Chronicle Of The Cid by Various
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Various >> Chronicle Of The Cid
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BELLIGER, INVICTOS, FAMOSUS MARTE TRIUMPHIS,
CLAUDITUR HOC TUMULO MAGNUS DIDACI RODERICUS.
And upon his tomb he ordered these verses to be graven also:
QUANTUM ROMA POTENS BELLICIS EXTOLLITUR ACTIS,
VIVAX ARTHURUS FIT GLORIA QUANTUM BRITANNIS,
NOBILIS E CAROLO QUANTUM GAUDET FRANCIA MAGNO,
TANTUM IBERIA DURIS CID INVICTOS CLARET.
And upon the walls it was thus written. I who lie here interred am the
Cid Ruydiez, who conquered King Bucar with six and thirty Kings of the
Moors; and of those six and thirty, twenty and two died in the field.
Before Valencia I conquered them, on horseback, after I was dead, being
the seventy and second battle which I won. I am he who won the swords
Colada and Tizona. God be praised, Amen.
XXIII. The body of the Cid remained here till the year of the
Incarnation 1447, when the Abbot Don Pedro del Burgo ordered the old
Church to be pulled down that a new one might be built in its place.
And then as all the sepulchres were removed, that of the Cid was
removed also, and they placed it in front of the Sacristy, upon four
stone lions. And in the year 1540 God put it in the heart of the Abbot
and Prior, Monks and Convent of the Monastery of St. Pedro de Cardeņa,
for the glory of God, and the honour of St. Peter and St. Paul, and of
the Cid and other good knights who lay buried there, and for the
devotion of the people, to beautify the great Chapel of the said
Monastery with a rich choir and stalls, and new altars, and goodly
steps to lead up to them. And as they were doing this they found that
the tomb of the blessed Cid, if they left it where it was, which was in
front of the door of the Sacristy, before the steps of the altar, it
would neither be seemly for the service of the altar, because it was in
the way thereof, nor for his dignity, by reason that they might stumble
against it; ... moreover it was fallen somewhat to decay, and set badly
upon the stone lions which supported it; and there were other knights
placed above him. Whereupon the Abbot, Prior, Monks, and Convent,
resolved that they would translate his body, and remove the other tombs
to places convenient for them, holding that it was not meet that those
who neither in their exploits nor in holiness had equalled him in life,
should have precedency of him after death. And they were of accord that
the day of this translation should not be made public, knowing how
great the number would be of knights and other persons who would be
desirous of being at this festival, for which cause they doubted least
some misadventure would betide of tumults and deaths, or scandals, such
as are wont to happen on such occasions; they were therefore minded to
do this thing without giving knowledge thereof to any but those who
were in the Monastery, who were of many nations and conditions, and who
were enow to bear testimony when it was done; for there was no lack
there, besides the religious, of knights, squires, hidalgos, labourers,
and folk of the city and the district round about, and Biscayans and
mountaineers, and men of Burgundy and of France.
XXIV. So on Thursday, the eighth day of Epiphany, being the thirteenth
day of January in the year of our Lord 1541, and at the hour of
complines, the Abbot and Convent being assembled, together with
serving-men and artificers who were called for this purpose, they made
that night wooden biers that the tomb might be moved more easily and
reverently, and with less danger. And on the morrow, which was Friday,
the fourteenth day of the said month and year, the Convent having said
primes, and the mass of Our Lady, according to custom, and the Abbot,
Fray Lope de Frias, who was a native of Velorado, having confessed and
said mass, the doors of the Church being open, and the altar richly
drest, and the bells ringing as they are wont to do upon great
festivals, at eight in the morning there assembled in the Church all
the brethren of the Monastery, nineteen in number, the other fifteen
being absent each in his avocation; and there were present with them
Sancho de Ocaņa, Merino and Chief Justice of the Monastery; Juan de
Rosales, Pedro de Ruseras, and Juan Ruyz, squires of the house; master
Ochoa de Artiaga, a mason, with his men; Andres de Carnica, and Domingo
de Artiago, master Pablo and master Borgoņon, stone-cutters, with their
men; and master Juan, a smith, with his; and all the other workmen and
serving-men and traders who were in the house. And the Abbot being clad
in rich vestments, and the ministers and acolites with him, with cross,
candles, and torches burning, went all in procession to Our Lady's
altar, where the sacrament was at that time kept, because of the
repairs which were going on in the great Chapel; and all kneeling on
their knees, and having recited the Pater-noster and the Ave-maria, the
Abbot gave a sign, and the Precentor of the Convent began in plain
descant the antiphony _Salvator Mundi_. And when the whole Convent had
sung this, the Abbot said the verse _Ostende nobis_, and the verse
_Post partum virgo_, and the prayer _Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui es
omnium dubitantium certitudo_, and the prayer _Deus qui salutis
oeternoe_, demanding the grace and favour of the Lord. When this was
done they returned in procession to the great Chapel, before the tomb
of the blessed Cid, and then the choir began the anthem _Mirabilis
Deus_, saying it to the organ. And while this was singing in great
accord, the workmen stood ready with their instruments in hand, to lift
off the upper stone of the coffin, because it was well nigh impossible
to remove the whole together, and also because the Abbot, Prior, and
Convent, had resolved to see that holy body and relicks, by reason of
the devotion which they bore to the blessed Cid, and that they might
bear testimony in what manner he lay in that tomb, wherein he had been
deposited to many years ago, as behoved them for the honour of the Cid
and the authority of the Monastery.
XXV. When the anthem was finished, the Abbot said the verse _Exuliabunt
saneti in gloria_, and the prayer _Deus qui es tuorum gloria servorum_.
And when all had said Amen, the Abbot himself, with a little bar of
iron, began first to move the lid of the stone coffin; and then the
workmen and others easily lifted it off upon the bier, and thus the
tomb was laid open; and there appeared within it a coffin of wood
fastened-down with gilt nails, the hair of the coffin being entirely
gone, and great part of the wood decayed also. Within this coffin was
the holy body, now well nigh consumed, nothing but the bones remaining
entire. On some of the bones the flesh was still remaining, not
discoloured, but with a rosy colour, and the bones, were of the same
rosy colour, and the flesh also which had fallen from them. The body
was wrapt in a sendal wrought after the Moorish fashion, with sword and
spear by its side, as tokens of knighthood. As soon as the coffin was
opened there issued forth a good odour, and comforting fragrance. It
appeared that no part of the body was wanting: but this was not
narrowly examined, by reason of the reverence which they bore it. After
all this had been seen well and leisurely by all those who were
present, the Abbot and his ministers passed a clean sheet under the
coffin, and collecting into it all the bones and holy dust, covered it
with another sheet, and took it out, and laid it upon the high altar,
with candles and torches on each side; and in this manner it remained
there all day, till it was time to deposit it in the tomb. And all this
while the choristers sung to the organ, and the organ responded. And
when the body was laid upon the altar, the Abbot said the verse
_Mirabilis Deus_, and the prayer _Magnifuet te Domine sanctorum tuorum
beaia solemnitas_. And when this was done he went and disrobed himself
of his sacred vestments. And the workmen went and removed the stone
lions, and placed them in the place where they were to be, and the tomb
upon them. And the Convent went to perform divine service, which was
celebrated that day at all the hours with a full choir. And at the hour
accustomed, after this was done, the Abbot and the Convent invited all
who were there present to be their guests, giving a right solemn feast
to all; and the chief persons dined with the Convent in the Refectory.
And that same day in the evening, after vespers, when it was about four
o'clock, the workmen had removed the stone lions, and placed the tomb
upon them, and laid the lid of the tomb hard by, and made all ready to
fasten it down, so soon as the holy body should be laid in it. And at
that time, the bells ringing again, and all being again assembled, the
Abbot having put on again his vestments, which were of white brocade,
and his ministers with him, went to the altar whereon they had laid the
holy body, which had been right nobly guarded and accompanied. And the
singers singing the while, he and his ministers took it and laid it
with great reverence in the tomb, all seeing it when it was laid there,
wrapt up and covered with the sheets. And in the presence of all, the
workmen put on the lid and fastened it down. Then the Abbot began the
_Te Deum laudamus_, and the singers continuing it, they went in
procession to Our Lady's Chapel, where the most holy sacrament then
was, as ye have heard. And the Abbot said the verse _Benedicamus Patrem
et Filium cum Sancto Spiritu_, and the prayer _Deus ad quem digne
laudandum_, and they all returned thanksgiving to the Lord. And the
Abbot and the ministers went into the Sacristy, and took off their
sacred vestments; and then he returned and again invited all who were
there to a collation in the Refectory, which had been prepared by the
servants of the Monastery. And when this was over they separated, each
going with great content to his several occupation, praising God.
XXVI. It was a thing of great consolation that there was not a person
in that Monastery, who did not all that day feel great joy and delight
in his soul. And there befell a thing of which many took notice, and
which ought not to be passed over in silence, and it was this. There
was a great want of rain in the land of Rioja and Bureva, and the
district of Cardeņa also was in want of water, though not in such great
need, for it was long since any rain had fallen; and it pleased God
that on the aforesaid Thursday, the eve of the translation, at the very
hour when the Abbot and his people began to prepare the bier, and make
all things ready for opening and removing the tomb, a soft and gentle
rain began, such a rain that to those who were out of doors it was
nothing troublesome, and to the country greatly profitable, and
pleasant unto all; and it lasted all that night, and all the day
following, till the holy business of the translation was accomplished,
and then it ceased. Now it was found that this rain had fallen at the
same time and in the same manner, both in the country below Burgos, and
also in Bureva, albeit that it rarely hath happened for rain to fall at
one time in both provinces, because they are wont to have rain with
different winds. It seemeth therefore that this blessed knight, who
while he lived protected and defended that country with his person and
his arms, beholding the service which was done him, and how he was
remembered, favoured it at that time in heaven with his holy
intercession, by sending that thing whereof it had then most need,
which was water from heaven, in order that it might be made manifest
that he never ceased to show favour to those who trusted in him, and to
that Monastery of St. Pedro de Cardeņa. And an account of this
translation, and of all this which befell, was drawn up by the Abbot
Fray Lope de Frías, and signed by all the brethren of the Monastery,
and all the chief persons there present.
XXVII. Now albeit this translation of the body of the blessed Cid had
been made with such honour and reverence, there were many who murmured
against it; and Don Pedro Fernandez de Velasco, Duke of Frias, who was
then Constable of Castille. and the Municipality of Burgos, sent advice
thereof to the Emperor Charles V. who was at that time in Flanders,
beseeching him to give order that the tomb of the Cid might be
translated back to its former place, and that of Doņa Ximena also,
which had been removed into the Cloisters of the Monastery. Hereupon
the Emperor dispatched letters to his Governor, Cardinal Juan, bidding
him see that the petition of the Constable and of the City of Burgos
was fulfilled, and the Cardinal in obedience thereunto dispatched the
provision here following.
The King.
Venerable Abbot, Monks and Convent of St. Pedro de Cardeņa, know ye
that we have ordered to be given, and do hereby give our edict unto
you, to the following tenor. The Council, Justice, and Regidores,
Knights, Esquires, Artificers and Good Men of the City of Burgos, have
made a memorial to us the King, showing, that we well know the fame,
nobleness, and exploits of the Cid, which are notorious to all, from
whose valour there redoundeth honour to all Spain, and especially to
that city whereof he was a native, and where he had his origin and
birth place; and that one of the principal things which they who pass
through that city, both natives of these kingdoms, and strangers also,
desire to see, is his tomb and the place wherein he and his ancestors
are interred, for his greatness and the antiquity thereof; and that it
is now some thirty or forty days since ye, not having respect to this,
neither bearing in mind that the Cid is our progenitor, nor the
possessions which he left to your house, nor the authority that it is
to the said Monastery that he should there have been interred, have
removed and taken away his tomb from the middle of the great Chapel,
where it had stood for more than four hundred years, and placed it near
a staircase, in a place unseemly, and unlike that where it was placed
heretofore, both in authority and honour. Moreover ye have removed with
him the tomb of Doņa Ximena his wife, and placed it in the Cloisters of
the said Monastery, full differently from where it was. The which that
city, as well because it toucheth us as for her honour, doth greatly
resent; and albeit that as soon as it was known the Corregidor and
three of the Regidores thereof went there to prevail with ye that ye
should restore the said bodies to the place where they were wont to be,
ye would not be persuaded; whereof the said city holdeth itself greatly
aggrieved: and moreover it is a thing of bad example for Monasteries
and Religioners, who, seeing how lightly the tomb of so famous a person
hath been removed, may venture to remove and change any monuments and
memorials, whereby great evil would accrue to our kingdoms. And the
said City supplicateth and beseeching us of our grace, that we would be
pleased to give command that ye should restore the bodies of the Cid
and of his wife to the same place and form as heretofore. And the Cid
having been so signal a person, and one from whom the Royal Crown of
Castille hath received such great and notable services, we marvel that
ye should have made this alteration in their tombs, and we command you
if it be so that their bodies or their tombs have been indeed removed,
as soon as ye receive this, to restore them to the same place, and in
the same form and manner as they were before; and in case they have not
yet been removed, that ye do not move nor touch them, neither now nor
at anytime to come. And having first complied with this order, if ye
have any cause or reason for making this removal, ye are to send us an
account thereof, and also how ye have restored the said bodies and
tombs to their former place within forty days, to the end that we may
give order to have this matter inspected, and provide as shall be most
convenient. Done in Madrid, the 8th day of the Month of July, in the
year 1541. Johannes Cardinalis, by command of his Majesty. Governor in
his name.
XXVIII. This provision having been notified unto them, the Abbot and
Monks made answer that they were ready to obey it, and that he would go
and give account to the Lord Governor of what had been done. And the
Abbot went accordingly to Court, and informed the Cardinal Governor of
the translation which had been made; and that the tomb of the Cid had
been removed to a place more decorous, and nearer the High Altar, and
answering the site where King Don Alfonso VI. had commanded him to be
placed in his ivory chair before he was first interred; and where the
vault had been made wherein he had lain many years. And that the reason
why the tomb had been moved was, that the passage from the Sacristy to
the choir and the High Altar might be cleared; and that the reason why
it had not been placed in the middle of the Great Chapel, was, that if
that place were occupied, it seemed due to Queen Doņa Sancha, the
foundress of that House, or to King Don Ramira, who had held that place
in the old Church. But notwithstanding all these reasons which the
Abbot alleged, the Cardinal ordered him to obey the King's command.
Hereupon the Abbot returned to the Monastery and determined to place
the tombs of the Cid and of Doņa Ximena in the middle of the Great
Chapel, before it should be known in Burgos that the translation was to
take place; and accordingly when those persons who would fain have been
present made enquiry, they were told that the thing was done.
XXIX. Now there have not been wanting over-curious persons who, because
the Monastery of Cardeņa is the first under the royal patronage, by
reason that it is a foundation of Queen Doņa Sancha, who is the first
royal personage that ever founded a Monastery in Spain, and because
King Don Alfonso the Great re-edified it, and Garcia Ferrandez the
Count of Castille restored it, have said, that the Cid hath taken the
place of these patrons. And when King Carlos II. was in this Monastery
in the year 1679, he asked whose the tomb was which occupied the middle
of the Great Chapel; and Fray Joseph del Hoyo, who was at that time
Abbot, made answer, Sir, it is the tomb of Rodrigo Diaz, the Cid
Campeador. Why then, said one of the Grandees, doth the Cid occupy the
best place, seeing that this Monastery is a royal foundation? Upon this
the Abbot made answer, that the Emperor Charles V. had ordered the
Abbot and Monks to place him in that place; and King Carlos II. said,
The Cid was not a King, but he was one who made Kings. And from that
time till the present day the tomb of the Cid hath remained in the same
place, and that of Doņa Ximena beside it; and with such veneration and
respect are they preserved, that they are alway covered and adorned
with two cloths, whereof the upper one is of silk, and on great
festivals they are adorned with one still more precious.
XXX. Many are the things which belonged to Ruydiez the Cid Campeador,
which are still preserved with that reverence which is due to the
memory of such a man. First, there are those good swords Colada and
Tizona, which the Cid won with his own hand. Colado is a sword of full
ancient make: it hath only a cross for its hilt, and on one side are
graven the words _Si, Si_ ... that is to say, Yea, Yea: and on the
other, No, No. And this sword is in the Royal Armoury at Madrid. That
good sword Tizona is in length three quarters and a half, some little
more, and three full fingers wide by the hilt, lessening down to the
point; and in the hollow of the sword, by the hilt, is this writing in
Roman letters, _Ave Maria gratia plena, Dominus_, and on the other
side, in the same letters, I am Tizona, which was made in the era 1040,
that is to say, in the year 1002. This good sword is an heir-loom in
the family of the Marquisses of Falces. The Infante Don Ramiro, who was
the Cid's son-in-law, inherited it, and from him it descended to them.
Moreover the two coffers which were given in pledge to the Jews Rachel
and Vidas are kept, the one in the Church of St. Agueda at Burgos,
where it is placed over the principal door, in the inside, and the
other is in the Monastery of St. Pedro de Cardeņa, where it is hung up
by two chains on the left of the dome; on the right, and opposite to
this coffer, is the banner of the Cid, but the colour thereof cannot
now be known, for length of time and the dampness of the Church have
clean consumed it. In the middle is his shield hanging against the
wall, covered with skin, but now so changed that no blazonry or device
is to be seen. In the Sacristy there are the keys of the coffer, a
great round chest of sattín wood, the setting of the amethyst cup which
he used at table, and one of the caskets which the Soldan of Persia
sent with the myrrh and balsam; this is of silver, and gilt in the
inside, and it is in two parts, the lid closing over the other part;
its fashion is like that of the vessels in which the three Kings of the
East are represented, bringing their offerings to Christ when he was
newly born. On the upper part is graven the image of our Redeemer
holding the world in his hand, and on the other the figure of a serpent
marvellously contorted, per-adventure in token of the victory which
Jesus atchieved over the enemy of the human race. That noble
chess-board, the men whereof were of gold and silver, was also in the
Monastery in the days of King Don Alfonso the Wise, but it hath long
since been lost, no man knoweth how. Moreover there is in this Sacristy
a precious stone of great size, black and sparkling; no lapidary hath
yet known its name. The Convent have had an infant Jesus graven
thereon, with the emblem of the Passion, that it might be worthily
employed. It is thought also that the great cross of crystal which is
set so well and wrought with such great cunning, is made of different
pieces of crystal which belonged to the Cid. But the most precious
relick of the Cid Ruydiez which is preserved and venerated in this
Monastery, is the cross which he wore upon his breast when he went to
battle; it is of plain silver, in four equal parts, and each part
covered with three plates of gold, and in the flat part of each five
sockets set with precious stones of some size; and with other white
ones which are smaller; of these little ones, some are still left,
fastened in with filigrane. In the middle of the cross is a raised
part, after the manner of an artichoke, ending in white and green
enamel; and it is said that in the hollow thereof are certain relicks,
with a piece of the holy wood of the true cross. Verily, that part of
the writing which can still be read implieth this, for thus much may at
this day be discerned.... CRUCIS SALVATOR * * SANCTI PETRI * * PORTO.
Of the four limbs of this cross the upper one is wanting. King Don
Alfonso, the last of that name, asked for it, and had it made into a
cross to wear himself when he went to battle, because of the faith
which he had, that through it he should obtain the victory; of the
lower limb little more is left than that to which the plates of silver
and gold were fastened on. From point to point this cross is little
more than a quarter.
XXXI. There is no doubt that the soul of the blessed Cid resteth and
reigneth with the blessed in Heaven. And men of all nations and at all
times have come from all parts to see and reverence his holy body and
tomb, being led by the odour of his fame, especially knights and
soldiers, who when they have fallen upon their knees to kiss his tomb,
and scraped a little of the stone thereof to bear away with them as a
relick, and commended themselves to him, have felt their hearts
strengthened, and gone away in full trust that they should speed the
better in all battles into which they should enter from that time with
a good cause. By reason of this great devotion, and the great virtues
of my Cid, and the miracles which were wrought by him, King Philip the
Second gave order to his ambassador Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, to
deal with the Court of Borne concerning the canonization of this
venerable knight Rodrigo Diaz. Now Don Diego was a person of great
learning, and moreover, one of the descendants of the Cid; and being
greatly desirous that this thing should be effected, he sent to the
Monastery of St. Pedro de Cardeņa, and had papers and depositions sent
from thence, and made a memorial of the virtues and miracles of the
Campeador, showing cause why this blessed knight should be canonized.
But before the matter could be proceeded in, the loss of Sienna took
place, whereupon he was fain to leave Rome and thus this pious design
could not be brought about. Nevertheless the Cid hath alway been
regarded with great reverence as an especial servant of God: and he is
called the Blessed Cid, and the Venerable Rodrigo Diaz. Certes, his
soul resteth and reigneth with the blessed in Heaven. Amen.
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