Students of Spanish literature have long been familiar with this eight-hundred-year-old epic detailing the legendary exploits of the soldier-adventurer Ruy Diaz of Bivar, El Cid, and of his part in the long struggle between Christianity and Islam. The epic poem recounts the adventures of the Cid; of his peerless steed, Babieca, and of his two famous swords, Colada and Tizon; of his wife, Dona Ximena, and his two daughters, Dona Elvira and Dona Sol, who found sanctuary with Abbot Don Sancho in the monastery of San Pedro de Cardena during the Cid's exile; and of the despicable and black-hearted princes of Carrion, Diego and Fernando Gonzalez.