The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters XCVI
The Christians in Valencia were all right glad of heart,For now excelling riches, horses and arms they had.Xiména and her daughters all three were passing glad,And the other dames; as wedded upon themselves looked they.And my lord Cid the noble in no wise would delay."Where art thou brave Minaya? Come hither to me now.For thy great share of booty, no gratitude hast thou?Of this my fifth of all the prey, I tell thee clear and plain,Take unto thy good pleasure, but let the rest remain.And tomorrow in the morning thou shalt certainly ride outWith the horses of my portion that I captured in the rout,With the saddles and the bridles and the swords that them behove,For the sake of my lady and for my daughters love.Since Alfonso sent the ladies whither they were content,These same two hundred horses to him thou shalt present,That of him who rules Valencia the King no ill may say."
He bade go with Minaya Per Vermudóz straightway.The next day in the morning they departed with all speed,And a full two hundred henchmen along with them they lead,With greetings from the Cid who fain would kiss his hands aright.Even out of the battle where my lord Cid won the fight,For a gift he sent Alfonso of horses good ten score:"While I have breath within me, I will serve him evermore."
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- wedded a.
- Joined in wedlock; married.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- tomorrow adv.
- On the day after the present day; on the next day; on the morrow. [Prep. to + morrow.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- behove v.
- , and derivatives. See Behoove, & c.
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- straightway adv.
- Immediately; without loss of time; without delay.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters XCVI 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 XCVI, 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-xcvi.html, id L15101.
Form and metre
The Marriage of the Cid's Daughters XCVI is 23 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 87% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 79%). 82% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.7 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
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 -AABBCCDDEEFFGGB heart · hadA · gladA · theyB · delayB · nowC · thouC · plainD · remainD · outE · routE · behoveF · loveF · contentG · presentG · sayB
- 2 -AABBCC straightway · speedA · leadA · arightB · fightB · scoreC · evermoreC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The Christians in Valencia were all right glad of heart, | 14 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘······ |
| For now excelling riches, horses and arms they had. | 13 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘···· |
| Xiména and her daughters all three were passing glad, | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| And the other dames; as wedded upon themselves looked they. | 14 | ··/˘··/˘··˘/·· |
| And my lord Cid the noble in no wise would delay. | 13 | ·····/˘····˘/ |
| "Where art thou brave Minaya? Come hither to me now. | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| For thy great share of booty, no gratitude hast thou? | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| Of this my fifth of all the prey, I tell thee clear and plain, | 14 | ·············· |
| Take unto thy good pleasure, but let the rest remain. | 13 | ·····/˘····˘/ |
| And tomorrow in the morning thou shalt certainly ride out | 14 | ·˘/···/˘··/˘·· |
| With the horses of my portion that I captured in the rout, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| With the saddles and the bridles and the swords that them behove, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘·····˘/ |
| For the sake of my lady and for my daughters love. | 13 | ·····/˘···/˘· |
| Since Alfonso sent the ladies whither they were content, | 14 | ······/˘/˘··/˘ |
| These same two hundred horses to him thou shalt present, | 14 | ···/˘˘/˘····/˘ |
| That of him who rules Valencia the King no ill may say." | 14 | ·····˘/˘······ |
| He bade go with Minaya Per Vermudóz straightway. | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| The next day in the morning they departed with all speed, | 14 | ·····/˘·˘/˘··· |
| And a full two hundred henchmen along with them they lead, | 14 | ····/˘/˘˘/···· |
| With greetings from the Cid who fain would kiss his hands aright. | 14 | ·/˘·········˘/ |
| Even out of the battle where my lord Cid won the fight, | 14 | /˘···/˘······· |
| For a gift he sent Alfonso of horses good ten score: | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| "While I have breath within me, I will serve him evermore." | 14 | ···········/˘· |
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