The Affront of Corpes CXVIII
Out of the tents they drave them; on them in pursuit they flew.Many arms and many a hauberk, had you seen there cloven through,And many a head well helmed in the battle fallen low,And many a steed masterless that galloped to and fro.For seven miles together they followed up the flight.As he followed, on King Búcar the Cid my lord did light:"Turn hither, Búcar. thou hast come from the land over sea.The Cid whose beard is mighty thou shalt meet with presently.Let us greet, and in fast friendship let each to each be bound."To the Cid answered Búcar: "Such a friendship God confound.A sword in hand thou bearest, and I see thee spur amain,Seemeth well that thou upon me to try that blade art fain.If my horse keep from stumbling and falleth not with me.Thou shalt not overtake me till we ride into the sea."My lord Cid answered: "With the truth that word no faith shallkeep."A good steed had Búcar that sprang off great leap on leap.But the Cid's Baviéca upon him fast did gain.Three fathoms from the water was Búcar overta 'en.He has lifted up Coláda. A great stroke did he smite.The carbuncles upon his heml he has smitten through forthright.He cut straight through the helmet, all else in twain he crave,And slashing to the girdle of the King came down the glaive.Búcar the King from oversea the Cid hath overthrown.Well worth a thousand golden marks was the great sword Tizón,That he took there. 'Twas a victory most marvelous and great.Here my lord Cid got honor and all that on him wait.
Words in this poem 15
- drave
- , old imp. of Drive.
- helmed a.
- Covered with a helmet.
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- masterless a.
- Destitute of a master or owner; ungoverned or ungovernable.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- presently adv.
- At present; at this time; now.
- amain adv.
- With might; with full force; vigorously; violently; exceedingly. [Pref. a- + main. See 2d Main, n.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- forthright adv.
- Straight forward; in a straight direction. Sir P. [Forth, adv. + right, adv.]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- glaive n.
- A weapon formerly used, consisting of a large blade fixed on the end of a pole, whose edge was on the outside curve; also, a light lance with a long sharp-pointed head. Wilhelm. [F. glaive, L. gladius; prob. akin to E. claymore. Cf. Gladiator.]
- oversea a.
- Beyond the sea; foreign.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Affront of Corpes CXVIII is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Lay of the Cid, Project Gutenberg ebook #6088, the R. Selden Rose and Leonard Bacon translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Anonymous, The Affront of Corpes CXVIII, in The Lay of the Cid (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6088, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lay-of-the-cid/the-affront-of-corpes-cxviii.html, id L15122.
Form and metre
The Affront of Corpes CXVIII is 27 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.3 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBCCD-EEFFDD-GGF-CC----HH flewA · throughA · lowB · froB · flightC · lightC · seaD · presently · boundE · confoundE · amainF · fainF · meD · seaD · shall · keepG · leapG · gainF · en · smiteC · forthrightC · crave · glaive · overthrown · tizón · greatH · waitH
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Out of the tents they drave them; on them in pursuit they flew. | 14 | ··········˘/·· |
| Many arms and many a hauberk, had you seen there cloven through, | 14 | /··/·/˘····/˘· |
| And many a head well helmed in the battle fallen low, | 14 | ·/˘······/˘/˘· |
| And many a steed masterless that galloped to and fro. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘˘·/˘··· |
| For seven miles together they followed up the flight. | 14 | ·/˘·˘/˘·/˘˘··· |
| As he followed, on King Búcar the Cid my lord did light: | 14 | ··/˘·········· |
| "Turn hither, Búcar. thou hast come from the land over sea. | 14 | ·/˘··········· |
| The Cid whose beard is mighty thou shalt meet with presently. | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘˘ |
| Let us greet, and in fast friendship let each to each be bound." | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| To the Cid answered Búcar: "Such a friendship God confound. | 14 | ···/˘····/˘·˘/ |
| A sword in hand thou bearest, and I see thee spur amain, | 14 | ·····/˘·····˘/ |
| Seemeth well that thou upon me to try that blade art fain. | 14 | /˘············ |
| If my horse keep from stumbling and falleth not with me. | 14 | ·····/˘˘·/˘··· |
| Thou shalt not overtake me till we ride into the sea." | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| My lord Cid answered: "With the truth that word no faith shall | 14 | ···/˘˘········ |
| keep." | 1 | · |
| A good steed had Búcar that sprang off great leap on leap. | 13 | ············· |
| But the Cid's Baviéca upon him fast did gain. | 12 | ············ |
| Three fathoms from the water was Búcar overta 'en. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘······· |
| He has lifted up Coláda. A great stroke did he smite. | 14 | ··/˘·········· |
| The carbuncles upon his heml he has smitten through forthright. | 14 | ·········/˘·// |
| He cut straight through the helmet, all else in twain he crave, | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| And slashing to the girdle of the King came down the glaive. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘······· |
| Búcar the King from oversea the Cid hath overthrown. | 14 | ······˘/····˘/ |
| Well worth a thousand golden marks was the great sword Tizón, | 14 | ···/˘/˘······· |
| That he took there. 'Twas a victory most marvelous and great. | 14 | ······/˘·/˘˘·· |
| Here my lord Cid got honor and all that on him wait. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
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