of public morality, and imaginary guarantor of continuity in the exercise of power.