The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters VIII
Minaya Alvar Fañez, hark what he said thereto:"Ho! Campeador, thy pleasure in all things may we do.Give me of knights an hundred, I ask not one other man.And do thou with the others smite on them in the vanWhile my hundred storm their rearward, upon them thou shaltthrust--Ne'er doubt it. We shall triumph as in God is all my trust."Whatsoever he had spoken filled the Cid with right good cheer
And now was come the morning, and they donned their battle gear.What was his task of battle every man of them did know.At the bleak of day against them forth did the lord Cid go."In God's name and Saint James', my knights, strike hard into thewar,And manful. The lord Cid am I, Roy Diaz of Bivár!"
You might see a many tent-ropes everywhither broken lie,And pegs wrenched up; the tent-posts on all sides leaned awry.The Moors were very many. To recover they were fain,But now did Alvar Fañez on their rearward fall amain.Though bitterly it grieved them, they had to fly and yield.Who could put trust in horsehoofs, and forthwith fled the field.Two kings of the Moriscos there in the rout they slew;And even to Valencia the chase did they pursue.And mighty is the booty my lord the Cid had ta 'en.They ravaged all the country and then turned back again.They brought to Murviédro the booty of the foes.And great was the rejoicing in the city that arose.Cebólla have they taken and all the lands anear.In Valencia they knew not what to do for very fear.Of my lord Cid the great tidings, be it known, on all sidesspread.
Words in this poem
- rearward n.
- The last troop; the rear of an army; a rear guard. Also used figuratively. [Rear + ward.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- 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,]
- manful a.
- Showing manliness, or manly spirit; hence, brave, courageous, resolute, noble.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- amain adv.
- With might; with full force; vigorously; violently; exceedingly. [Pref. a- + main. See 2d Main, n.]
- bitterly adv.
- In a bitter manner.
- forthwith adv.
- Immediately; without delay; directly.
- 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.]
- anear v. t.
- To near; to approach.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters VIII 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 VIII, 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-viii.html, id L15076.
Form and metre
The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters VIII is 30 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 60% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.5 syllables. 17% 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.
- 1 --AA-BB- thereto · do · manA · vanA · shalt · thrustB · trustB · cheer
- 2 -AA--- gear · knowA · goA · the · war · bivár
- 3 AABBCCDDBBEEFF-- lieA · awryA · fainB · amainB · yieldC · fieldC · slewD · pursueD · enB · againB · foesE · aroseE · anearF · fearF · sides · spread
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Minaya Alvar Fañez, hark what he said thereto: | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| "Ho! Campeador, thy pleasure in all things may we do. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Give me of knights an hundred, I ask not one other man. | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| And do thou with the others smite on them in the van | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| While my hundred storm their rearward, upon them thou shalt | 14 | ··/˘˘··/˘····· |
| thrust-- | 1 | · |
| Ne'er doubt it. We shall triumph as in God is all my trust." | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| Whatsoever he had spoken filled the Cid with right good cheer | 15 | ·˘/˘··/˘······· |
| And now was come the morning, and they donned their battle gear. | 14 | ·····/˘····/˘· |
| What was his task of battle every man of them did know. | 14 | ·····/˘/˘····· |
| At the bleak of day against them forth did the lord Cid go. | 14 | ·············· |
| "In God's name and Saint James', my knights, strike hard into the | 13 | ············· |
| war, | 1 | · |
| And manful. The lord Cid am I, Roy Diaz of Bivár!" | 14 | ·/˘······/···· |
| You might see a many tent-ropes everywhither broken lie, | 15 | ····/·······/˘· |
| And pegs wrenched up; the tent-posts on all sides leaned awry. | 14 | ···˘········˘/ |
| The Moors were very many. To recover they were fain, | 14 | ···/˘/˘·˘/˘··· |
| But now did Alvar Fañez on their rearward fall amain. | 14 | ·········/˘·˘/ |
| Though bitterly it grieved them, they had to fly and yield. | 14 | ·/˘˘··˘······· |
| Who could put trust in horsehoofs, and forthwith fled the field. | 14 | ·········//··· |
| Two kings of the Moriscos there in the rout they slew; | 13 | ············· |
| And even to Valencia the chase did they pursue. | 14 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘····˘/ |
| And mighty is the booty my lord the Cid had ta 'en. | 14 | ·/˘··/˘······· |
| They ravaged all the country and then turned back again. | 14 | ·/˘˘··/˘····˘/ |
| They brought to Murviédro the booty of the foes. | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| And great was the rejoicing in the city that arose. | 14 | ····˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Cebólla have they taken and all the lands anear. | 13 | ·····/˘····˘/ |
| In Valencia they knew not what to do for very fear. | 14 | ·˘/˘·······/˘· |
| Of my lord Cid the great tidings, be it known, on all sides | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| spread. | 1 | · |
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