There are scholars who belief that the castle of Jadraque is the castle “Castejón sobre el Henares”, which is mentioned in El Cantar. The poem reports that shortly after his exile at the hands of King Alfonso VI, El Cid and his men set for Moorish territory and that they conquered El Cid Castle, capturing the town of Castejón de Henares, which is at a distance of 15kms.
The castle, which was built in the 15th century and sits on a hill commanding the plain of the river Henares, is an example of a fine late medieval fortification. The castle was built on the foundations of a fortress that dated back to the Caliphate period. It is, therefore, possible to argue that Jadraque, whose etymology is Arabic, was part of the defensive terrains that were part of the Middle March, which also included Atienza or Sigüenza.
The castle is known as ‘Castle of El Cid’ because it was owned by Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar y Mendoza, the son of Cardenal Mendoza and became the first Count of Cid, a title of nobility granted by the Catholic kings towards the end of the 15th century.
The castle, which has a rectangular base, occupies the whole area of the hill. The castle entrance is flanked by two solid semi-cylindrical turrets. The castle walls lack windows and openings and the complex does not have a torre del Homenaje. Only closing walls and middle walls have crenels.
Rev. PAB 27.12.18
