‘For He Bestirred Himself to Protect the Land from the Moors’

This article considers two graphic novels that depict and deal with two separateperiods during the Spanish Reconquista [Reconquest] that was foughtduring the Middle Ages by the Christian kingdoms to roll back the Muslimdomination of the Iberian peninsula. Though written more than thirtyyears apart, El Cid (1971–1984), by Antonio Hernández Palacios, and 1212:Las Navas de Tolosa (2016), by Jesús Cano de la Iglesia, present interestingand at times quite similar views of the medieval Spanish past, even thoughthe periods they depict were arguably very different from each other. Thisarticle analyses the ways in which both authors depict the themes of Spain,the crusading movement, and ‘otherness’ in their texts, and it considers thepotential influences behind their depictions of such themes.