The Banishment of the Cid X
The hand of my good lord the Cid, Raquél had kissed once more:"Ha! Campeador, in happy hour thou girdedst on the brand.Forth from Castile thou goest to the men of a strange land.Such is become thy fortune and great thy gain shall beAh Cid, I kiss thine hands again--but make a gift to meBring me a Moorish mantle splendidly wrought and red.""So be it. It is granted," the Cid in answer said,"If from abroad I bring it, well doth the matter stand;If not, take it from the coffers I leave here in your hand."
And then Raquél and Vidas bore the two chests away.With Martin Antolínez into Burgos entered they.And with fitting care, and caution unto their dwelling sped.And in the midmost of the hall a plaited quilt they spread.And a milk-white cloth of linen thereon did they unfold.Three hundred marks of silver before them Martin told.And forthwith Martin took them, no whit the coins he weighed.Then other marks three hundred in gold to him they paid.Martin had five esquires. He loaded all and one.You shall hear what said don Martin when all this gear was done:
"Ha! don Raquél and Vidas, ye have the coffers two.Well I deserve a guerdon, who obtained this prize for you."
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- splendidly adv.
- In a splendid manner; magnificently.
- midmost a.
- Middle; middlemost. [OE. middemiste. Cf. Foremost.]
- thereon adv.
- On that or this. [AS. . See There, and On.]
- forthwith adv.
- Immediately; without delay; directly.
- whit n.
- The smallest part or particle imaginable; a bit; a jot; an iota; -- generally used in an adverbial phrase in a negative sentence. [OE. wight, wiht, AS. wiht a creature, a thing. See Wight, and cf. Aught, Naught.]
- 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]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Banishment of the Cid X 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 Banishment of the Cid X, in The Lay of the Cid (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6088, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lay-of-the-cid/the-banishment-of-the-cid-x.html, id L15021.
Form and metre
The Banishment of the Cid X is 21 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 95% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 80% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.6 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 -AABBCCAA more · brandA · landA · beB · meB · redC · saidC · standA · handA
- 2 AABBCCDDEE awayA · theyA · spedB · spreadB · unfoldC · toldC · weighedD · paidD · oneE · doneE
- 3 AA twoA · youA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The hand of my good lord the Cid, Raquél had kissed once more: | 14 | ·············· |
| "Ha! Campeador, in happy hour thou girdedst on the brand. | 14 | ·····/˘/······ |
| Forth from Castile thou goest to the men of a strange land. | 14 | ·············· |
| Such is become thy fortune and great thy gain shall be | 13 | ··˘/·/˘······ |
| Ah Cid, I kiss thine hands again--but make a gift to me | 14 | ······˘/······ |
| Bring me a Moorish mantle splendidly wrought and red." | 13 | ···/˘/˘/˘˘··· |
| "So be it. It is granted," the Cid in answer said, | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| "If from abroad I bring it, well doth the matter stand; | 13 | ··˘/······/˘· |
| If not, take it from the coffers I leave here in your hand." | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| And then Raquél and Vidas bore the two chests away. | 13 | ·····/˘····˘/ |
| With Martin Antolínez into Burgos entered they. | 14 | ·/˘······/˘/˘· |
| And with fitting care, and caution unto their dwelling sped. | 14 | ··/˘··/˘···/˘· |
| And in the midmost of the hall a plaited quilt they spread. | 14 | ···/˘····/˘··· |
| And a milk-white cloth of linen thereon did they unfold. | 14 | ······/˘˘/··˘/ |
| Three hundred marks of silver before them Martin told. | 14 | ·/˘˘··/˘···/˘· |
| And forthwith Martin took them, no whit the coins he weighed. | 14 | ·///˘········˘ |
| Then other marks three hundred in gold to him they paid. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘˘······ |
| Martin had five esquires. He loaded all and one. | 12 | /˘··/··/˘··· |
| You shall hear what said don Martin when all this gear was done: | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| "Ha! don Raquél and Vidas, ye have the coffers two. | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| Well I deserve a guerdon, who obtained this prize for you." | 14 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/···· |
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