well, Count, you and I shall not part yet." Never since he was Count
did he eat with better will than that day! And when they had done he
said, "Now, Cid, if it be your pleasure let us depart." And my Cid
clothed him and his kinsmen well with goodly skins and mantles, and
gave them each a goodly palfrey, with rich caparisons, and he rode out
with them on their way. And when he took leave of the Count he said to
him, "Now go freely, and I thank you for what you have left behind; if
you wish to play for it again let me know, and you shall either have
something back in its stead, or leave what you bring to be added to
it."
The Count answered, "Cid, you jest safely now, for I have paid you and
all your company for this twelvemonths, and shall not be coming to see
you again so soon."
Then Count Ramon pricked on more than apace, and many times looked
behind him, fearing that my Cid would repent what he had done, and send
to take him back to prison, which the Perfect one would not have done
for the whole world, for never did he do disloyal thing.
THE CID PUNISHES ALMOFALEZ, AND IS RECONCILED TO THE KING
Now Zulema had sent for my Cid, and the cause was this. His brother,
the King of Denia, had taken counsel with Count Ramon Berenguer, and
with the Count of Cardona, and with the brother of the Count of Urgel,
and with the chiefs of Balsadron and Remolin and Cartaxes, that they
should besiege the Castle of Almenar, which my Cid had fortified by
command of King Zulema. And they came up against it while my Cid was
away, besieging the Castle of Estrada, which is in the rivers Tiegio
and Sege, the which he took by force. And they fought against it and
cut off the water. And when my Cid came to the king at Tamarit, the
king asked him to go and fight with the host which besieged Almenar;
but my Cid said it would be better to give something to King
Abenalfange that he should break up the siege and depart; for they were
too great a power to do battle with, being as many in number as the
sands on the sea shore. And the King did as he counselled him, and sent
to his brother King Abenalfange, and to the chiefs who were with him,
to propose this accord, and they would not.
Then my Cid, seeing that they would not depart for fair means, armed
his people, and fell upon them. That was a hard battle and well fought
on both sides, and much blood was shed, for many good knights on either
party were in the field; howbeit he of good fortune won the day at
last, he who never was conquered. King Abenalfange and Count Ramon and
most of the others fled, and my Cid followed, smiting and slaying for
three leagues; and many good Christian knights were made prisoners.
Ruydiez returned with great honour and much spoil, and gave all his
prisoners to King Zulema, who kept them eight days, and then my Cid
begged their liberty and set them free. And he and the king returned to
Zaragoza, and the people came out to meet them, with great joy, and
shouts of welcome. And the king honoured my Cid greatly, and gave him
power in all his dominions.
At this time it came to pass that Almofalez, a Moor of Andalusia, rose
up with the Castle of Rueda, which was held for King Don Alfonso. And
because he held prisoner there the brother of Adefir, another Moor,
Adefir sent to the King of Castille, beseeching him to come to succour
him, and recover the Castle. And the King sent the Infante Don Ramiro
his cousin, and the Infante Don Sancho, son to the King of Navarre, and
Count Don Gonzalo Salvadores, and Count Don Nuño Alvarez, and many
other knights with them: and they came to the Castle, and Almofalez
said he would not open the gates to them, but if the king came he would
open to him. And when King Don Alfonso heard this, incontinently he
came to Rueda. And Almofalez besought him to enter to a feast which he
had prepared; howbeit the King would not go in, neither would his
people have permitted him so to have risked his person. But the Infante
Don Sancho entered, and Don Nuño, and Don Ganzalo, and fifteen other
knights; and as soon as they were within the gate, the Moors threw down
great stones upon them and killed them all. This was the end of the
good Count Don Gonzalo Salvadores, who was so good a knight in battle
that he was called "He of the Four Hands." The bodies were ransomed,
seeing that there was no remedy, the Castle being so strong, and Don
Gonzalo was buried in the Monastery of Ona, according as he had
appointed in his will; and the Infante Don Sancho with his forefathers
the Kings of Navarre, in the royal Monastery of Naxara.
Greatly was King Don Alfonso troubled at this villainy, and he sought
for the Cid, who was in those parts; and the Cid came to him with a
great company. And the king told him the great treason which had been
committed, and took the Cid into his favour, and said unto him that he
might return with him into Castille. My Cid thanked him for his bounty,
but he said he never would accept his favour unless the king granted
what he should request; and the king bade him make his demand. And my
Cid demanded that when any hidalgo should be banished, in time to come,
he should have the thirty days, which were his right, allowed him, and
not nine only, as had been his case; and that neither hidalgo nor
citizen should be proceeded against till they had been fairly and
lawfully heard: also, that the king should not go against the
privileges and charters and good customs of any town or other place,
nor impose taxes upon them against their right; and if he did, that it
should be lawful for the land to rise against him, till he had amended
the misdeed.
And to all this the king accorded, and said to my Cid that he should go
back into Castille with him; but my Cid said he would not go into
Castille till he had won that castle of Rueda, and delivered the
villainous Moors thereof into his hands, that he might do justice upon
them.
So the king thanked him greatly, and returned into Castille, and my Cid
remained before the castle of Rueda. And he lay before it so long, and
beset it so close, that the food of the Moors failed, and they had no
strength to defend themselves; and they would willingly have yielded
the castle, so they might have been permitted to leave it and go
whither they would; but he would have their bodies, to deliver them up
to the king. When they saw that it must be so, great part of them came
out, and yielded themselves prisoners; and then my Cid stormed the
castle and took Almofalez and them who held with him, so that none
escaped; and he sent him and his accomplices in the treason to the
king. And the king was right glad when they were brought before him,
and he did great justice upon them, and sent to thank my Cid for having
avenged him.
[Illustration: The Defeat of Almofalez]
After my Cid had done this good service to King Don Alfonso, he and
King Zulema of Zaragoza entered Aragon, slaying, and burning, and
plundering before them, and they returned to the Castle of Monzon with
great booty. Then the Cid went into King Abenalfange's country, and did
much mischief there: and he got among the mountains of Moriella, and
beat down everything before him, and destroyed the Castle of Moriella.
And King Zulema sent to bid him build up the ruined Castle of Alcala,
which is upon Moriella; and the Cid did so. But King Abenalfange, being
sorely grieved hereat, sent to King Pedro of Aragon, and besought him
to come and help him against the Campeador. And the king of Aragon
gathered together a great host in his anger, and he and the king of
Denia came against my Cid, and they halted that night upon the banks of
the Ebro; and King Don Pedro sent letters to the Cid, bidding him leave
the castle which he was then edifying. My Cid made answer, that if the
king chose to pass that way in peace, he would let him pass, and show
him any service in his power. And when the king of Aragon saw that he
would not forsake the work, he marched against him, and attacked him.
Then there was a brave battle, and many were slain; but my Cid won the
day, and King Abenalfange fled, and King Don Pedro was taken prisoner,
and many of his counts and knights with him. My Cid returned to
Zaragoza with this great honour, taking his prisoners with him; and he
set them all freely at liberty, and having tarried in Zaragoza a few
days, set forth for Castille, with great riches and full of honours.
Having done all these things in his banishment, my Cid returned to
Castille, and the king received him well and gave him the Castle of
Dueñas, and of Orcejon, and Ybia, and Campo, and Gaña, and Berviesca,
and Berlanga, with all their districts. And he gave him privileges with
leaden seals appendant, and confirmed with his own hand, that whatever
castles, towns, and places he might win from the Moors, or from any one
else, should be his own, quit and free for ever, both for him and for
his descendants. Thus was my Cid received into the king's favour, and
he abode with him long time, doing him great services, as his Lord.
THE DEATH OF THE CID
It is written in the history which Abenalfarax, the nephew of Gil Diaz,
composed in Valencia, that for five years the Cid Ruydiez remained Lord
thereof in peace, and in all that time he sought to do nothing but to
serve God, and to keep the Moors quiet who were under his dominion; so
that Moors and Christians dwelt together in such accord that it seemed
as if they had always been united; and they all loved and served the
Cid with such good will that it was marvelous. And when these five
years were over tidings were spread far and near, which reached
Valencia, that King Bucar, the Miramamolin of Morocco, holding himself
disgraced because the Cid Campeador had conquered him in the field of
Quarto near unto Valencia, where he had slain or made prisoners all his
people, and driven him into the sea, and made spoil of all his
treasures--King Bucar calling these things to mind, had gone himself
and stirred up the whole Paganism of Barbary to cross the sea again,
and avenge himself if he could; and he had assembled so great a power
that no man could devise their numbers.
When the Cid heard these tidings he was troubled at heart; howbeit he
dissembled this, so that no person knew what he was minded to do; and
thus the matter remained for some days. And when he saw that the news
came thicker and faster, and that it was altogether certain that King
Bucar was coming over sea against him, he sent and bade all the Moors
of Valencia assemble together in his presence, and when they were all
assembled he said unto them, "Good men of the Aljama, ye well know that
from the day wherein I became Lord of Valencia, ye have always been
protected and defended, and have past your time well and peaceably in
your houses and heritages, none troubling you nor doing you wrong;
neither have I who am your Lord ever done aught unto you that was
against right. And now true tidings are come to me that King Bucar of
Morocco is arrived from beyond sea, with a mighty power of Moors, and
that he is coming against me to take from me this city which I won with
so great labour. Now therefore, seeing it is so, I hold it good and
command that ye quit the town, both ye and your sons and your women,
and go into the suburb of Alcudia and the other suburbs, to dwell there
with the other Moors, till we shall see the end of this business
between me and King Bucar." Then the Moors, albeit they were loath,
obeyed his command: and when they were all gone out of the city, so
that none remained, he held himself safer than he had done before.
Now after the Moors were all gone out of the city, it came to pass in
the middle of the night that the Cid was lying in his bed, devising how
he might withstand this coming of King Bucar, for Abenalfarax saith
that when he was alone in his palace his thoughts were of nothing else.
And when it was midnight there came a great light into the palace, and
a great odour, marvelous sweet. And as he was marveling what it might
he, there appeared before him a man as white as snow; he was in the
likeness of an old man, with gray hair and crisp, and he carried
certain keys in his hand; and before the Cid could speak to him he
said, "Sleepest thou, Rodrigo, or what art thou doing?" And the Cid
made answer, "What man art thou who askest me?" And he said, "I am
Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, who come unto thee with more urgent
tidings than those for which thou art taking thought concerning King
Bucar, and it is, that thou art to leave this world, and go to that
which hath no end; and this will be in thirty days. But God will show
favour unto thee, so that thy people shall discomfit King Bucar, and
thou, being dead, shalt win this battle for the honour of thy body:
this will be with the help of Santiago, whom God will send to the
business; but do thou strive to make atonement for thy sins, and so
thou shalt be saved. All this Jesus Christ vouchsafeth thee for the
love of me, and for the reverence which thou hast alway shown to my
Church."
When the Cid Campeador heard this he had great pleasure at heart, and
he let himself fall out of bed upon the earth, that he might kiss the
feet of the Apostle St. Peter; but the Apostle said, "Strive not to do
this, for thou canst not touch me; but be sure that all this which I
have told thee will come to pass." And when the blessed Apostle had
said this he disappeared, and the palace remained full of a sweeter and
more delightful odour than heart of man can conceive. And the Cid
Ruydiez remained greatly comforted by what St. Peter had said to him,
and as certain that all this would come to pass, as if it were already
over.
Early on the morrow he sent to call all his honourable men to the
Alcazar; and when they were all assembled before him, he began to say
unto them, weeping the while, "Friends and kinsmen and true vassals and
honourable men, many of ye must well remember when King Don Alfonso our
Lord twice banished me from this land, and most of ye for the love
which ye bore me followed me into banishment, and have guarded me ever
since. And God hath shown such mercy to you and to me, that we have won
many battles against Moors and Christians; those which were against
Christians, God knows, were more through their fault than my will, for
they strove to set themselves against the good fortune which God had
given me, and to oppose his service, helping the enemies of the faith.
Moreover we won this city in which we dwell, which is not under the
dominion of any man in the world, save only my Lord the King Don
Alfonso, and that rather by reason of our natural allegiance than of
anything else. And now I would have ye know the state in which this
body of mine now is; for be ye certain that I am in the latter days of
my life, and that thirty days hence will be my last. Of this I am well
assured; for for these seven nights past I have seen visions. I have
seen my father Diego Laynez and Diego Rodriguez my son; and every time
they say to me, 'You have tarried long here, let us go now among the
people who endure for ever.' Now, notwithstanding man ought not to put
his trust in these things, nor in such visions, I know this by other
means to be certain, for Sir St. Peter hath appeared to me this night,
when I was awake and not sleeping, and he told me that when these
thirty days were over I should pass away from this world. Now ye know
for certain that King Bucar is coming against us, and they say that
thirty and six Moorish kings are coming with him; and since he bringeth
so great a power of Moors and I have to depart so soon, how can ye
defend Valencia! But be ye certain, that by the mercy of God I shall
counsel ye so that ye shall conquer King Bucar in the field, and win
great praise and honour from him, and Doña Ximena, and ye and all that
ye have, go hence in safety; how ye are to do all this I will tell ye
hereafter, before I depart."
After the Cid said this he sickened of the malady of which he died. And
the day before his weakness waxed great, he ordered the gates of the
town to be shut, and went to the Church of St. Peter; and there the
Bishop Don Hieronymo being present, and all the clergy who were in
Valencia, and the knights and honourable men and honourable dames, as
many as the Church could hold, the Cid Ruydiez stood up, and made a
full noble preaching, showing that no man whatsoever, however
honourable or fortunate they may be in this world, can escape death;
"to which," said he, "I am now full near; and since ye know that this
body of mine hath never yet been conquered, nor put to shame, I beseech
ye let not this befall it at the end, for the good fortune of man is
only accomplished at his end. How this is to be done, and what we all
have to do, I will leave in the hands of the Bishop of Don Hieronymo,
and Alvar Fañez, and Pero Bermudez." And when he had said this he
placed himself at the feet of the Bishop, and there before all the
people made a general confession of all his sins, and all the faults
which he had committed against our Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bishop
appointed him his penance and assoyled him of his sins.
Then he arose and took leave of the people, weeping plenteously, and
returned to the Alcazar, and betook himself to his bed, and never rose
from it again; and every day he waxed weaker and weaker, till seven
days only remained of the time appointed. Then he called for the
caskets of gold in which was the balsam and the myrrh which the Soldan
of Persia had sent him; and when these were put before him he bade them
bring him the golden cup, of which he was wont to drink; and he took of
that balsam and of that myrrh as much as a little spoonful, and mingled
it in the cup with rose-water and drank of it; and for the seven days
which he lived he neither ate nor drank aught else than a little of
that myrrh and balsam mingled with water. And every day after he did
this, his body and his countenance appeared fairer and fresher than
before, and his voice clearer, though he waxed weaker and weaker daily,
so that he could not move in his bed.
On the twenty-ninth day, being the day before he departed, he called
for Dona Ximena, and for the Bishop Don Hieronymo, and Don Alvar Fañez
Minaya, and Pero Bermudez, and his trusty Gil Diaz; and when they were
all five before him, he began to direct them what they should do after
his death; and he said to them:
"Ye know that King Bucar will presently be here to besiege this city,
with seven and thirty Kings, whom he bringeth with him, and with a
mighty power of Moors.
"Now, therefore, the first thing which ye do after I have departed,
wash my body with rose-water many times and well, as blessed be the
name of God it is washed within and made pure of all uncleanness to
receive his holy body to-morrow, which will be my last day. And when it
has been well washed and made clean, ye shall dry it well, and anoint
it with this myrrh and balsam, from these golden caskets, from head to
foot, so that every part shall be anointed, till none be left.
"And you my Sister Doña Ximena, and your women, see that ye utter no
cries, neither make any lamentation for me, that the Moors may not know
of my death. And when the day shall come in which King Bucar arrives,
order all the people of Valencia to go upon the walls, and sound your
trumpets and tambours, and make the greatest rejoicings that ye can.
"And when ye would set out for Castille, let all the people know in
secret, that they make themselves ready, and take with them all that
they have, so that none of the Moors in the suburb may know thereof;
for certes ye cannot keep the city, neither abide therein after my
death. And see ye that sumpter beasts be laden with all that there is
in Valencia, so that nothing which can profit may be left. And this I
leave especially to your charge, Gil Diaz.
"Then saddle ye my horse Bavieca, and arm him well; and ye shall
apparel my body full seemlily, and place me upon the horse, and fasten
and tie me thereon so that it cannot fall; and fasten my sword Tizona
in my hand. And let the Bishop Don Hieronymo go on one side of me, and
my trusty Gil Diaz on the other, and he shall lead my horse. You, Pero
Bermudez, shall bear my banner, as you were wont to bear it; and you,
Alvar Fañez, my cousin, gather your company together, and put the host
in order as you are wont to do. And go ye forth and fight with King
Bucar; for be ye certain and doubt not that ye shall win this battle;
God hath granted me this. And when ye have won the fight, and the Moors
are discomfited, ye may spoil the field at pleasure. Ye will find great
riches."
Then the Cid Ruydiez, the Campeador of Bivar, bade the Bishop Don
Hieronymo give him the body of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and
he received it with great devotion, on his knees, and weeping before
them all.
Then he sate up in his bed and called upon God and St. Peter, and began
to pray, saying, "Lord Jesus Christ, thine is the power, and the
kingdom, and thou art above all kings and all nations, and all kings
are at thy command. I beseech ye, therefore, pardon me my sins and let
my soul enter into the light which hath no end."
And when the Cid Ruydiez had said this, he yielded up his soul, which
was pure and without spot, to God, on that Sunday which is called
Quinquagesima, being the twenty and ninth of May, in the year of our
Lord one thousand and ninety and nine, and in the seventy and third
year of his life.
THE LAST VICTORY
Three days after the Cid had departed King Bucar came into the port of
Valencia, and landed with all his power, which was so great that there
is not a man in the world who could give account of the Moors whom he
brought. And there came with him thirty and six kings, and one Moorish
queen, who was a negress, and she brought with her two hundred
horsewomen, all negresses like herself, all having their hair shorn
save a tuft on the top, and this was in token that they came as if upon
a pilgrimage, and to obtain the remission of their sins; and they were
all armed in coats of mail and with Turkish bows. King Bucar ordered
his tents to be pitched round about Valencia, and Abenalfarax, who
wrote this history in Arabic, saith that there were full fifteen
thousand tents; and he bade that Moorish negress with her archers to
take their station near the city.
And on the morrow they began to attack the city, and they fought
against it three days strenuously, and the Moors received great loss,
for they came blindly up to the walls and were slain there. And the
Christians defended themselves right well; and every time that they
went upon the walls, they sounded trumpets and tambours, and made great
rejoicings, as the Cid had commanded. This continued for eight days or
nine, till the companions of the Cid had made ready everything for
their departure, as he had commanded. And King Bucar and his people
thought that the Cid dared not come out against them; and they were the
more encouraged and began to think of making bastiles and engines
wherewith to combat the city, for certes they weened that the Cid
Ruydiez dared not come out against them, seeing that he tarried so
long. All this while the company of the Cid were preparing all things
to go into Castille, as he had commanded before his death; and his
trusty Gil Diaz did nothing else but labour at this. And the body of
the Cid was prepared after this manner: first it was embalmed and
anointed as the history hath already recounted, and the virtue of the
balsam and myrrh was such that the flesh remained firm and fair, having
its natural color, and his countenance as it was wont to be, and the
eyes open, and his long beard in order, so that there was not a man who
would have thought him dead if he had seen him and not known it.