SOURCE: Burt, John R. “The Cid's Third Sword.” Critica Hispanica 16, no. 2 (1994): 205-10.

In the following essay, Burt explores the theme of avarice in the Cantar de mio Cid, describing how The Cid uses his understanding of the power of human greed as a “third sword” to achieve his ends.

Throughout the Poema de Mio Cid, the main concern of many of the characters seems to be the acquisition and retention of averes: “riqueza, dinero; bienes muebles” (PMC [Poema de Mio Cid] ed. Colin Smith, 314). While acquisitiveness remains characteristic of human behavior in all times, in the Middle Ages it was considered sinful and ran contrary to Christian doctrine. There existed a clear association in the medieval mind between averes and the sin of avarice (codicia), as may be observed in this gloss of aueres monedados linking both ideas: “Los omnes cudiçiosos del aver monedado, Que por ganar...