Tizona

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A sword of El Cid, exhibited in La Real Armería (the Royal Armory) museum, Royal Palace of Madrid, Spain. 2006

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^{[citation needed]} 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^{[citation needed]}.

There are two inscriptions on the sword:

IO SOI TISONA FUE FECHA EN LA ERA DE MILE 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".
Tizona d'El Cid is the name of a song in Beatmania IIDX 12th HAPPY SKY.
The metal band Metalium have a song on the album Hero Nation named Revenge of Tizona about the blade.
The inscription "Yo Soy La Tizona" is visible briefly in Highlander: The Series season two, episode two, "Studies in Light" on the sword wielded by immortal Greg Powers.

[edit] External links

(Spanish) Spanish military museum
(Spanish) 'Tizona' es falsa, 20 Minutos, 25 May 2007. The Spanish Ministry of Defence has declined to buy the sword since analyses date it on the 15th-16th century with 19th-century modifications. It has however been bought by the Junta de Castilla y León for its exhibition at Burgos.