Chronicle Of The Cid by Various
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Various >> Chronicle Of The Cid
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XI. When the company of the Cid departed from the Siete Aguas, they
held their way by short journies to Salvacaņete. And the Cid went alway
upon his horse Bavieca, as they had brought him out from Valencia, save
only that he wore no arms, but was clad in right noble garments; and
all who saw him upon the way would have thought that he was alive, if
they had not heard the truth. And whenever they halted they took the
body off, fastened to the saddle as it was, and set it upon that frame
which Gil Diaz had made, and when they went forward again, they placed
it in like manner upon the horse Bavieca. And when they reached
Salvacaņete, the Bishop Don Hieronymo, and Doņa Ximena, and Alvar
Faņez, and the other honourable men, sent their letters to all the
kinsmen and friends of the Cid Ruydiez, bidding them come and do honour
to his funeral; and they sent letters also to his sons-in-law, the
Infantes of Aragon and Navarre, and to King Don Alfonso. And they moved
on from Salvacaņete and came to Osma, and then Alvar Faņez asked of
Doņa Ximena if they should not put the body of the Cid into a coffin
covered with purple and with nails of gold; but she would not, for she
said that while his countenance remained so fresh and comely, and his
eyes so fair, his body should never be placed in a coffin, and that her
children should see the face of their father; and they thought that she
said well, so the body was left as it was. And at the end of fifteen
days the Infante of Aragon arrived, with Doņa Sol his wife, and they
brought with them an hundred armed knights, all having their shields
reversed hanging from the saddle bow, and all in grey cloaks, with the
hoods rent. And Doņa Sol came clad in linsey-woolsey, she and all her
women, for they thought that mourning was to be made for the Cid. But
when they came within half a league of Osma, they saw the banner of the
Cid coming on, and all his company full featly apparelled. And when
they drew nigh they perceived that they were weeping, but they made no
wailing; and when they saw him upon his horse Bavieca, according as ye
have heard, they were greatly amazed. But so great was the sorrow of
the Infante that he and all his company began to lament aloud. And Doņa
Sol, when she beheld her father, took off her tire, and threw it upon
the ground and began to tear her hair, which was like threads of gold.
But Doņa Ximena held her hand and said, Daughter, you do ill, in that
you break the command of your father, who laid his curse upon all who
should make lamentation for him. Then Doņa Sol kissed the hand of the
Cid and of her mother, and put on her tire again, saying, Lady mother,
I have committed no fault in this, forasmuch as I knew not the command
of my father. And then they turned back to Osma, and great was the
multitude whom they found there assembled from all parts to see the
Cid, having heard in what manner he was brought, for they held it to be
a strange thing: and in truth it was, for in ne history do we find that
with the body of a dead man hath there been done a thing so noble and
strange as this. Then they moved on from Osma, and came to Santesteban
de Gormaz. And there after few days the King of Navarre came with the
Queen Doņa Elvira his wife; and they brought with them two hundred
knights; howbeit their shields were not reversed, for they had heard
that no mourning was to be made for the Cid. And when they were within
half a league of Santesteban, the company of the Cid went out to meet
them, as they had the Infante of Aragon; and they made no other
lamentation, save that they wept with Doņa Elvira; and when she came up
to the body of her father she kissed his hand, and the hand of Doņa
Ximena her mother. And greatly did they marvel when they saw the body
of the Cid Ruydiez how fair it was, for he seemed rather alive than
dead. And they moved on from Santesteban, towards San Pedro de Cardeņa.
Great was the concourse of people to see the Cid Ruydiez coming in that
guise. They came from Rioja, and from all Castille, and from all the
country round about, and when they saw him their wonder was the
greater, and hardly could they be persuaded that he was dead.
XII. At this time King Don Alfonso abode in Toledo, and when the
letters came unto him saying how the Cid Campeador was departed, and
after what manner he had discomfited King Bucar, and how they brought
him in this goodly manner upon his horse Bavieca, he set out from
Toledo, taking long journies till he came to San Pedro de Cardeņa to do
honour to the Cid at his funeral. The day when he drew nigh the Infante
of Aragon and the King of Navarre went out to meet him, and they took
the body of the Cid with them on horseback, as far as the Monastery of
San Christoval de Ybeas, which is a league from Cardeņa; and they went,
the King of Navarre on one side of the body, and the Infante of Aragon
on the other. And when King Don Alfonso saw so great a company and in
such goodly array, and the Cid Ruydiez so nobly clad and upon his horse
Bavieca, he was greatly astonished. Then Alvar Faņez and the other good
men kissed his hand in the name of the Cid. And the King beheld his
countenance, and seeing it so fresh and comely, and his eyes so bright
and fair, and so even and open that he seemed alive, he marvelled
greatly. But when they told him that for seven days he had drank of the
myrrh and balsam, and had neither ate nor drank of aught else, and how
he had afterwards been anointed and embalmed, he did not then hold it
for so great a wonder, for he had heard that in the land of Egypt they
were wont to do thus with their Kings. When they had all returned to
the Monastery they took the Cid from off his horse, and set the body
upon the frame, as they were wont to do, and placed it before the
altar. Many were the honours which King Don Alfonso did to the Cid in
masses and vigils, and other holy services, such as are fitting for the
body and soul of one who is departed. Moreover he did great honour to
the King of Navarre, and to the Infante of Aragon, ordering that all
things which were needful should be given to them and their companies.
XIII. On the third day after the coming of King Don Alfonso, they would
have interred the body of the Cid, but when the King heard what Doņa
Ximena had said, that while it was so fair and comely it should not be
laid in a coffin, he held that what she said was good. And he sent for
the ivory chair which had been carried to the Cortes of Toledo, and
gave order that it should be placed on the right of the altar of St.
Peter; and he laid a cloth of gold upon it, and upon that placed a
cushion covered with a right noble _tartarí_, and he ordered a graven
tabernacle to be made over the chair, richly wrought with azure and
gold, having thereon the blazonry of the Kings of Castille and Leon,
and the King of Navarre, and the Infante of Aragon, and of the Cid
Ruydiez the Campeador. And he himself, and the King of Navarre and the
Infante of Aragon, and the Bishop Don Hieronymo, to do honour to the
Cid, helped to take his body from between the two boards, in which it
had been fastened at Valencia. And when they had taken it out, the body
was so firm that it bent not on either side, and the flesh so firm and
comely, that it seemed as if he were yet alive. And the King thought
that what they purported to do and had thus begun, might full well be
effected. And they clad the body in a full noble _tartari_, and in
cloth of purple, which the Soldan of Persia had sent him, and put him
on hose of the same, and set him in his ivory chair; and in his left
hand they placed his sword Tizona in its scabbard, and the strings of
his mantle in his right. And in this fashion the body of the Cid
remained there ten years and more, till it was taken thence, as the
history will relate anon. And when his garments waxed old, other good
ones were put on.
XIV. King Don Alfonso, and the sons-in-law of the Cid, King Don Ramiro
of Navarre, and the Infante Don Sancho of Aragon, with all their
companies, and all the other honourable men, abode three weeks in St.
Pedro de Cardeņa, doing honour to the Cid. And the Bishop Don
Hieronymo, and the other Bishops who came with King Don Alfonso, said
every day their masses, and accompanied the body of the Cid there where
it was placed, and sprinkled holy water upon it, and incensed it, as is
the custom to do over a grave. And after three weeks they who were
there assembled began to break up, and depart to their own houses. And
of the company of the Cid, some went with the King of Navarre, and
other some with the Infante of Aragon; but the greater number, and the
most honourable among them, betook themselves to King Don Alfonso,
whose natural subjects they were. And Doņa Ximena and her companions
abode in San Pedro de Cardeņa, and Gil Diaz with her, as the Cid had
commanded in his testament. And the Bishop Don Hieronymo, and Alvar
Faņez Minaya, and Pero Bermudez, remained there also till they had
fulfilled all that the Cid Ruydiez had commanded in his testament to be
done.
XV. Gil Díaz did his best endeavour to fulfil all that his Lord the Cid
Ruydiez had commanded him, and to serve Doņa Ximena and her companions
truly and faithfully; and this he did so well, that she was well
pleased with his faithfulness. And Doņa Ximena fulfilled all that the
Cid had commanded her; and every day she had masses performed for his
soul, and appointed many vigils, and gave great alms for the soul of
the Cid and of his family. And this was the life which she led, doing
good wherever it was needful for the love of God; and she was alway by
the body of the Cid, save only at meal times and at night, for then
they would not permit her to tarry there, save only when vigils were
kept in honour of him. Moreover Gil Diaz took great delight in tending
the horse Bavieca, so that there were few days in which he did not lead
him to water, and bring him back with his own hand. And from the day in
which the dead body of the Cid was taken off his back, never man was
suffered to bestride that horse, but he was alway led when they took
him to water, and when they brought him back. And Gil Diaz thought it
fitting that the race of that good horse should be continued, and he
bought two mares for him, the goodliest that could be found, and when
they were with foal, he saw that they were well taken care of, and they
brought forth the one a male colt and the other a female; and from
these the race of this good horse was kept up in Castille, so that
there were afterwards many good and precious horses of his race, and
peradventure are at this day. And this good horse lived two years and a
half after the death of his master the Cid, and then he died also,
having lived, according to the history, full forty years. And Gil Diaz
buried him before the gate of the Monastery, in the public place, on
the right hand; and he planted two elms upon the grave, the one at his
head and the other at his feet, and these elms grew and became great
trees, and are yet to be seen before the gate of the Monastery. And Gil
Diaz gave order that when he died they should bury him by that good
horse Bavieca, whom he had loved so well.
XVI. Four years after the Cid had departed that noble lady Doņa Ximena
departed also, she who had been the wife of that noble baron the Cid
Ruydiez, the Campeador. At that time Don García Tellez was Abbot of the
Monastery, a right noble monk, and a great hidalgo. And the Abbot and
Gil Díaz sent for the daughters of the Cid and Doņa Ximena to come and
honour their mother at her funeral, and to inherit what she had left.
Doņa Sol, who was the younger, came first, because Aragón is nearer
than Navarre, and also because she was a widow; for the Infante Don
Sancho, her husband, had departed three years after the death of the
Cid, and had left no child. King Don Ramiro soon arrived with the other
dame, Queen Doņa Elvira his wife, and he brought with him a great
company in honour of his wife's mother, and also the Bishop of
Pamplona, to do honour to her funeral; and the Infante Don Garcia
Ramírez, their son, came with them, being a child of four years old.
Moreover there came friends and kinsmen from all parts. And when they
were all assembled they buried the body of Doņa Ximena at the feet of
the ivory chair on which the Cid was seated; and the Bishop of Pamplona
said mass, and the Abbot Don García Tellez officiated. And they tarried
there seven days, singing many masses, and doing much good for her
soul's sake. And in that time the Bishop Don Hieronymo arrived, who
abode with King Don Alfonso, and he came to do honour to the body of
Doņa Ximena; for so soon as he heard that she was departed, he set off
taking long journies every day. And when the seven days were over, King
Don Ramiro and Queen Doņa Elvira his wife, and her sister, Doņa Sol,
set apart rents for the soul of Doņa Ximena, and they appointed that
Gil Díaz should have them for his life, and that then they should go to
the Monastery for ever: and they ordained certain anniversaries for the
souls of the Cid and of Doņa Ximena. After this was done they divided
between them what Doņa Ximena had left, which was a great treasure in
gold and in silver, and in costly garments; ... the one half Queen Doņa
Elvira took, and Doņa Sol the other. And when they had thus divided it,
Doņa Sol said that all which she had in the world should be for her
nephew the Infante Don Garcia Ramirez, and with the good will of Queen
Elvira his mother, she adopted him then to be her son, and she took him
with her to Aragon, to the lands which had been given her in dower, and
bred him up till he became a young man; and after the death of his
father he was made King of Navarre, as may be seen in the book of the
Chronicles of the Kings of Spain. And when all these things were done
they departed each to his own home, and Gil Diaz remained, serving and
doing honour to the bodies of his master the Cid and Doņa Ximena his
mistress.
XVII. Now Don Garcia Tellez the Abbot, and the trusty Gil Diaz, were
wont every year to make a great festival on the day of the Cid's
departure, and on that anniversary they gave food and cloathing to the
poor, who came from all parts round about. And it came to pass when
they made the seventh anniversary, that a great multitude assembled as
they were wont to do, and many Moors and Jews came to see the strange
manner of the Cid's body. And it was the custom of the Abbot Don Garcia
Tellez, when they made that anniversary, to make a right noble sermon
to the people: and because the multitude which had assembled was so
great that the Church could not hold them, they went out into the open
place before the Monastery, and he preached unto them there. And while
he was preaching there remained a Jew in the Church, who stopt before
the body of the Cid, looking at him to see how nobly he was there
seated, having his countenance so fair and comely, and his long beard
in such goodly order, and his sword Tizona in its scabbard in his left
hand, and the strings of his mantle in his right, even in such manner
as King Don Alfonso had left him, save only that the garments had been
changed, it being now seven years since the body had remained there in
that ivory chair. Now there was not a man in the Church save this Jew,
for all the others were hearing the preachment which the Abbot made.
And when this Jew perceived that he was alone, he began to think within
himself and say. This is the body of that Ruydiez the Cid. whom they
say no man in the world ever took by the beard while he lived ... I
will take him by the beard now, and see what he can do to me. And with
that he put forth his hand to pull the beard of the Cid; ... but before
his hand could reach it, God, who would not suffer this thing to be
done, sent his spirit into the body, and the Cid let the strings of his
mantle go from his right hand, and laid hand on his sword Tizona, and
drew it a full palm's length out of the scabbard. And when the Jew saw
this, he fell upon his back for great fear, and began to cry out so
loudly, that all they who were without the Church heard him, and the
Abbot broke off his preachment and went into the Church to see what it
might be. And when they came they found this Jew lying upon his back
before the ivory chair, like one dead, for he had ceased to cry out,
and had swooned away. And then the Abbot Don Garcia Tellez looked at
the body of the Cid, and saw that his right hand was upon the hilt of
the sword, and that he had drawn it out a full palm's length; and he
was greatly amazed. And he called for holy water, and threw it in the
face of the Jew, and with that the Jew came to himself. Then the Abbot
asked him what all this had been, and he told him the whole truth; and
he knelt down upon his knees before the Abbot, and besought him of his
mercy that he would make a Christian of him, because of this great
miracle which he had seen, and baptize him in the name of Jesus Christ,
for he would live and die in his faith, holding all other to be but
error. And the Abbot baptized him in the name of the Holy Trinity, and
gave him to name Diego Gil. And all who were there present were greatly
amazed, and they made a great outcry and great rejoicings to God for
this miracle, and for the power which he had shown through the body of
the Cid in this manner; for it was plain that what the Jew said was
verily and indeed true, because the posture of the Cid was changed. And
from that day forward Diego Gil remained in the Monastery as longed as
he lived, doing service to the body of the Cid.
XVIII. After that day the body of the Cid remained in the same posture,
for they never took his hand off the sword, nor changed his garments
more, and thus it remained three years longer, till it had been there
ten years in all. And then the nose began to change colour. And when
the Abbot Don Garcia Tellez and Gil Diaz saw this, they weened that it
was no longer fitting for the body to remain in that manner. And three
Bishops from the neighbouring provinces met there, and with many masses
and vigils, and great honour, they interred the body after this manner.
They dug a vault before the altar, beside the grave of Doņa Ximena, and
vaulted it over with a high arch, and there they placed the body of the
Cid seated as it was in the ivory chair, and in his garments, and with
the sword in his hand, and they hung up his shield and his banner upon
the walls.
XIX. After the body of the noble Cid Campeador had been thus honourably
interred, Gil Diaz his trusty servant abode still in the Monastery of
St. Pedro de Cardeņa, doing service to the graves of the Cid and Doņa
Ximena, and making their anniversaries, and celebrating masses, and
giving great alms to the poor both in food and clothing, for the good
of their souls; and in this manner he lived while Don Garcia Tellez was
Abbot, and two others after him, and then he died. And his deportment
had alway been such in that Monastery, that all there were his friends,
and lamented greatly at his death, because he had led so devout and
good a life, and served so trustily at the graves of his master and
mistress. And at the time of his death he gave order that they should
lay his body beside the good horse Bavieca whom he had loved so well,
in the grave which he had made there for himself while he was living.
And Diego Gil remained in his place, doing the same service which he
had done, till he departed also. And the history saith that though Gil
Díaz was good, Diego Gil was even better.
XX. Eighty and six years after the death of the Cid Campeador, that is
to say, in the year of the Era 1223, which is the year of the
Incarnation 1185, it came to pass, that there was war between the Kings
of Leon and Navarre on the one part, and the King of Castille on the
other, notwithstanding this King Don Sancho of Navarre was uncle to the
King of Castille, being his mother's brother. And this King Don Sancho
entered into the lands of his nephew King Don Alfonso of Castille, and
advanced as far as Burgos, and with his sword he struck a great stroke
into the elm tree which is before the Church of St. John at Burgos, in
token that he had taken possession of all that land; and he carried
away with him a great booty in flocks and herds and beasts of the
plough, and whatever else he could find, and with all this booty went
his way toward Navarre. Now he had to pass nigh the Monastery of St.
Pedro de Cardeņa, where the body of the Cid Campeador lay. And at that
time the Abbot of the Monastery, whose name was Don Juan, was a good
man, and a hidalgo, and stricken in years; and he had been a doughty
man in arms in his day. And when he saw this great booty being driven
out of Castille, he was sorely grieved at the sight, and though he was
now an old man, and it was long since he had got on horseback, he went
to horse now, and took ten monks with him, and bade the strongest among
them take down the banner of the Cid from the place where it was hung
up, and he went after King Don Sancho who was carrying away the spoil.
And the King when he saw him coming marvelled what banner this might
be, for in those days there was no banner like unto that borne by any
man in all the kingdoms of Spain; and perceiving how few they were who
came with it, he halted to see what it might be. And the Abbot humbled
himself before him when he came up, and said, King Don Sancho of
Navarre, I am the Abbot of this Monastery of St. Pedro de Cardeņa,
wherein lies the body of Cid Campeador, your great grandfather; and for
that reason presuming on your bounty and favour, I am come hither with
this banner, which was borne before him in his battles, to beseech you
that you would leave this booty for the honour of this banner and of
the body of the Cid. And when King Don Sancho heard this, he marvelled
at the great courage of the man, that he should thus without fear ask
of him to restore his booty. And he said unto him after awhile, Good
man, I know you not: but for what you have said I will give back the
booty, for which there are many reasons. For I am of the lineage of the
Cid, as you say, and my father King Don Garcia being the son of Doņa
Elvira his daughter, this is the first reason; and the second is for
the honour of his body which lies in your Monastery; and the third is
in reverence to this his banner, which never was defeated. And if none
of these were of any avail, yet ought I to restore it were it only for
this, that if he were living there is none who could drive away the
spoils of Castille, he being so near. For the love of God therefore,
and of my forefather the Cid, I give it to him, and to you, who have
known so well how to ask it at my hands. When the Abbot heard this he
was as joyful as he could be, and would have kissed the hand of King
Don Sancho, but the King would not suffer this because he was a priest
of the mass. Then the King ordered the spoil to be driven to the
Monastery, and went himself with it, and saw the banner hung up again
in its place, and abode there three weeks, till all that booty had been
restored to the persons from whom it was taken. And when this was done
he offered to the Monastery two hundred pieces of gold for the soul of
his forefather the Cid, and returned into his kingdom of Navarre, and
did no more evil at that time in the realm of Castille. This good
service the Cid Ruydiez did to Castille after his death.
XXI. Moreover when the Miramamolin brought over from Africa against
King Don Alfonso, the eighth of that name, the mightiest power of the
misbelievers that had ever been brought against Spain since the
destruction of the Kings of the Goths, the Cid Campeador remembered his
country in that great danger. For the night before the battle was
fought at the Navas de Tolosa, in the dead of the night, a mighty sound
was heard in the whole city of Leon, as if it were the tramp of a great
army passing through. And it passed on to the Royal Monastery of St.
Isidro, and there was a great knocking at the gate thereof, and they
called to a priest who was keeping vigils in the Church, and told him,
that the Captains of the army whom he heard were the Cid Ruydiez, and
Count Ferran Gonzalez, and that they came there to call up King Don
Ferrando the Great, who lay buried in that Church, that he might go
with them to deliver Spain. And on the morrow that great battle of the
Navas de Tolosa was fought, wherein sixty thousand of the misbelievers
were slain, which was one of the greatest and noblest battles ever won
over the Moors.
XXII. The body of the Cid remained in the vault wherein it had been
placed as ye have heard, till the year of the Incarnation 1272, when
King Don Alfonso the Wise, for the great reverence which he bore the
memory of the Cid his forefather, ordered a coffin to be made for him,
which was hewn out of two great stones; and in this the body of the Cid
was laid, and they placed it on that side where the Epistle is read;
and before it, in, a wooden coffin, they laid the body of Doņa Ximena.
And round about the stone coffin these verses were graven, in the Latin
tongue, being, according as it is said, composed by King Don Alfonso
himself.
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