The Banishment of the Cid XV
One knocked at the doorway, and they heard the tidings then.God wot the Abbot Sancho was the happiest of men.With the lights and with the candles to the court they ran forthright,And him who in good hour was born they welcomed in delight.
"My lord Cid," quoth the Abbot, "Now God be praised of grace!Do thou accept my welcome, since I see thee in this place."And the Cid who in good hour was born, hereunto answered he:
"My thanks to thee, don Sancho, I am content with thee.For myself and for my vassals provision will I make.Since I depart to exile, these fifty marks now take.If I may live my life-span, they shall be doubled you.To the Abbey not a groatsworth of damage will I do.For my lady do I give you an hundred marks again,Herself, her dames and daughters for this year do you maintain.I leave two daughters with you, but little girls they be.In thine arms keep them kindly. I commend them here to thee.Don Sancho do thou guard them, and of my wife take care.If thou wantest yet and lackest for anything whate'er,Look well to their provision, thee I conjure once more,And for one mark that thou spendest the Abbey shall have four."And with glad heart the Abbot his full assent made plain.And lo! the Dame Xiména came with her daughters twain.Each had her dame-in-waiting who the little maiden bore.And Dame Xiména bent the knee before the Campeador.And fain she was to kiss his hand, and, oh, she wept forlorn!
"A boon! A boon! my Campeador. In a good hour wert thou born.And because of wicked slanderers art thou banished from the land.
Words in this poem
- doorway n.
- The passage of a door; entrance way into a house or a room.
- sancho n.
- The nine of trumps in sancho pedro.
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
- hereunto adv.
- Unto this; up to this time; hereto.
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- 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,]
- conjure v. t.
- To call on or summon by a sacred name or in solemn manner; to implore earnestly; to adjure. [F. conjurer, fr. L. conjurare to swear together, to conspire; con- + jurare to swear. See Jury.]
- 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]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Banishment of the Cid XV 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 XV, 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-xv.html, id L15026.
Form and metre
The Banishment of the Cid XV is 28 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 57% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 84% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.4 syllables.
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 AA-BB thenA · menA · forth · rightB · delightB
- 2 AA- graceA · placeA · he
- 3 ABBCCDDAA--EEDDE-- theeA · makeB · takeB · youC · doC · againD · maintainD · beA · theeA · care · whate'er · moreE · fourE · plainD · twainD · boreE · campeador · forlorn
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 |
|---|---|---|
| One knocked at the doorway, and they heard the tidings then. | 14 | ··˘··/·····/˘· |
| God wot the Abbot Sancho was the happiest of men. | 14 | ···/˘/˘··/˘˘·· |
| With the lights and with the candles to the court they ran forth | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| right, | 1 | · |
| And him who in good hour was born they welcomed in delight. | 14 | ·····/···/˘·˘/ |
| "My lord Cid," quoth the Abbot, "Now God be praised of grace! | 14 | ·····/˘····˘·· |
| Do thou accept my welcome, since I see thee in this place." | 14 | ··˘/·/˘······· |
| And the Cid who in good hour was born, hereunto answered he: | 15 | ······/·····/˘· |
| "My thanks to thee, don Sancho, I am content with thee. | 13 | ·····/˘··/˘·· |
| For myself and for my vassals provision will I make. | 14 | ··/···/˘˘/˘··· |
| Since I depart to exile, these fifty marks now take. | 13 | ··˘/·/··/˘··· |
| If I may live my life-span, they shall be doubled you. | 14 | ··········/˘˘· |
| To the Abbey not a groatsworth of damage will I do. | 14 | ··/˘·····/˘··· |
| For my lady do I give you an hundred marks again, | 14 | ··/˘·····/˘·˘/ |
| Herself, her dames and daughters for this year do you maintain. | 14 | ˘/···/˘·····˘/ |
| I leave two daughters with you, but little girls they be. | 13 | ···/˘···/˘··· |
| In thine arms keep them kindly. I commend them here to thee. | 14 | ·····/˘·˘/···· |
| Don Sancho do thou guard them, and of my wife take care. | 13 | ·/˘·········· |
| If thou wantest yet and lackest for anything whate'er, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘·/˘·˘˘/ |
| Look well to their provision, thee I conjure once more, | 13 | ····˘/˘··/˘·· |
| And for one mark that thou spendest the Abbey shall have four." | 14 | ······/˘·/˘··· |
| And with glad heart the Abbot his full assent made plain. | 13 | ·····/˘··˘/·· |
| And lo! the Dame Xiména came with her daughters twain. | 13 | ··········/˘· |
| Each had her dame-in-waiting who the little maiden bore. | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘/˘· |
| And Dame Xiména bent the knee before the Campeador. | 14 | ·············· |
| And fain she was to kiss his hand, and, oh, she wept forlorn! | 14 | ············˘/ |
| "A boon! A boon! my Campeador. In a good hour wert thou born. | 15 | ···········/··· |
| And because of wicked slanderers art thou banished from the land. | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘··· |
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