Valor
The key theme of the poem is valor, primarily because this is the key trait of El Cid, the trait that earns him his name, and the trait that is not in his enemies within the King's court. There are several events in the text that highlight this theme. When El Cid is exiled he does not plot against the king in anger, or try to devise a plan of revenge; instead, he goes to battle for the king, defending his territory and doing all that he can to earn the favor of the king back again. He also leads his men on several more battlefields, emerging victorious each time.
When he duels the infantes he is quickly victorious. They, by stark contrast, have no valor whatsoever; they plot and scheme and attempt to win the king's favor with dishonesty. They are cowardly, and run away when they are scared. This not only shows their own lack of valor but emphasizes El Cid's bravery and courage. He is renowned for his courage in battle and is a great leader of men. It is valor that has won him his place in Spanish history.
Spanish Regional Politics
In the Twelfth Century, what we know today as "Spain" was a region of individual states. Think of it as an un-United States of America, where Vermont, New York and Philadelphia are all genial and friendly neighbors who nonetheless have no political or monarchial binding. Although the regions of Spain were not warring with each other - far from it, they were generally united against the common foe of the Moorish invaders - they were also individual regions with no official ties. One of the themes of the text is the regional politics that in some ways contribute to El Cid becoming a hero and a legend. By defending different cities and regions from the Muslim invaders he was able to win the favor not only of the King of Castillia, but of the Kings of other regions as well. By marrying his daughters off the heirs to the thrones of Navarra and Aragon, he is able to unite the regions even more, and the text shows us how the slow unification of the country that we know today as Spain actually came about.
Regional Wars
One of the themes of the text is the wars in the region between the Muslim areas of North Africa that were close to the Spanish cities of Valencia and Castille. Constantly at war with each other, the Moors were a warring people whose goal was to take over all of the regions that made up Spain as a whole, determined to take over the territory and turn the land away from Christianity and towards their own. It also shows why the battles continued for at least the next five centuries as the Ottoman Empire attempted to spread throughout Europe as land boundaries became more defined.
