In the following essay, Looper analyzes the "propagandistic element of epic literature," explaining how the Cantar de mio Cid was used as a means of promoting the political and economic aims of medieval institutions long after the death of the historical Cid.

As an epic, compared with other examples from the genre, the Cantar de mio Cid stands out not so much in its form as in its content as a literary reflection of history. A text that probably underwent many transformations as oral literature before it was written down by a talented poet, the Cantar de mio Cid shares the epic epithets, stock themes, and formulas typical of other early epics. As the tale of a heroic individual whose existence is well documented, the Cantar offers a unique example in the epic genre of the relationship between literature and history. The link between the Cid as...