The Banishment of the Cid XL
Minaya Alvar Fañez hath a horse that gallops well.Of the Moors four and thirty that day before him fell.And all his arm was bloody, for 'tis a biting sword;And streaming from his elbow downward the red blood poured.Said Minaya: "Now am I content; well will the rumor runTo Castile, for a pitched battle my lord the Cid hath won."Few Moors are left, so many have already fallen dead,For they who followed after slew them swiftly as they fled.He who was born in happy hour came with his host once more.On his noble battle-charger rode the great Campeador.His coif was wrinkled. Name of God! but his great beard was fair.His mail-hood on his shoulders lay. His sword in hand he bare.And he looked upon his henchmen and saw them drawing nigh:
The Cid his henchmen plundered the encampment far and wideOf the shields and of the weapons and other wealth beside.Of the Moors they captured there were found five hundred steedsand ten.And there was great rejoicing among those Christian men,And the lost of their number were but fifteen all told.They brought a countless treasure of silver and of gold.Enriched were all those Christians with the spoil that they hadta'enAnd back unto their castle they restored the Moors again;To give them something further he gave command and bade.With all his train of henchmen the Cid was passing glad.He gave some monies, some much goods to be divided fair,And full an hundred horses fell to the Cid's fifth share.God's name! his every vassal nobly did he requite,Not only the footsoldiers but likewise every knight.He who in happy hour was born wrought well his government,And all whom he brought with him therewith were well content.
"Harken to me, Minaya, my own right arm art thou.Of the wealth, wherewith our army the Creator did endow,Take in thine hand whatever thou deemest good to choose.To Castile I fain would send thee to carry there the newsOf our triumph. To Alphonso the King who banished meA gift of thirty horses I desire to send with thee.Saddled is every charger, each steed is bridled well.There hangeth a good war-sword at the pommel of each selle."Said Minaya Alvar Fañez: "I will do it with good cheer.
Words in this poem
- streaming a.
- Sending forth streams.
- charger n.
- One who, or that which charges.
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- encampment n.
- The act of pitching tents or forming huts, as by an army or traveling company, for temporary lodging or rest.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- countless a.
- Incapable of being counted; not ascertainable; innumerable.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- nobly adv.
- Of noble extraction; as, nobly born or descended.
- therewith adv.
- With that or this.
- wherewith adv.
- With which; -- used relatively.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- saddled a.
- Having a broad patch of color across the back, like a saddle; saddle-backed.
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Banishment of the Cid XL 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 XL, 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-xl.html, id L15049.
Form and metre
The Banishment of the Cid XL is 40 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 55% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 79%). 83% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% 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 AABBCCDD--EE- wellA · fellA · swordB · pouredB · runC · wonC · deadD · fledD · more · campeador · fairE · bareE · nigh
- 2 AA-BBCCD-B-DEE---- wideA · besideA · steeds · tenB · menB · toldC · goldC · hadD · ta'en · againB · bade · gladD · fairE · shareE · requite · knight · government · content
- 3 AABBCCDD- thouA · endowA · chooseB · newsB · meC · theeC · wellD · selleD · cheer
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Minaya Alvar Fañez hath a horse that gallops well. | 13 | ··········/˘· |
| Of the Moors four and thirty that day before him fell. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| And all his arm was bloody, for 'tis a biting sword; | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| And streaming from his elbow downward the red blood poured. | 14 | ·/˘··/·/˘····˘ |
| Said Minaya: "Now am I content; well will the rumor run | 14 | ······˘/···/˘· |
| To Castile, for a pitched battle my lord the Cid hath won." | 15 | ·······/˘······ |
| Few Moors are left, so many have already fallen dead, | 14 | ·····/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| For they who followed after slew them swiftly as they fled. | 14 | ···/˘····/˘··· |
| He who was born in happy hour came with his host once more. | 14 | ·····/˘/······ |
| On his noble battle-charger rode the great Campeador. | 14 | ··/˘/˘/˘······ |
| His coif was wrinkled. Name of God! but his great beard was fair. | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| His mail-hood on his shoulders lay. His sword in hand he bare. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| And he looked upon his henchmen and saw them drawing nigh: | 14 | ······/˘···/˘· |
| The Cid his henchmen plundered the encampment far and wide | 14 | ···/˘/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Of the shields and of the weapons and other wealth beside. | 14 | ······/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| Of the Moors they captured there were found five hundred steeds | 14 | ····/˘˘····/˘· |
| and ten. | 2 | ·· |
| And there was great rejoicing among those Christian men, | 13 | ····˘/˘···/˘· |
| And the lost of their number were but fifteen all told. | 13 | ·····/˘··//·· |
| They brought a countless treasure of silver and of gold. | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Enriched were all those Christians with the spoil that they had | 14 | ˘/˘···/˘······ |
| ta'en | 1 | · |
| And back unto their castle they restored the Moors again; | 14 | ·····/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| To give them something further he gave command and bade. | 13 | ···/˘/˘··˘/·· |
| With all his train of henchmen the Cid was passing glad. | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| He gave some monies, some much goods to be divided fair, | 14 | ···/˘·····˘/˘· |
| And full an hundred horses fell to the Cid's fifth share. | 14 | ···/˘˘/˘······ |
| God's name! his every vassal nobly did he requite, | 14 | ···/˘˘/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Not only the footsoldiers but likewise every knight. | 14 | ·/˘·····/·/˘˘· |
| He who in happy hour was born wrought well his government, | 15 | ···/˘/˘·····/˘˘ |
| And all whom he brought with him therewith were well content. | 13 | ·······˘/··˘/ |
| "Harken to me, Minaya, my own right arm art thou. | 12 | /˘·········· |
| Of the wealth, wherewith our army the Creator did endow, | 15 | ···˘///˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Take in thine hand whatever thou deemest good to choose. | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| To Castile I fain would send thee to carry there the news | 15 | ··········/˘··· |
| Of our triumph. To Alphonso the King who banished me | 14 | ·//˘·˘/˘···/˘· |
| A gift of thirty horses I desire to send with thee. | 14 | ···/˘/˘·˘/···· |
| Saddled is every charger, each steed is bridled well. | 14 | /˘·/˘˘/˘···/˘· |
| There hangeth a good war-sword at the pommel of each selle." | 14 | ·/˘······/˘··· |
| Said Minaya Alvar Fañez: "I will do it with good cheer. | 14 | ·············· |
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