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The Tizona and Colada Swords belonged to the Castilian knight Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, known as "El Cid Campeador" in the 11th century. He was the prototype of the knight and a loyal vassal who took part with his king, Alphonse VI, in the conquest of Toledo. Subsequently, El Cid conquered the city, and kingdom of Valencia (which he ruled there until his death in 1099) from the Arabians (Moors). El Cid was a great war hero, a superior and extremely successful soldier of fortune, who apparently never lost a battle. To this day, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar is known as a hero of Christian Spain, due to his excellent acheivements in the the Reconquest of Spain from the Moors. His title, El Cid Campeador, derives from: "El Cid" , a Moorish title of respect, from Arabic al sayyid "Lord"; "Campeador" is Spanish for "Champion".
The El Cid Tizona Sword by Marto of Toledo Spain has a double-edged Toledo steel blade, with 24K Gold etching on its upper part. The hilt is of Nickel plated cast metal with downward curved quillons enlarging at their ends as leaves, grip wrapped in a metal string with a two-lobes shaped pommel.
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