2007 Spain €10 Silver Proof "El Cid: Doña Jimena"

• Mint: Fabrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre-Real Casa de la Moneda
• Denomination: €10
• Quality: Proof
• Issue limit: 12,000 pcs.
• Alloy: 92.5% Sterling Silver
• Diameter: 40 mm
• Weight: 27 grams
• Box/Capsule: Yes/Yes
• Certificate: Yes

2007 marks the 800th anniversary of the first known written manuscript of the epic Spanish poem "Cantar de Mio Cid", the earliest surviving monument of Spanish literature and generally considered one of the great medieval epics and one of the masterpieces of Spanish literature.

The poem is a combination of legend and historical facts, and tells of the fall from royal favor and the eventual vindication of the Castillian 11th-century nobleman and military leader Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (1043-99), popularly known as El Cid.

The "Cantar de Mio Cid" ("The Lay of the Cid") is the first epic poem in Spanish literature which is preserved in its entirety and it is also the first extensive composition to be written in romance language on the Iberian peninsula. It tells of the deeds of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, the Cid Campeador, who lived under the reign of Alfonso VI of Castille, the king who sent him into exile in 1081. The Spanish hero who, over the years, has inspired a wealth of literary works and films in many different countries, is here endowed with a humanity not found in any other epic poems. His most notable traits are wisdom, tenderness towards his family and temperance, which is made manifest in his steadfast loyalty towards his king.

The 14th century codex preserved in the Spanish National Library contains the copy made by Per Abbat in 1245 of the Hispanic era, which corresponds to the year 1207. The copy was taken from another earlier manuscript which has since been lost. The first page of this codex is missing as are two more inside and it has also deteriorated as a result of certain chemical products which were applied in the 16th and 19th centuries to help read the text. It is now the only remaining copy of this ancient poem, which the prestigious Spanish philologist Menendez Pidal dated back to 1140 and later scholars believed to date from the late 12th century. Despite the dispute regarding its exact date, the work is of inestimable value, both for the research on the history of the Spanish language and for what it can tell us about the literary and social history of its day. The poem has a markedly realistic tone and is full of details taken from everyday life.

The obverse of the coin depicts Doña Jimena, El Cid's wife, while the reverse shows a monk transcribing the text into written form.

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