Both the Poem of the Cid and The Song of Orlando were written at a time when great new developments were taking place in Europe, but none more crucial than the beginning of the Crusades and the ethnocentric point of view they propagated and from which they were propagated (Quinn). Of great interest is the way in which both works address the nature of pluralism in European history. For the sake of this essay, pluralism will be defined simply as a state of more than one. Both works, written around the same time (1130-1170 for The Song of Orlando and around 1207 for The Poem of the Cid, as indicated in the book's introduction) present striking similarities and strong contrasts, which when contextualized are incredibly revealing of the attitudes of the respective authors/cultures towards economic, cultural and religious pluralism. An often overlooked place to begin evaluating these stories lies in their representations of economic systems. Orlando's Song describes a system based primarily on the offering of tribute, i.e. exotic gifts and treasures; clearly shown when Blancandrin advises Marsilla to achieve peace with Charlemagne by promising him “bears and lions and dogs, 700 camels and a thousand moulted falcons” (Burgess, page 30). However, it is important to note that the concept of paying with money is not entirely absent from the novel, “you will have enough gold bezants to pay your mercenaries well” (Burgess, page 33). In Orlando's Song we see the first evidence of a plural economy. The dominant system is the offering of lavish gifts in the form of tribute to one's superiors or equals such as Marsile to Charlemagne; which is followed by the less important/common payment of money to one's inferiors in the manner of Charlemagne to his mercen...... middle of paper ...... in full with The Poem of the Cid and its multicultural and relatively accepting the Spanish ideal of “convivencia” (Kahf) which embraced diversity in its many forms. Although both works contain strong similarities due to the proximity of their geographical and temporal origins and the struggles that took place there, namely the Crusades; subtle nuances and seemingly minor differences between the two works reveal two very different views on pluralism. Bibliography: Burgess, Glyn S. The Song of Roland. London, England: Penguin, 1990. Print.Hamilton, Rita, Janet H. Perry, and Ian Michael. The poetry of the Cid. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1984. Print.Quinn, William. "The Crusades 1 and 2." March 8 and 13, 2012. Lecture.Quinn, William. “Cantar del mio Cid Campeador.” April 3, 2012. LectureKahf, “Medieval Spain, competing narratives.” March 27, 2012. Conference