HOW RODRIGO AND XIMENA WERE MARRIED, AND HOW THE DEVIL TERRIFIED THE
PEOPLE OF BURGOS
The month of September was commencing, and it was the early morning of a
Sunday, calm and mild as a day in spring, for the burning heats of
summer had ceased, and were replaced by the cool breezes which autumn
brings with it, especially in the country about Burgos. There might
have been noticed in that city an unusual animation, and a multitude of
people were flocking towards it from the districts all around; but where
that throng and bustle was most perceptible was in the immediate
neighbourhood of the church of Santa Gadea.
The reader will already have surmised what the circumstance was which in
this manner was disturbing the habitual tranquillity of the capital of
Castile and its suburbs; on that day were to be celebrated the nuptials
of Rodrigo Diaz and Ximena Gome, and the king and queen were to give
away the bridegroom and the bride. In the streets which led from the
Alcazar to the church, all the balconies and windows were magnificently
adorned with flowers and rich hangings; the ground was strewn with
flowers and sweet-smelling herbs, and at intervals beautiful arches,
covered with foliage, had been erected. These nuptials were the cause of
great satisfaction, not alone to the relations and friends of the bride
and bridegroom, but also to the good people of Castile, who now felt
sure that there would no longer be any danger of feuds and bloodshed.
For these reasons the citizens had done their utmost to adorn and make
gay the streets through which the bridal procession was to pass.
The sun had not long risen, when the crowds which peopled the streets
began to move and direct their eyes towards the Alcazar, for the chiming
of the bells of Santa Gadea was announcing that the wedding party had
issued from its gate; for, it may be mentioned, Don Fernando, desirous
of doing honour to Rodrigo and Ximena in every possible way, had lodged
them in his palace. A few moments afterwards the brilliant cortège was
in full view of the expectant multitude.
How beautiful was Ximena, and how high-spirited Rodrigo! They walked
between the king and queen, and near them were Diego Lainez and Teresa
Nuña, on whose countenances beamed joy and parental pride. There
accompanied them also many of their relations, and the most
distinguished dames and cavaliers of the court. The crowds pressed on to
gaze at them, and the king's guards found some difficulty in keeping the
way clear for the procession. At last they arrived at the church, where
the bishop, Don Ximeno, awaited them, and then the multitudes began
again by rough shoving and pushing to endeavour to secure the best
positions for seeing them when they returned after the sacred ceremony.
The agitation and disorder which for a considerable time had reigned in
the crowd, packed tightly together opposite the church of Santa Gadea,
gradually ceased, and all were peacefully expressing their opinions on
the richness of the dresses, on the beauty of the bride, on the brave
appearance of the bridegroom, and on the circumstances which had
preceded these famous nuptials.
"As God lives, that Ximena is of more value than all her estates, and
they are so large that the Moors could make four kingdoms out of them,
each of the size of those which they rule over," said a youth who seemed
to be a page by his dress, and who, with two companions, was mounted on
the railings which protected the porch of Santa Gadea.
"Rodrigo and his estates at Vivar are worth just as much," replied
another of the youths.
"And I tell you," added the third, "that Rodrigo Diaz will soon be the
ruler of an empire. Have you not heard of the gifts which Don Fernando
has given to the bride and bridegroom?"
"I know nothing of them, for my lord and master, the Count of Carrion,
hates the family of Vivar so much, that nobody dares to mention their
names in his castle."
"Then you must know that he has given to them, and to their heirs for
ever, the seigniories of Valduerna, of Belorado, and of Saldaña."
"By the saints, how generous Don Fernando must be!"
"The king knows right well what he is doing, for he should be generous
to him who won Calahorra for him, which he had lost if the knight of
Vivar were not as valiant as he is. And for my part, I believe that Don
Rodrigo will win for Castile, from the Moors, more castles than there
are houses on the estates which Don Fernando has given to him."
"And it is certain that Don Rodrigo is valiant. My master could tell a
good deal about that, and the son of my mother also, if the people round
us were not making such a noise."
"I'd like to hear all about it, Guillen."
"And I also."
"Then you'll have to be satisfied with the desire of hearing it, for
this is not the place to relate adventures in which my lord came off
very badly."
This refusal of Guillen, as may be supposed, whetted the curiosity of
his companions, who, one on each side of him, edged themselves on,
along the bar on which they sat, until they were in contact with him.
"Relate the adventure to us, Guillen, for I bet it is worth hearing,"
said one of his friends.
"I shall tell it, just to please you; but if Don Suero, my master, knew
that I related this adventure, I should soon be in a condition to relate
no more of them, but like my companions, the other servants of the
count, who remained at the Inn of the Moor with holes in their hearts,
made by the lance of that terrible squire of Don Rodrigo, named Fernan."
"Cease your nonsense, friend Guillen, and go on with your story."
"I shall do so at once."
And Guillen related to his friends the carrying off of Beatrice, almost
exactly as the reader already knows it.
"And is it possible that the Count of Carrion commits such outrages?"
asked one of the listeners.
"Very little surprises you, my friend," replied Guillen, still in a low
voice, and looking about cautiously to see if he could be overheard by
any of those who were standing about, waiting to see the wedding party
come forth from the church. "Your astonishment would be greater," he
continued, "if you only knew the circumstances of the carrying off of
another girl by Don Suero, some time before his attempt on Beatrice."
Illan and Garcia, for such were the names of the other pages, squeezed
themselves more closely, if such were possible, against Guillen, bending
their necks and bringing their ears close to his mouth. Seeing, however,
that the servant of Don Suero did not satisfy their curiosity with the
promptitude they desired, they abandoned gestures in order to question
him with words.
"And how did this other outrage take place?" asked Illan, who was the
more curious of the two.
"It happened as you will soon hear, if those who related it to me were
not liars, for at that time I was not in the service of Don Suero. There
was in the neighbourhood of Carrion a maiden--a peasant girl, indeed,
but one of the handsomest that could be found in Castile or Leon. Don
Suero thought little of taking her from her father, as he was smitten by
her beauty; and, using cunning devices, he succeeded in inducing both
father and daughter to go to the castle of Carrion, and there he
dishonoured the girl, and deprived the father of his sight, so that he
might not be able to find his daughter, or take vengeance on him for
what he had done. The girl, who was good and modest, resisted his wooing
for a long time, but the count had recourse to violence, and Sancha, for
such was the name of his victim, had to yield at last to the brutality
of her jailer. Days and months went on, and Don Suero, who was much in
love with the peasant girl, redoubled his caresses, hoping to make her
love him also. The girl was becoming, by degrees, more yielding as time
went on, softened by the tenderness and by the gifts of Don Suero. But
behold! an old gipsy woman entered her apartment one day. This old woman
was in the habit of telling fortunes, and the count put up with this,
and with other queer things which she did. She and the girl, however,
disappeared from the castle, some say by witchcraft, for they thought it
could not be by any other means, and it was well known that the old
gipsy was an expert in the black art, like all the rest of her race. It
is easy for you to imagine the despair and the rage of the count when he
was informed of the flight of Sancha. It is only necessary to say that,
in order to give vent to his anger, he nearly killed all his servants
and vassals with beatings, and, hoping to forget the girl, he
established in his castle a kind of harem, to which he carries off the
handsomest girls of the country, when he gets a chance of doing so."
"And have they never learned the abode of the unfortunate Sancha?"
"No; all the efforts which Don Suero has used to find her out have been
in vain."
"And those of her father to discover her?"
"Have been also unavailing."
"What has become of him?"
"He seeks his daughter in every direction; but the unhappy man cannot
find her. He goes from town to town, weeping over his loss, and earns
something to live on by playing a lute."
"Anger of God! and are you not ashamed to remain in the service of such
a wicked master?"
"I am ashamed, in truth, but you must know that I cannot go away from
his residence; for if I lived far from the castle of Carrion, I should
die of grief."
"By the glorious St. Isidore, I do not understand you!" exclaimed Illan.
"Guillen, you want to bewilder us with your mysteries," added Garcia.
"Are there not plenty of masters who would be only too glad to get a
respectable page or squire?"
"Leave that wretch of a Don Suero immediately, for my master, the Count
of Cabra, wants at present an honourable and brave page like you, and he
would engage you at once."
"I tell you that I cannot leave the service of the Count of Carrion."
"If the count were a lady, I should say you were in love with him."
"Then learn that I am in love, and very much in love, my friends."
Illan and Garcia broke into a loud laugh, caused not so much by the
words of Guillen, as by the sentimental tone in which he pronounced
them.
"By the saints! if you laugh at me, I will spit you on the points of
these bars!" exclaimed Guillen, made angry by the laughter of his
friends, which had caused the people standing about to fix their
attention on them.
Illan and Garcia felt that Guillen had just cause for his annoyance, and
ceased laughing.
"Don't be vexed, Guillen," said the former, "but explain yourself to
us."
"I tell you that I am in love, and by confiding to you this secret, for
no one else must know it, I am proving to both of you the warmth of my
friendship."
"But who are you in love with?"
Guillen looked around on all sides, and then replied in a very low
voice--
"With Doña Teresa, my mistress."
Illan and Garcia found some difficulty to restrain themselves from again
bursting out into laughter. However, they checked themselves when they
noticed the angry gesture of Guillen when he saw the fresh symptoms of
hilarity.
"With Doña Teresa! with the sister of the count your master!" exclaimed
Illan. "Are you mad, Guillen, or are you making fun of us?"
"I am not making fun of you; but I am mad--mad in love, my friends."
"But is it returned?"
"How could it be, when I have never dared to declare my love to her who
is the object of it?"
"But don't you know, you fool, that if the noble Doña Teresa, the sister
of the Count of Carrion, happened to discover that you were in love with
her, she would laugh at you, if indeed she did not get you driven with
blows from the castle. Don't you know that if Don Suero learned it, he
would get you flayed alive?"
"I know nothing, my friends,--I know nothing but that I love her with
all my heart and soul."
"But what right has a poor page to love so great a lady?"
"It is easy to know, my friends that you are as low-minded and ignorant
as the bulk of pages. Tell me, however, is not a lady a woman, no matter
how rich and noble she may happen to be?"
"Certainly."
"And is not a page a man, no matter how poor and obscure he may be?"
"Certainly, likewise."
"Then, is it extraordinary that a man should love a woman, and a woman a
man?"
"No."
"Then, you simpletons, don't be astonished that I, a poor and obscure
page, love my lady Doña Teresa, and that she, rich and noble as she is,
may love me some day or other."
"You argue, friend Guillen, as well as if you had attended lectures in
the School of Palencia; but I am quite certain that neither your lady
nor the count would see it in the same light as you."
"If my mistress were like the ordinary run of women, or even like the
generality of men, who think only as others think, and not as they
themselves should think, my love would be certainly great folly; but I
know well that Doña Teresa is guided more by reason than by custom.
Besides, who has told you, ignoble as you are, that I may not be rich
and noble some day, if Doña Teresa desires that he who is to obtain her
hand and heart should be so? I am young, and, 'fore God, I am not
wanting in courage. Only let the Moors get up a war on the frontiers,
and you will see how I can wield a lance, and perchance return to
Carrion as much a cavalier as the count my master. You will see how,
once dubbed a knight, I shall collect together a hundred or so brave
fellows, enter the country of the Moors, and conquer it. Then I shall
become a lord over vassals, for, on my faith, it will not be the first
time that such things have happened. You can't imagine, my friend, how
my love for Doña Teresa increases when I think over those chances."
"I hope in goodness that your love won't bring you to perdition!" said
Garcia in a prophetic tone of voice.
"It is to glory that it shall lead me," replied Guillen
enthusiastically. "This love which I feel, impossible as it may seem to
you, will exalt the humble page whom you see here. The greater the prize
is, for which the wrestler struggles, so much the more bravely does he
brace himself up for the contest. Do you imagine that Rodrigo Diaz could
have fought so well if, in addition to conquering Martin Gonzalez, he
had not hoped for the embraces of Ximena?"
Illan and Garcia could not but feel that amid the wild fancies of
Guillen there might be well founded hopes. For that reason they thought
it best to leave him in the paradise of his illusions. Just as in our
times he who believes in nothing, he who considers but vain words the
faith of his ancestors, the love of country, the love for a woman, is
the man who most probably will raise himself over others, so, in the
times when Guillen lived, that man had the best chance of elevating
himself who believed in all those things, and, exalted by such
sentiments, acted in accordance with his beliefs. Oh for that age, when,
in order to be honoured, the cavalier had to consecrate his heart to
God, to a king, and to a woman,--three sovereigns, who had their thrones
respectively in heaven, on earth, and at the domestic hearth, and all of
them in the soul of a man. If amongst those who at the present day bear
the name of cavalier, there are any who do not wish to bear it in vain,
they must be cautious with regard to acknowledging that they adore God,
that they would die for the anointed of the Lord, or that they love or
are faithful to a woman; for they would be laughed at and looked on as
madmen, and in vain would they argue that the idols are false and
loathsome which have usurped the altars on which these three divinities
were formerly enthroned.
Our three youths had arrived at that point in their conversation at
which we left them, in order to heave a sigh over lost beliefs, which it
would be very difficult to replace. The bells of Santa Gadea announced,
with a loud peal, that religion had sanctified the union of the noble
scions of the trees of Vivar and of Gormaz. The crowds began to move, to
crush, to squeeze, if we may so express ourselves, and with the sounds
of the bells were mingled cries of pain, angry exclamations, threats,
supplications, weeping, curses,--all that Babel of sounds which is
usually heard amongst a great multitude, when it is compressed into a
space which cannot well contain much more than half its numbers.
"The women ought to be at home spinning!"
"The men should be killing the Moors!"
"Your eyes are killing Christians, Moorish women!"
"Hi, hi, hi! Don't be tickling me, dueña!"
"Is my face rosy, you bumpkin?"
"It smells of roses, by my faith!"
"Who is the jade that's crushing me?"
"I swear it's an old witch; has she come here to cast the evil eye on
the bride and bridegroom?"
"You brute, you are crushing in my breast with your elbows."
"A thousand legions of demons! my pocket-handkerchief has been stolen."
"Oh, my silk petticoat is falling off!"
"Confound those court festivals."
"And also that Don Rodrigo and Doña Ximena."
"I swear I'll cut out your tongue if you say a word against them."
"Ay, ay, ay!"
"May the devil take the women!"
"_I am coming for them, I am coming for them!_"
This whirlwind of exclamations, which are only faint samples of the
hundred thousand which were heard every minute, changed its character,
when the one which we have emphasised was heard.
"I am coming for them, I am coming for them!" repeated a rough and
terror-striking voice, which seemed to issue from a dilapidated house,
just beside the church of Santa Gadea, and which, even before it had
begun to fall into ruins, was uninhabited for a long time; for it was
said that whenever the devil came to carry off an inhabitant of Burgos,
he took lodgings in it, for two reasons: firstly, that he might not have
to pass the night in the open air, as Burgos is rather cool and the
devil is accustomed to a warm climate; and secondly, to terrify, with
the infernal glitter of his eyes, the pious people who were accustomed
to pray at night-time before a holy statue, which stood at the gate of
the adjoining church, and which was much venerated.
Loud cries of terror arose from the multitude; the children took refuge
under the petticoats of the women, like chickens beneath the wings of a
hen, and the women clung to the men, as ivy does to the oak. A minute
had scarcely passed, when a terrible-looking figure emerged from the
ruined house, a figure which made even some of the boldest tremble. It
was the devil, without doubt, if appearances could be trusted. It was
clad in a flame-coloured suit; it had a tail which moved from side to
side like a whip; its forehead was furnished with two enormous horns,
and through its large mouth smoke was issuing as from a chimney.
"I am coming for them, I am coming for them!" he roared again, as he
came out of his hiding place, and rushed towards the crowd.
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" was exclaimed in all directions. Not seeing,
however, that the devil was stopped by the holy invocation, everybody
took to flight in the wildest disorder. The children came forth from
their hiding-places under the petticoats, and in a few moments all the
streets around the church of Santa Gadea were empty, for even the men
did not wait for the devil, although he had declared that he only came
for the women.
We have said that no one remained in the immediate neighbourhood of the
church, but we have not been strictly accurate. Illan and Garcia jumped
down from the railing as soon as the devil appeared, and fled like all
the rest; but Guillen thought that he who was not afraid of the Count of
Carrion need not be afraid of the devil, and he awaited him without
moving from his position.
"Sir Devil," he said to him, seeing that he came in his direction,
"leave me in peace if you desire to have a good friend in Carrion,
should you ever go there."
The devil looked round in all directions, and, seeing that no person
observed them, he pulled off his horns and his tail, which he had been
able to set in motion by a simple contrivance, and took off a mask,
under which was burning tow, from which proceeded the smoke that had
issued from the mouth.
"Pelayo!" exclaimed Guillen, on seeing the face of the supposed devil;
"what foolishness has put such a ridiculous notion into your head?"
"On my soul," replied Pelayo, "I see no foolishness in clearing the road
for the king and the wedding procession. If I had not done so, twenty
heads at least would be broken during its return by the maces of the
royal guards, to judge by what I saw at its going. And look," he
continued, pointing to the vestibule of the church, "the cortège is just
coming out; you will see how quietly and comfortably it will get to the
Alcazar."
The bride and bridegroom, with their companions, were indeed just
issuing from the church. They proceeded along the road to the Alcazar,
the mace-bearers not having to clear a way for them, as the spectators
had ascended to the windows and balconies, and even to the roofs of the
houses, leaving the streets almost empty.
On their arrival at the Alcazar, everyone inquired what was the cause of
this unusual condition of things, and, as can be proved with certainty,
Don Fernando called aside Pelayo, who was one of his servants, and,
according to tradition, gave him sixteen maravedis, on account of his
strange enterprise, which was much spoken of and laughed over during the
banquet which the king gave in honour of the newly-married couple.