The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters CIII
Unto the King much honored, the letters they present.When he had looked upon them, then was his heart content."To the Cid who in good time girt brand my greeting do I send,And let us hold the parley when three weeks are at an end.If I yet live, then doubtless I shall wait him in that place."They tarried not, but hastened home to the Cid apace.
On both sides for the parley they got ready point device.In Castile was ne'er such foison of mules without a price,Nor so many fair-paced palfreys, nor strong steeds swift to guide,Nor so many noble pennons on the stout lances tied,And shields whereof the bosses did with gold and silver shine,Robes, furs and Alexandrian cloth of satin woven fine.And the King gave his order, to send much victual there,To the waters of the Tagus where the parley they prepare.The King leads many a good troop, and Carrión's Heirs are gay.And here they run in debt apace, and there again they pay,For they thought to have great profit and increase manifold,And whatso they should desire, goods of silver and of gold.And now hath King Alfonso got swiftly to his horse,With counts and little nobles and vassals in great force.As for the Heirs of Carrión great companies they bring.From León and from Galicia came much people with the King;Know well, the levies of Castile, they are a countless train.And straight unto the parley they rode with slackened rein.
Words in this poem
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
- 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,]
- apace adv.
- With a quick pace; quick; fast; speedily. [Pref. a- + pace. OE. a pas at a walk, in which a is the article. See Pace.]
- foison n.
- Rich harvest; plenty; abundance. Lowell. [F. foison, fr. L. fusio a pouring, effusion. See Fusion.]
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- alexandrian a.
- Of or pertaining to Alexandria in Egypt; as, the Alexandrian library.
- victual n.
- Food; -- now used chiefly in the plural. See Victuals. 2 Chron.
- whatso pron.
- Whatsoever; whosoever; whatever; anything that.
- countless a.
- Incapable of being counted; not ascertainable; innumerable.
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters CIII 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 Marriage of the Cid's Daughters CIII, in The Lay of the Cid (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6088, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lay-of-the-cid/the-marriage-of-the-cid-s-daughters-ciii.html, id L15108.
Form and metre
The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters CIII is 24 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 14.0 syllables.
See 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 AABBCC presentA · contentA · sendB · endB · placeC · apaceC
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHII deviceA · priceA · guideB · tiedB · shineC · fineC · thereD · prepareD · gayE · payE · manifoldF · goldF · horseG · forceG · bringH · kingH · trainI · reinI
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Unto the King much honored, the letters they present. | 14 | ·····/˘˘·/˘·˘/ |
| When he had looked upon them, then was his heart content. | 14 | ····˘·······˘/ |
| "To the Cid who in good time girt brand my greeting do I send, | 15 | ··········/˘··· |
| And let us hold the parley when three weeks are at an end. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| If I yet live, then doubtless I shall wait him in that place." | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| They tarried not, but hastened home to the Cid apace. | 13 | ····/˘˘····˘/ |
| On both sides for the parley they got ready point device. | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| In Castile was ne'er such foison of mules without a price, | 15 | ·······/˘······ |
| Nor so many fair-paced palfreys, nor strong steeds swift to guide, | 14 | ··/˘··/˘······ |
| Nor so many noble pennons on the stout lances tied, | 14 | ··/˘/˘·····/˘· |
| And shields whereof the bosses did with gold and silver shine, | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| Robes, furs and Alexandrian cloth of satin woven fine. | 14 | ·········/˘/˘· |
| And the King gave his order, to send much victual there, | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| To the waters of the Tagus where the parley they prepare. | 15 | ··/˘······/˘·˘/ |
| The King leads many a good troop, and Carrión's Heirs are gay. | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| And here they run in debt apace, and there again they pay, | 14 | ······˘/··˘/·· |
| For they thought to have great profit and increase manifold, | 14 | ······/˘·˘//˘· |
| And whatso they should desire, goods of silver and of gold. | 14 | ·/˘··˘/··/˘··· |
| And now hath King Alfonso got swiftly to his horse, | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| With counts and little nobles and vassals in great force. | 13 | ···/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| As for the Heirs of Carrión great companies they bring. | 13 | ········/˘˘·· |
| From León and from Galicia came much people with the King; | 14 | ····˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Know well, the levies of Castile, they are a countless train. | 15 | ···/˘·······/˘· |
| And straight unto the parley they rode with slackened rein. | 14 | ·····/˘···/˘˘· |
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