The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters LXXVI

Anonymous (about 1200), translated by R. Selden Rose and Leonard Bacon · 1919

iambic hexameter · 29 lines · from The Lay of the Cid

There was among those Christians excelling happinessFor my lord Roy Diaz that was born in a season of good grace.And now his beard was growing; longer it grew apace.For this the Cid had spoken, this from his mouth said he,"By my love for King Alphonso the king who banished me,"That the shears should not shear it, nor a single hair dispart,That so the Moors and Christians might ponder it at heart.

And resting in Valencia did the lord Cid abide,With Minaya Alvar Fañez who would not leave his side.They who went forth to exile of riches had good store.To all men in Valencia, the gallant CampeadorGave houses and possessions whereof they were right glad.All men of the Cid's bounty good testimony had.And of them that had come later well content was every one.My lord Cid saw it plainly that they fain would get them gone,With the goods that they had taken, if unhindered they might go.The lord Cid gave his order (Minaya counselled so)That if any man that with him in richer case did standShould take his leave in secret and fail to kiss his hand,If they might overtake him and catch him as he fled,They would seize his goods and bring him unto the gallows-head.Lo! was it well looked after. Counsel he took againWith Minaya Alvar Fañez "An it be that thou art fain,Gladly would I know, Minaya, what may the number beOf my henchmen, as at present, that have gained aught by me.I shall set it down in writing. Let them well the number scan,Lest one depart in secret and I should miss the man.To me and my companions his goods shall be restored,All they who guard Valencia and keep the outer ward.

Words in this poem

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.]
dispart v. t.: To part asunder; to divide; to separate; to sever; to rend; to rive or split; as, disparted air; disparted towers. [Pref. dis- + part: cf. OF. despartir.]
valencia n.: A kind of woven fabric for waistcoats, having the weft of wool and the warp of silk or cotton. [Perhaps fr. Valence in France.]
went n.: Course; way; path; journey; direction.
whereof adv.: Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
bounty n.: Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
fain v. t.: To be glad ; to wish or desire.
gladly adv.: Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
aught n.: Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
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,]
scan v. t.: To mount by steps; to go through with step by step. [L. scandere, scansum, to climb, to scan, akin to Skr. skand to spring, leap: cf. F. scander. Cf. Ascend, Descend, Scale a ladder.]
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,]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters LXXVI 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 LXXVI, 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-lxxvi.html, id L15082.

Form and metre

The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters LXXVI is 29 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic hexameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 75%). 82% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.6 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% 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 AAABBCC happiness^A · grace^A · apace^A · he^B · me^B · dispart^C · heart^C
2 AA--BB--CCDDEEFFGGHHII abide^A · side^A · store · campeador · glad^B · had^B · one · gone · go^C · so^C · stand^D · hand^D · fled^E · head^E · again^F · fain^F · be^G · me^G · scan^H · man^H · restored^I · ward^I

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
There was among those Christians excelling happiness	13	·····/˘˘/˘/˘˘
For my lord Roy Diaz that was born in a season of good grace.	16	····/······/˘···
And now his beard was growing; longer it grew apace.	13	·····/˘/˘··˘/
For this the Cid had spoken, this from his mouth said he,	13	·····/˘······
"By my love for King Alphonso the king who banished me,"	14	·····˘/˘···/˘·
That the shears should not shear it, nor a single hair dispart,	14	·········/˘·˘/
That so the Moors and Christians might ponder it at heart.	13	·····/˘·/˘···
And resting in Valencia did the lord Cid abide,	13	·/˘·˘/˘····˘/
With Minaya Alvar Fañez who would not leave his side.	13	·············
They who went forth to exile of riches had good store.	13	·····/··/˘···
To all men in Valencia, the gallant Campeador	13	····˘/˘·/˘···
Gave houses and possessions whereof they were right glad.	13	·/˘·˘/˘······
All men of the Cid's bounty good testimony had.	13	·····/˘·/˘·˘·
And of them that had come later well content was every one.	15	······/˘·˘/·/˘·
My lord Cid saw it plainly that they fain would get them gone,	14	·····/˘·······
With the goods that they had taken, if unhindered they might go.	15	······/˘·˘/˘···
The lord Cid gave his order (Minaya counselled so)	13	·····/˘··/˘˘·
That if any man that with him in richer case did stand	14	··/˘·····/˘···
Should take his leave in secret and fail to kiss his hand,	13	·····/˘······
If they might overtake him and catch him as he fled,	13	···/˘········
They would seize his goods and bring him unto the gallows-head.	14	···········/˘·
Lo! was it well looked after. Counsel he took again	13	·······/˘··˘/
With Minaya Alvar Fañez "An it be that thou art fain,	14	··············
Gladly would I know, Minaya, what may the number be	13	/˘········/˘·
Of my henchmen, as at present, that have gained aught by me.	14	··/˘··/˘······
I shall set it down in writing. Let them well the number scan,	15	······/˘····/˘·
Lest one depart in secret and I should miss the man.	13	··˘/·/˘······
To me and my companions his goods shall be restored,	13	····˘/˘····˘/
All they who guard Valencia and keep the outer ward.	13	····˘/˘˘···/·

The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.

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