defenses along the Tagus. The next year he attended Queen Urraca on her succession, signing himself dux toletule (Duke of Toledo). By mid-1111, he was, in effect, Toledo's ruler, and in 1113 he gave his consent (as toletani principis) to a royal donation there. As such he played a primary role in resisting the Murâbits. He also held Zorita, appearing in a donation as Albar Fannez de Zorita in early 1114. Fáñez died in mid-April 1114 defending Urraca's rule against rebelling Segovians. Poema de Mio Cid Álvar Fáñez, called Minaya, passed quickly into one of the heroic legends of the era, being a main character in Poema de Mio Cid. There, he is transformed from his historical role as loyal vassal and general of Alfonso VI to a similar role in the retinue of El Cid, often given military command when Cid splits his forces, and accompanying him during his exile, particularly in the campaign that made his uncle lord of Valencia (this in spite of historical records that show he remained in the kingdom of Leon/Castile at the time) and serving as his envoy to the royal court. He is a paragon of loyalty, not only being true to his uncle El Cid, but also unwavering in his defense of his kinsmen, El Cid's rivals, the Infantes de Carrión, a conflict perhaps based on the historical antagonism between El Cid and Álvar's father-in-law Pedro Ansúrez, uncle of the Infantes. Of particular note, he is credited with the reconquest of Guadalajara, Spain, where a Moorish tower, the Torreón de Álvar Fáñez, is named after him. References Sources Barton, Simon (1997). The Aristocracy in Twelfth-century León and Castile. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Barton, Simon and Richard A. Fletcher (2000). The world of El Cid: chronicles of the Spanish reconquest. Manchester: Manchester University Press Kaplan, Gregory B. (2005). "Friend 'of' Foe: The Divided Loyalty of Álvar Fáñez in the Poema de Mio Cid", Under the Influence: Questioning the Comparative in Medieval Castile, Cynthia Robinson and Leyla Rouhi, eds., Leyden, The Netherlands: Koninklejke NV, pp. 153–170. Reilly, Bernard F. (1989). The Kingdom of León-Castilla under King Alfonso VI, 1065–1109. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Reilly, Bernard F. (1982). "The Kingdom of León-Castilla under Queen Urraca, 1109-1126" Princeton: Princeton University Press. Spanish generals Spanish untitled nobility 1114 deaths Year of birth unknown