The Banishment of the Cid XXIII
He couched there in the ambush till the breaking of the day.This Minaya Alvar Fañez had counselled and had planned:
"Ha, Cid, in happy hour thou girdedst on the brand.Thou with an hundred henchmen shalt abide to hold the rear.Till we have drawn forth Castejón unto the bushment here.But give me now two hundred men on a harrying raid to ride.We shall win much if thy fortune and our God be on our side.
"Well didst thou speak, Minaya," the Campeador he said,"Do thou with the two hundred ride on a harrying raid.With Alvar Salvadórez, Alvar Alvarez shall advance,likewise Galínd Garcíaz, who is a gallant lance.Let them ride beside Minaya, each valiant cavalier.Let them ride unfearing forward and turn from naught for fear.Out unto Guadalajára, from Hita far and wide,To Alcalá the city forth let the harriers ride.That they bring all the booty let them be very sure,Let them leave naught behind them for terror of the Moor.Here with an hundred lances in the rear will I remain,And capture Castejón good store of provender to gain.If thou come in any danger as thou ridest on the raid,Send swiftly hither, and all Spain shall say how I gave aid."Now all the men were chosen who on the raid should ride,And those who in the rearguard with the lord Cid should abide.
And now the dawn was breaking and morning coming on,And the sun rising. Very God! how beautifully it shone!All men arose in Castejón, and wide they threw the gates;And forth they went to oversee their farmlands and estates.All were gone forth, and the gates stand open as they were thrown,And but a little remnant were left in Castejón.Round the city were the people scattered the whole country o'er.Then forth out of the ambush issued the Campeador.And without fail round Castejón he rushed along his way.The Moors, both men and women, he took them for a prey,And of their flocks as many as thereabouts there strayed.My lord Cid don Rodrigo straight for the gateway made,And they that held it, when they saw that swift attack begin,Fled in great fear, and through the gates Roy Diaz entered inWith the sword naked in his hand; and fifteen Moors he slewWhom he ran down. In Castejón much gold, and silver too,He captured. Then unto him his knights the booty brought.To my lord Cid they bore it. The spoil they valued naught.
Lo! the two hundred men and three to plunder that rode out,Sped fearlessly, and ravaged the country roundabout.For the banner of Minaya unto Alcalá did gleam.Then they bore home the booty up the Henáres streamPast Guadalajára. Booty exceeding great they boreOf sheep and kine and vesture and of other wealth good store.Straightway returned Minaya. None dared the rear attack.With the treasure they had taken his company turned back.Lo, they wore come to Castejón, where the Campeador abode.He left the hold well guarded. Out from the place he rode.With all his men about him to meet them did he come,And with arms wide asunder welcomed Minaya home:
"Thou art come, Alvar Fañez, good lance thou art indeed.Whereso I send thee, in such wise I well may hope to speed.Put straightway all together the spoil both shine and mine;The fifth part of all, Minaya, an thou so desire, is thine."
Words in this poem
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- bushment n.
- A thicket; a cluster of bushes. Raleigh. [OE. busshement ambush, fr. bush.]
- 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,]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- 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, ]
- cavalier n.
- A military man serving on horseback; a knight. [F. cavalier, It. cavaliere, LL. caballarius, fr. L. caballus. See Cavalcade, and cf. Cavallier, Caballine.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- oversee v. i.
- To see too or too much; hence, to be deceived.
- rushed a.
- Abounding or covered with rushes.
- thereabouts adv.
- Near that place. [The latter spelling is less proper, but more commonly used.]
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- straightway adv.
- Immediately; without loss of time; without delay.
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Banishment of the Cid XXIII 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 XXIII, 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-xxiii.html, id L15034.
Form and metre
The Banishment of the Cid XXIII is 57 lines in 6 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 81% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.7 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% 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.
- 2 -AABB brand · rearA · hereA · rideB · sideB
- 3 -ABBCCDDEEFFAADD said · raidA · advanceB · lanceB · cavalierC · fearC · wideD · rideD · sureE · moorE · remainF · gainF · raidA · aidA · rideD · abideD
- 4 -ABBA---CCDDEEFFGG on · shoneA · gatesB · estatesB · thrownA · castejón · o'er · campeador · wayC · preyC · strayedD · madeD · beginE · inE · slewF · tooF · broughtG · naughtG
- 5 AABBCCDDEEFF outA · roundaboutA · gleamB · streamB · boreC · storeC · attackD · backD · abodeE · rodeE · comeF · homeF
- 6 AABB indeedA · speedA · mineB · thineB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| He couched there in the ambush till the breaking of the day. | 14 | ·····/···/˘··· |
| This Minaya Alvar Fañez had counselled and had planned: | 14 | ········/˘˘··· |
| "Ha, Cid, in happy hour thou girdedst on the brand. | 13 | ···/˘/˘······ |
| Thou with an hundred henchmen shalt abide to hold the rear. | 14 | ···/˘/˘·˘/···· |
| Till we have drawn forth Castejón unto the bushment here. | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| But give me now two hundred men on a harrying raid to ride. | 15 | ·····/˘···/˘··· |
| We shall win much if thy fortune and our God be on our side. | 15 | ······/˘·/···/· |
| "Well didst thou speak, Minaya," the Campeador he said, | 12 | ············ |
| "Do thou with the two hundred ride on a harrying raid. | 14 | ·····/˘···/˘˘· |
| With Alvar Salvadórez, Alvar Alvarez shall advance, | 15 | ·········/˘··˘/ |
| likewise Galínd Garcíaz, who is a gallant lance. | 12 | /········/˘· |
| Let them ride beside Minaya, each valiant cavalier. | 13 | ···˘/···/˘·˘/ |
| Let them ride unfearing forward and turn from naught for fear. | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| Out unto Guadalajára, from Hita far and wide, | 14 | ·············· |
| To Alcalá the city forth let the harriers ride. | 13 | ····/˘···/˘˘· |
| That they bring all the booty let them be very sure, | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| Let them leave naught behind them for terror of the Moor. | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| Here with an hundred lances in the rear will I remain, | 14 | ···/˘/˘·····˘/ |
| And capture Castejón good store of provender to gain. | 14 | ·/˘······/˘˘·· |
| If thou come in any danger as thou ridest on the raid, | 15 | ····/˘/˘······· |
| Send swiftly hither, and all Spain shall say how I gave aid." | 14 | ·/˘/˘········· |
| Now all the men were chosen who on the raid should ride, | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| And those who in the rearguard with the lord Cid should abide. | 14 | ············˘/ |
| And now the dawn was breaking and morning coming on, | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘/˘· |
| And the sun rising. Very God! how beautifully it shone! | 14 | ···/˘/˘··/˘˘·· |
| All men arose in Castejón, and wide they threw the gates; | 14 | ··˘/·········· |
| And forth they went to oversee their farmlands and estates. | 14 | ·····/˘··/··˘/ |
| All were gone forth, and the gates stand open as they were thrown, | 14 | ········/˘···· |
| And but a little remnant were left in Castejón. | 13 | ···/˘/˘······ |
| Round the city were the people scattered the whole country o'er. | 15 | ··/˘··/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Then forth out of the ambush issued the Campeador. | 14 | ·····/·/˘˘···· |
| And without fail round Castejón he rushed along his way. | 14 | ··········˘/·· |
| The Moors, both men and women, he took them for a prey, | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| And of their flocks as many as thereabouts there strayed. | 14 | ·····/˘··˘/··˘ |
| My lord Cid don Rodrigo straight for the gateway made, | 13 | ····˘/˘···/·· |
| And they that held it, when they saw that swift attack begin, | 14 | ··········˘/˘/ |
| Fled in great fear, and through the gates Roy Diaz entered in | 14 | ·········/·/˘· |
| With the sword naked in his hand; and fifteen Moors he slew | 14 | ···/˘····//··· |
| Whom he ran down. In Castejón much gold, and silver too, | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| He captured. Then unto him his knights the booty brought. | 14 | ·/˘˘·······/˘· |
| To my lord Cid they bore it. The spoil they valued naught. | 14 | ··········/˘˘· |
| Lo! the two hundred men and three to plunder that rode out, | 14 | ···/˘····/˘··· |
| Sped fearlessly, and ravaged the country roundabout. | 14 | ·····/˘˘·/˘/˘· |
| For the banner of Minaya unto Alcalá did gleam. | 13 | ··/˘········· |
| Then they bore home the booty up the Henáres stream | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Past Guadalajára. Booty exceeding great they bore | 14 | ······/˘˘/˘··· |
| Of sheep and kine and vesture and of other wealth good store. | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘··· |
| Straightway returned Minaya. None dared the rear attack. | 14 | /˘˘/˘····˘··˘/ |
| With the treasure they had taken his company turned back. | 14 | ··/˘··/˘·/˘˘·· |
| Lo, they wore come to Castejón, where the Campeador abode. | 15 | ·············˘/ |
| He left the hold well guarded. Out from the place he rode. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| With all his men about him to meet them did he come, | 13 | ············· |
| And with arms wide asunder welcomed Minaya home: | 13 | ····˘/˘/˘˘··· |
| "Thou art come, Alvar Fañez, good lance thou art indeed. | 13 | ···········˘/ |
| Whereso I send thee, in such wise I well may hope to speed. | 14 | /˘············ |
| Put straightway all together the spoil both shine and mine; | 13 | ·/˘·˘/˘······ |
| The fifth part of all, Minaya, an thou so desire, is thine." | 14 | ··········˘/·· |
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