Tizona

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La Tizona.

Tizona is the sword carried by El Cid which was used to fight the Moors in Spain. It is now one of Spain's most cherished relics and can be found at the Museo del Ejército (Army Museum) in Madrid.

One of El Cid's swords (another is named Colada), Tizona was taken in battle from a Moorish chief named Malik Bucar. The sword was given to his daughter's husband as marriage gift, but some time later, due to his daughter's poor treatment at the hands of her husband, Tizona was taken back and given to his nephew Pedro Bermudez. The sword is 103 cm long and weighs 1.1 kg. Tizona was supposedly forged in Cordoba, though considerable amounts of Damascus steel can be found in its blade.

There are two inscriptions on the sword:

YO SOY LA TIZONA FUE ECHA EN LA ERA DE MILLE QUARENTA

In medieval Castilian (Spanish): "I am "La Tizona", made in the year 1040", but in Spanish medieval sources, "era" implies Hispanic Era, by which the History of Spain starts in 38 BC, so the date of the sword has to be 1002.

AVE MARIA ~ GRATIA PLENA ~ DOMINUS TECUM

In Latin: "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you" (from the Catholic prayer Ave Maria, "Hail Mary")

On the sword the "U" characters appear similar to the modern "X."

[edit] Popular culture

"Tizona del Cid" is the name of a weapon in the game Freelancer.
Tizona is also a weapon in Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. I
Tizona is the name of a roller coaster located at the Terra Mítica amusement park in Benidorm, Spain.
El Cid Sword is a weapon in "Final Fantasy Tactics Advance".