Besides the Historia Roderici, another notable Latin source for the life of El Cid Campeador is the Carmen Campidoctoris ("Poem of the Campeador"), which is composed in Sapphic stanza but unfortunately does not survive beyond 129 lines. Scholarly opinions on the date of its composition range between 1082 CE and the second half of the 12th century CE. The clear signs of its composition at an early date (i.e. probably no later than the 12th century CE) are as follows:
. It speaks of El Cid's wars as "recent" (Latin: nova) in contrast with the ancientness of the wars of Paris (the Trojan War), Pyrrhus (against Rome in the 3rd century BCE) and Aeneas (conquest of Latium).
. The appeal to those who relied on El Cid's help to listen to the poem.
Other indications of dating in my view are less clear-cut. For example, when the poem mentions that the Moors still call a certain fort (Almenar) by its Arabic name, it does not necessarily follow in my view that the fort was still under Muslim control at the time of the poem's composition. The fort, as Gil notes, was captured in 1093 CE. The fact that the poem does not fully survive is also a problem for more precise dating. For instance, did the poem culminate with El Cid's capture of Valencia in 1094 CE? It is impossible to tell.
Below is my translation of the poem, with annotations where necessary. The critical edition used is that contained in Corpus Christianorum (Continuatio Mediaevalis LXXI).
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