The Banishment of the Cid XXXVIII
Of Minaya Alvar Fañez the charger they have slainThe gallant bands of Christians came to his aid amain.His lance was split and straightway he set hand upon the glaive,What though afoot, no whit the less he dealt the buffets brave.The Cid, Roy Diaz of Castile, saw how the matter stood.He hastened to a governor that rode a charger good.With his right hand he smote him such a great stroke with theswordThat the waist he clave; the half of him he hurled unto the sward.To Minaya Alvar Fañez forthwith he gave the steed."Right arm of mine, Minaya, now horse thee with all speed!I shall have mighty succor from thee this very day.
The Moors leave not the battle; firm standeth their array,And surely it behooves us to storm their line once more."
Sword in hand rode Minaya; on their host he made great war,Whom he overtook soever, even to death he did.He who was born in happy hour, Roy Diaz, my lord Cid,Thrice smote against King Fáriz. Twice did the great strokes fail,But the third found the quarry. And down his shirt of mailStreamed the red blood. To leave the field he wheeled his horseaway.By that one stroke the foeman were conquered in the fray.
Words in this poem
- charger n.
- One who, or that which charges.
- amain adv.
- With might; with full force; vigorously; violently; exceedingly. [Pref. a- + main. See 2d Main, n.]
- straightway adv.
- Immediately; without loss of time; without delay.
- glaive n.
- A weapon formerly used, consisting of a large blade fixed on the end of a pole, whose edge was on the outside curve; also, a light lance with a long sharp-pointed head. Wilhelm. [F. glaive, L. gladius; prob. akin to E. claymore. Cf. Gladiator.]
- 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.]
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- forthwith adv.
- Immediately; without delay; directly.
- 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.]
- 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,]
- foeman n.
- An enemy in war. [AS. fhman.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Banishment of the Cid XXXVIII 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 XXXVIII, 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-xxxviii.html, id L15047.
Form and metre
The Banishment of the Cid XXXVIII is 22 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic hexameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.2 syllables. 23% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic hexameter.
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-CCDDE slainA · amainA · glaive · brave · stoodB · goodB · the · swordC · swardC · steedD · speedD · dayE
- 2 EF arrayE · moreF
- 3 FGGHH-II warF · didG · cidG · failH · mailH · horse · awayI · frayI
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 hexameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Of Minaya Alvar Fañez the charger they have slain | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| The gallant bands of Christians came to his aid amain. | 13 | ·/˘··/˘····˘/ |
| His lance was split and straightway he set hand upon the glaive, | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| What though afoot, no whit the less he dealt the buffets brave. | 14 | ··˘/·······/˘· |
| The Cid, Roy Diaz of Castile, saw how the matter stood. | 15 | ···/········/˘· |
| He hastened to a governor that rode a charger good. | 13 | ·/˘··/˘···/˘· |
| With his right hand he smote him such a great stroke with the | 13 | ············· |
| sword | 1 | · |
| That the waist he clave; the half of him he hurled unto the sward. | 15 | ··············· |
| To Minaya Alvar Fañez forthwith he gave the steed. | 13 | ·······//···· |
| "Right arm of mine, Minaya, now horse thee with all speed! | 12 | ············ |
| I shall have mighty succor from thee this very day. | 13 | ···/˘/˘···/˘· |
| The Moors leave not the battle; firm standeth their array, | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| And surely it behooves us to storm their line once more." | 13 | ·/˘·˘/······· |
| Sword in hand rode Minaya; on their host he made great war, | 13 | ············· |
| Whom he overtook soever, even to death he did. | 13 | ···˘/˘/˘/···· |
| He who was born in happy hour, Roy Diaz, my lord Cid, | 14 | ·····/˘/·/···· |
| Thrice smote against King Fáriz. Twice did the great strokes fail, | 13 | ············· |
| But the third found the quarry. And down his shirt of mail | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Streamed the red blood. To leave the field he wheeled his horse | 13 | ·˘··········· |
| away. | 2 | ˘/ |
| By that one stroke the foeman were conquered in the fray. | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
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