WHICH TREATS OF CAVALIERS FREE WITH THE HAND AND PEASANTS FREE WITH THE
TONGUE
As had been determined at the Cortes held at Leon, the king, Don
Fernando, wrote to the allied powers refusing the tribute which the
Emperor of Austria had demanded; also giving the reasons on which that
refusal was based. Meanwhile the Cid, by his orders, was occupied in
getting together an efficient army by means of which Castile would be
able to oppose the foreigners, if they appealed to arms to sustain their
demands, as they had threatened. Seeing that there was not perfect
agreement amongst them, and that, on the contrary, in France and other
countries allied to the Germans, warlike preparations were being made,
Don Fernando consulted the Cid and other cavaliers as to whether he
should cross the Pyrenees or remain in Castile on the defensive. All
upheld the former proposition, for they said: "The less we embarrass the
foreigners the more time will they have to prepare their armies for a
campaign; and if they see us remain quiet in Castile, they will look
upon us as very weak, both in numbers and in courage, as we do not dare
to challenge them on their own soil. Let us make a display of valour,
and our enemies, seeing that we are neither weak nor faint-hearted, will
soon change their opinion."
The Cid then demanded aid from Abengalvon and from the other Moorish
kings, his vassals, and as they not only sent it, but also came
themselves, leading the regiments which they furnished to the
Castilians, the army of Don Fernando soon set out for the French
frontiers.
Don Fernando commanded the main army, composed of eight thousand men,
and Rodrigo Diaz marched in advance, in order to select good quarters.
When the Cid entered the gates of Aspa he found great disturbance
amongst the inhabitants of that district; so much so that they would not
furnish the Castilians with quarters nor sell provisions to them;
moreover, they endeavoured to do as much injury to them as was in their
power.
Rodrigo ordered that the crops and houses of the rebels should be
burned, but that, on the contrary, all those should be well treated who
provided quarters and sold food to them.
On arriving near Tolosa, the Cid learned that large hostile forces were
sallying out to meet him, with the object of preventing his advance. Don
Ramon, Count of Savoy, was approaching with twenty thousand men, and
with full authority from the King of France to engage in hostilities
with the Castilians.
"My army numbers two thousand men," said the Cid, "but we must either
prove to France, and to the entire world, that two Castilian cavaliers
are equal to twenty foreigners, or else die gloriously. Our enemies have
decided to attack us before the king's army can arrive; there are but
two things left to us, either to face them as we are, or to turn back in
order to reinforce ourselves with the soldiers who are coming on with
Don Fernando. Turn back? No, no! Let us rather advance to certain death
than turn our backs to the enemy."
Rodrigo now made his warriors ready for the fight, as his enemies
appeared at but a short distance from them.
"St. James! St. James!" he then cried out, and closed with the hostile
force.
The combat was fierce, and lasted for an hour. In that time prodigies of
valour were performed, not alone by the Castilians but also by the
Moorish warriors who accompanied the Cid, at whose side Abengalvon and
the other Moorish kings fought, and by Guillen of the Standard, to whom
Rodrigo had confided his own, in order to confer a fresh proof of
confidence, and to mark the esteem in which he held him.
The army of the Count of Savoy was cut to pieces, and Don Ramon himself
was taken prisoner.
This first victory of the Castilians filled the allies of the emperor
with terror; nevertheless, the King of France sent against the invaders
a fresh army which he kept in reserve in Gascony.
These forces marched forth to the encounter of the representative of Don
Fernando in the same way as those of the Count of Savoy had done, and,
like those, they were routed by the Cid and his two thousand cavaliers
before the king could arrive to take part in the combat.
The Count of Savoy begged for his liberty, as the fact of his being a
prisoner wounded his pride, and because disturbances which had broken
out in his own states urgently required his presence there. Don Fernando
refused his request, fearing that his object was to organise fresh
forces wherewith to avenge the humiliating defeat which he had suffered.
Don Ramon then offered, as a hostage, his daughter, whom he dearly
loved, and who was very beautiful and discreet. Don Fernando considered
this sufficient, and the count obtained his freedom, leaving his
daughter in the power of the King of Castile.
The allied sovereigns sent letters to Don Fernando, praying him not to
advance farther, and offering to agree to terms for peace; the King of
Castile, as a result, established his headquarters in Toulouse, and sent
the Cid, Alvar Fañez Minaya, Arias Gonzalo, Martin Antolinez, and other
cavaliers to Rome to inform the Pope that ambassadors should proceed to
Spain empowered to treat for peace.
The Pope called together a council, and in it debated as to what steps
should be taken. All were of opinion that the demands of Don Fernando
should be acceded to, for, they said, "if we should decide to settle
this contest by means of arms, no one will dare to oppose this famous
Cid, whom all look upon as invincible." In consequence of this decision,
the king sent, as his plenipotentiary, the Cardinal of Santa Sabina;
others also were sent, with full powers, by the emperor and the other
allied sovereigns, between whom and the King of Castile it was
stipulated, in proper form, that vassalage, of any form whatsoever,
should never be demanded of Spain.
Six months were spent in these preliminaries and treaties, and at the
end of that period the Castilian army recrossed the frontiers, and was
received in Castile with the greatest enthusiasm, which the people gave
expression to by loud acclamations and splendid festivities.
The people of Castile had loved the Cid very much, and that love now
changed almost into adoration after the recent splendid feats of arms of
the brave cavalier, and especially on account of the valour and the
energy with which he had defended the freedom of the kingdom at the last
Cortes in Leon. Nations are extreme in their loves and hatreds. When a
public man should be exalted, they raise him to the very clouds; when
his humiliation is concerned, they drag him through the mire; they
always exaggerate things, whether it is a question of reward or
punishment. The acts of the Cid were really splendid, but in the eyes of
the populace they were very much more.
The inhabitants of Burgos were occupied with the feats of Rodrigo, and
they explained them and commented on them in their own way. Many of his
exploits were pure inventions of popular enthusiasm and credulity; this,
however, only strengthens what we have said, that the Cid was the idol
of the Castilian people.
Just at the entrance into Burgos, on the northern side, resided a worthy
artisan who worked constantly before the door of his house as a farrier.
Our readers already know Iñigo, for that was his name, having seen him
exchange blows with a rustic on the day that Ximena entered the city to
celebrate her nuptials with Rodrigo Diaz. Iñigo was a type of the
populace in its most perfect form; he was talkative, irascible,
enthusiastic, credulous, fond of news, a grumbler--in a word, all that
his class has ever been. A fly scarcely moved in Burgos but Iñigo knew
where it flew to: if he had lived in our times he could have made plenty
of money as a member of the detective police, or as a supplier of events
of the day to some newspaper. If a muleteer entered Burgos on a very hot
day, Iñigo would say to him--
"You are welcome, brother. This is a bad time for travelling. What news
on the roads? Won't you sit down for a while on this bench, and take a
draught of this deliciously cool water which I have here?"
And the muleteer, believing that it would be discourteous if he did not
accept the invitation, would stop to satisfy the curiosity of Iñigo.
If a peasant woman came in when the weather was cold, with a basket of
eggs or other farm produce on her head, Iñigo would say to her--
"You are welcome, sister. This is a bad time to come to town. Is there
any news in your district? Won't you put down your basket, and warm
yourself at the good fire I have here?"
And the peasant woman would do just the same as the muleteer.
If there is added to the information he obtained in this way all that he
picked up from squires who brought their masters' horses to be shod,
from the women and men of the vicinity, who rested themselves, talking
meanwhile of their neighbours' affairs, on the bench of the horse-shoer,
which was pleasantly shaded from the sun, all the world will agree that
Iñigo was exactly suited to fill a position of the nature of those which
we have mentioned above.
Two days after the return of the Cid to Burgos, there entered the city
the same peasant to whom Iñigo had given so sound a drubbing on a former
occasion. The farrier and he had become friends again, to judge by the
way they saluted each other.
"You are welcome, Señor Bartolo," cried out the former on seeing the
peasant.
"God keep you in His guard, Master Iñigo," was the reply.
"I was just saying to myself, that, considering all the news that is
flying about Burgos, it is curious that Señor Bartolo is not coming to
hear it."
"Oh, then there is a lot of news, eh? I swear that one might just as
well be a captive among the Moors as live in a village."
"What, does news never get to Barbadillo?"
"You may say, none. I tell you we live like beasts in the villages.
Whenever I smell any news in the air, I come to the city to see you. And
as you are so wise and clever, and all that kind of thing, you polish me
up a bit. What is to be learned in a village? That a wolf ate a sheep
belonging to Uncle Pellica; that Uncle Colambra got drunk, and gave his
wife a beating; that the daughter of Aunt Valeta fell in love with four
young fellows; and other things of a similar nature. What wonder is it,
then, that one is always bored when living in such a place? I swear I
am."
"It is, indeed, Señor Bartolo, great good luck to live in a city."
"And what gets up my blood most is that my wife is constantly wrangling
with me because I come now and then to the city to learn the news; she
says that I am always neglecting my land and my cattle."
"Your wife must certainly be a great ass, Señor Bartolo."
"And she is not the only one that finds fault with me; all my neighbours
are against me. I was formerly stupid and ignorant like themselves, and
they don't like to see me getting a little knowledge into my head."
"Certainly, Señor Bartolo, your neighbours must be all great
blockheads."
"But I swear I won't stand it any longer; in spite of my wife and
neighbours, I'll get rid of the bit of ground I own, and the cottage I
have in the village, and come to live in Burgos."
"Certainly, Señor Bartolo, you should come to the city, for it is a
great pleasure to know at once all that is passing in the world, and
just at present there's good news coming every day."
"What good news, eh?"
"Good, Señor Bartolo, very good."
"And what is it all about, Master Iñigo?"
"About the Campeador, as you may well suppose."
"By San Pedro of Cardeña, the Cid is a splendid cavalier! But tell me,
tell me, Master Iñigo, the latest news of him."
"I will, Señor Bartolo. You know already what a good beating he gave the
French, don't you?"
"Yes, yes; you told me all about that already. Anger of God! how I
should like to have been on the top of the Pyrenees to see from there
how the Cid and his army treated those French dogs."
"You know also that the Cid was at Rome, with other good cavaliers?"
"Certainly; you told me that too."
"But that which you don't know is what happened there to the Cid."
"What happened to him? Did he fight a terrible battle with that Don
Vaticano, as they call him?"
"Ha, ha, ha!"
"Master Iñigo, are you also making game of me?"
"I was laughing at your ignorance and simplicity, for you are mistaking
the Pope's palace for a cavalier; the Vatican is a palace, and not a
man."
"Curses on the village! living in it has made me the ass I am. May I
become a greater Turk than Mahomet if I don't leave it at once!"
"Learn, then, that the Cid, when he arrived in Rome, went straight to
the church of St. Peter"--
"It's something like a church, I've heard, and not like the one in my
village."
"Yes, Señor Bartolo, they tell wonders of it; they say it is built of
blocks of diamond."
"San Pedro de Cardeña! what a great misfortune it is to live in villages
and not in cities, where there are such riches!"
"Know, then, that the Cid went to St. Peter's to see the throne of the
Pope, which is made of solid gold."
"Anger of God! It must be a fine thing to be a Pope."
"All the Christian kings have seats near the Pope's throne, and when the
Campeador saw that the seat of the King of France was placed a little
higher than that of the King of Castile, he kicked it down."
"I swear that it would have been a great misfortune for me not to know
of that act, so worthy of being known. I certainly shall leave
Barbadillo."
"As the seat of the King of France was made of marble, it broke into
pieces. And what do you think the Cid then did, Señor Bartolo? He took
that of the King of Castile and put it in the principal place."
"My God, what a good vassal! May God preserve him!"
"Then out spoke a duke, who is called the Savoyard, and said to the
Campeador, 'May you be accursed, Rodrigo, and may the Pope excommunicate
you, for having insulted the King of France, the most honoured sovereign
in the world.' 'Leave kings aside,' said the Campeador; 'and if you
consider yourself aggrieved, let us settle this quarrel between us.'"
"And the Cid and the Savoyard fought? I swear that I am delighted with
your story."
"As they were going out of the church, the Campeador went up to the duke
and gave him a shove."
"God's anger! And they came to blows, eh? What did the Savoyard do?"
"He remained very quiet, and made no answer to the Campeador."
"By San Pedro of Cardeña, no one dares to oppose the Cid."
"When the Pope heard of it, he excommunicated Don Rodrigo."
"What do you tell me, Master Iñigo? The Cid excommunicated! What a pity!
for he will begin to dwindle away, as it is said those do who are
excommunicated."
"Such did not happen, for he knelt down with much humility at the feet
of the Pope, and said to him, 'Absolve me, holy father, for it won't be
prudent of you not to do so.' And the Pope gave him absolution, like a
merciful father as he is, saying to him, 'I absolve you, Campeador; but
you must be more circumspect in my Court.'"
"Oh, accursed Barbadillo! such fine things are never heard of there!
Master Iñigo, I am just going back to dispose of all my belongings, and
you shall soon see me here again. You won't see me making an ass of
myself any longer."
"You are right, Señor Bartolo; but won't you tell me what is going on in
your district?"
"I have told you: nothing whatever, Master Iñigo."
The farrier was about to put fresh questions to the peasant, when he
noticed that some muleteers were approaching, who, to judge by their
appearance, had come from some very distant locality. He hastened to
meet them, saluting them in his customary way, in order to satisfy his
curiosity, at the expense of a bench which he kept beside a good fire in
winter, and of a draught of cold water which he had ready to attract
travellers in summer.
A few moments having passed, the peasant and the artisan were listening
with delight to the wonderful bits of news which the muleteers brought
with them, but which need not figure in this book, as they were only
vulgar gossip.