The Affront of Corpes CXXIV
"Now of the Cid the Campeador let us demand our wives.Let us say that we will bear them to the lands of Carrión.The place where they are heiresses shall unto them be shown.We shall take them from Valencia, from the Campeador his reach.And then upon the journey we shall work our will on each,Ere the matter of the lion for a sore reproach and scornThey turn to our discomfort who are heirs of Carrión born.We shall bear with us of treasure nigh priceless a fair stock.Of the daughters of the Campeador we two shall make our mock.We shall be rich men always who possess such valiant things,And fit to marry daughters of emperors or kings,Who art the Counts of Carrión by virtue of our birth.The Campeador his daughters we shall mock at in our mirth.Ere the matter of the lion they throw at us in disdain."
When this they had decided the two returned again.Ontspake Ferránd Golzalvez for silence in the Court:
"Cid Campeador, so may our God abide thy strong support,May it please Dame Xiména, but first seem good to thee,And Minaya Alvar Fañez and all men here that beGive us our wives. By marriage are they ours in very deed.Unto our lands in Carrión those ladies we will lead.With the dower-lands to enfeoff them that we gave for bridal rightOf the lands of our possession, thy daughters shall have sight,And those wherein the children to be born to us shall share."
The Cid my lord the Campeador scented no insult there:"I shall give you my daughters and of my wealth dispone.Ye gave them glebe of dowry in the lands of Carrión,Three thousands marks of dower shall to my girls belong.I will give mules and palfreys both excellent and strong,And great steeds of battle swift and of mighty thew,And cloth and silken garments with the gold woven through.Coláda and Tizón the swords I will give to you likewiseFull well ye know I got them in very gallant guise.My sons ye are, for to you do I give my daughters two.My very heart's blood thither ye carry home with you.In León and in Galicia and Castile let all men hearHow I sent forth my sons-in-law with such abundant gear.And serve you well my daughters, your wedded wives that be.An you serve them well rich guerdon ye shall obtain of me."To this the heirs of Carrión their full assent made plain.The daughters of the Campeador were given them and ta'en,And they began receiving as the Cid's orders went.When of all their heart's desire they were at last content,Then Carrión's heirs commanded that the packs be loaded straight,
Through Valencia the city was the press of business great,And all have taken weapons and all men gallop strong,For they must forth the daughters of the Cid to speed alongUnto the lands of Carrión. To mount all men prepare,Farewell all men are saying. But the two sisters there,Dame Sol and Dame Elvíra, kneeled to the Cid Campeador:"A boon, so may God keep thee, O father, we implore.
Thou begottest us. Our mother she brought us forth in pain.Our liege-lord and our lady, here do ye stand ye twain.Now to the lands of Carrión to send us is your will;It is our bounden duty thy commandment to fulfil.And so we two together ask but this boon of thee,That in the lands of Carrión thy tidings still may be."My lord the Cid has clasped them, and he has kissed the twain.
Words in this poem 17
- 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,]
- valencia n.
- A kind of woven fabric for waistcoats, having the weft of wool and the warp of silk or cotton. [Perhaps fr. Valence in France.]
- priceless a.
- Too valuable to admit of being appraised; of inestimable worth; invaluable.
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- enfeoff v. t.
- To give a feud, or right in land, to; to invest with a fief or fee; to invest (any one) with a freehold estate by the process of feoffment. Mozley & W. [Pref. en- + feoff, fief: cf. LL. infeofare, OF. enfeffer, enfeofer.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- dowry n.
- A gift; endowment. [Contr. from dowery; cf. LL. dotarium. See Dower.]
- thew n.
- Manner; custom; habit; form of behavior; qualities of mind; disposition; specifically, good qualities; virtues.
- wedded a.
- Joined in wedlock; married.
- guerdon n.
- A reward; requital; recompense; -- used in both a good and a bad sense. [OF. guerdon, guerredon, LL. widerdonum (influenced by L. donum gift, cf. Donation ), fr. OHG. widarl; widar again, against (G. wider wieder) + lon reward, G. lo]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- liege a.
- Sovereign; independent; having authority or right to allegiance; as, a liege lord. [OE. lige, lege, F. lige, LL. ligius, legius, liege, unlimited, complete, prob. of German origin; cf. G. ledig free from bonds and obstacles, MHG. ledec, ledic, ]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- bounden a.
- Bound; fastened by bonds. [Old. p. p. of bind.]
- commandment n.
- An order or injunction given by authority; a command; a charge; a precept; a mandate. [OF. commandement, F. commandement.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Affront of Corpes CXXIV 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 CXXIV, 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-cxxiv.html, id L15128.
Form and metre
The Affront of Corpes CXXIV is 58 lines in 6 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 66% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%). 81% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, 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 ---AABBCCDDEE- wives · carrión · shown · reachA · eachA · scornB · bornB · stockC · mockC · thingsD · kingsD · birthE · mirthE · disdain
- 3 -AABBCC- support · theeA · beA · deedB · leadB · rightC · sightC · share
- 4 ---AABBCCBBDDEE--FF- there · dispone · carrión · belongA · strongA · thewB · throughB · likewiseC · guiseC · twoB · youB · hearD · gearD · beE · meE · plain · ta'en · wentF · contentF · straight
- 5 -AABB-- great · strongA · alongA · prepareB · thereB · campeador · implore
- 6 AA--BBA painA · twainA · will · fulfil · theeB · beB · twainA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "Now of the Cid the Campeador let us demand our wives. | 15 | ··········˘//˘· |
| Let us say that we will bear them to the lands of Carrión. | 14 | ·············· |
| The place where they are heiresses shall unto them be shown. | 14 | ·····/˘˘······ |
| We shall take them from Valencia, from the Campeador his reach. | 16 | ·····˘/˘˘······· |
| And then upon the journey we shall work our will on each, | 15 | ·····/˘···/˘··· |
| Ere the matter of the lion for a sore reproach and scorn | 15 | ··/˘··/˘···˘/·· |
| They turn to our discomfort who are heirs of Carrión born. | 15 | ···/˘˘/˘······· |
| We shall bear with us of treasure nigh priceless a fair stock. | 14 | ······/˘·/˘··· |
| Of the daughters of the Campeador we two shall make our mock. | 16 | ··/˘·········/˘· |
| We shall be rich men always who possess such valiant things, | 14 | ·····/··˘/·/˘· |
| And fit to marry daughters of emperors or kings, | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘˘·· |
| Who art the Counts of Carrión by virtue of our birth. | 14 | ········/˘·/˘· |
| The Campeador his daughters we shall mock at in our mirth. | 15 | ·····/˘·····/˘· |
| Ere the matter of the lion they throw at us in disdain." | 15 | ··/˘··/˘·····˘/ |
| When this they had decided the two returned again. | 13 | ····˘/˘··˘/˘/ |
| Ontspake Ferránd Golzalvez for silence in the Court: | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| "Cid Campeador, so may our God abide thy strong support, | 15 | ······/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| May it please Dame Xiména, but first seem good to thee, | 13 | ············· |
| And Minaya Alvar Fañez and all men here that be | 13 | ············· |
| Give us our wives. By marriage are they ours in very deed. | 16 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘·/˘· |
| Unto our lands in Carrión those ladies we will lead. | 14 | ··/˘·····/˘··· |
| With the dower-lands to enfeoff them that we gave for bridal right | 15 | ·····˘/·····/˘· |
| Of the lands of our possession, thy daughters shall have sight, | 15 | ····/˘˘/˘·/˘··· |
| And those wherein the children to be born to us shall share." | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| The Cid my lord the Campeador scented no insult there: | 14 | ········/˘·˘/· |
| "I shall give you my daughters and of my wealth dispone. | 13 | ·····/˘····˘/ |
| Ye gave them glebe of dowry in the lands of Carrión, | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Three thousands marks of dower shall to my girls belong. | 12 | ·/˘·······˘/ |
| I will give mules and palfreys both excellent and strong, | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘˘·· |
| And great steeds of battle swift and of mighty thew, | 12 | ····/˘···/˘· |
| And cloth and silken garments with the gold woven through. | 13 | ···/˘/˘···/˘· |
| Coláda and Tizón the swords I will give to you likewise | 15 | ·············/· |
| Full well ye know I got them in very gallant guise. | 13 | ········/˘/˘· |
| My sons ye are, for to you do I give my daughters two. | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| My very heart's blood thither ye carry home with you. | 13 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘··· |
| In León and in Galicia and Castile let all men hear | 16 | ····˘/˘˘········ |
| How I sent forth my sons-in-law with such abundant gear. | 14 | ··········˘/˘· |
| And serve you well my daughters, your wedded wives that be. | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| An you serve them well rich guerdon ye shall obtain of me." | 14 | ······/˘··˘/·· |
| To this the heirs of Carrión their full assent made plain. | 13 | ·········˘/·· |
| The daughters of the Campeador were given them and ta'en, | 14 | ·/˘······/˘··· |
| And they began receiving as the Cid's orders went. | 13 | ··˘/˘/˘···/˘· |
| When of all their heart's desire they were at last content, | 14 | ·····˘/˘····/˘ |
| Then Carrión's heirs commanded that the packs be loaded straight, | 14 | ····˘/˘····/˘· |
| Through Valencia the city was the press of business great, | 15 | ·˘/˘˘·/˘····/˘· |
| And all have taken weapons and all men gallop strong, | 13 | ···/˘/˘···/˘· |
| For they must forth the daughters of the Cid to speed along | 14 | ·····/˘·····˘/ |
| Unto the lands of Carrión. To mount all men prepare, | 13 | ···········˘/ |
| Farewell all men are saying. But the two sisters there, | 13 | ·/···/˘···/˘· |
| Dame Sol and Dame Elvíra, kneeled to the Cid Campeador: | 14 | ·············· |
| "A boon, so may God keep thee, O father, we implore. | 13 | ········/˘·˘/ |
| Thou begottest us. Our mother she brought us forth in pain. | 15 | ·˘/˘·/˘/˘······ |
| Our liege-lord and our lady, here do ye stand ye twain. | 15 | /˘···/˘/˘······ |
| Now to the lands of Carrión to send us is your will; | 13 | ············· |
| It is our bounden duty thy commandment to fulfil. | 15 | ··/˘/˘/˘·˘/˘··· |
| And so we two together ask but this boon of thee, | 13 | ····˘/˘······ |
| That in the lands of Carrión thy tidings still may be." | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| My lord the Cid has clasped them, and he has kissed the twain. | 13 | ············· |
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