Ballad XVI: Translated from the Spanish
Rio verde, rio verde,Quanto cuerpo en ti se bañaDe Christianos y de MorosMuertos por la dura espada!
Y tus ondas cristalinasDe roxa sangre se esmaltan:Entre Moros y ChristianosMuy gran batalla se trava.
Murieron Duques y Condes,Grandes señores de salva:Murio gente de valiaDe la nobleza de España.
En ti murio don Alonso,Que de Aguilar se Ilamaba;El valeroso Urdiales,Con don Alonso acababa.
Por un ladera arribaEl buen Sayavedra marcha;Naturel es de Sevilla,De la gente mas granada.
Tras el iba un Renegado,Desta manera le habla;Date, date, Sayavedra,No huyas de la Batalla.
Yo te conozco muy bien,Gran tiempo estuve en tu casa;Y en la Plaça de SevillaBien te vide jugar cañas.
Gentle river, gentle river,Lo, thy streams are stain'd with gore,Many a brave and noble captainFloats along thy willow'd shore.
All beside thy limpid waters,All beside thy sands so bright,Moorish Chiefs and Christian WarriorsJoin'd in fierce and mortal fight.
Lords, and dukes, and noble princesOn thy fatal banks were slain:Fatal banks that gave to slaughterAll the pride and flower of Spain.
There the hero, brave AlonzoFull of wounds and glory died:There the fearless UrdialesFell a victim by his side.
Lo! where yonder Don SaavedraThro' their squadrons slow retires;Proud Seville, his native city,Proud Seville his worth admires.
Close behind a renegadoLoudly shouts with taunting cry;Yield thee, yield thee, Don Saavedra,Dost thou from the battle fly?
Well I know thee, haughty Christian,Long I liv'd beneath thy roof;Oft I've in the lists of glorySeen thee win the prize of proof.
Conozco a tu padre y madre,Y a tu muger doña Clara;Siete anos fui tu cautivo,Malamente me tratabas.
Y aora lo seras mio,Si Mahoma me ayudara;Y tambien te tratare,Como a mi me tratabas.
Sayavedra que lo oyera,Al Moro bolvio la cara;Tirole el Moro una flecha,Pero nunca le acertaba.
Hiriole SayavedraDe una herida muy mala:Muerto cayo el RenegadoSin poder hablar palabra.
Sayavedra fue cercadoDe mucha Mora canalla,Y al cabo cayo alli muertoDe una muy mala lançada.
Don Alonso en este tiempoBravamente peleava,Y el cavallo le avian muerto,Y le tiene por muralla.
Mas cargaron tantos MorosQue mal le hieren y tratan:De la sangre, que perdia,Don Alonso se desmaya.
Al fin, al fin cayo muertoAl pie de un pena alta.--------Muerto queda don Alonso,Eterna fama ganara.
Well I know thy aged parents,Well thy blooming bride I know;Seven years I was thy captive,Seven years of pain and woe.
May our prophet grant my wishes,Haughty chief, thou shalt be mine:Thou shalt drink that cup of sorrow,Which I drank when I was thine.
Like a lion turns the warrior,Back he sends an angry glare:Whizzing came the Moorish javelin,Vainly whizzing thro' the air.
Back the hero full of furySent a deep and mortal wound:Instant sunk the Renegado,Mute and lifeless on the ground.
With a thousand Moors surrounded,Brave Saavedra stands at bay:Wearied out but never daunted,Cold at length the warrior lay.
Near him fighting great AlonzoStout resists the Paynim bands;From his slaughter'd steed dismountedFirm intrench'd behind him stands.
Furious press the hostile squadron,Furious he repels their rage:Loss of blood at length enfeebles:Who can war with thousands wage!
Where yon rock the plain o'ershadowsClose beneath its foot retir'd,Fainting sunk the bleeding hero,And without a groan expir'd.
The image of the Lion, &c. in ver. 37, is taken from the otherSpanish copy, the rhymes of which end in ia, viz.
"Sayavedra, que lo oyera,"Como un leon rebolbia."
Words in this poem 19
- cuerpo n.
- The body. In cuerpo, without full dress, so that the shape of the Body is exposed; hence, naked or uncovered. [Sp. cuerpo, fr. L. corpus body. See Corpse.]
- moros n.
- The Mohammedan tribes of the southern Philippine Islands, said to have formerly migrated from Borneo. Some of them are warlike and addicted to piracy.
- casa n.
- A house or mansion. [Sp. Amer. & Phil. Islands]
- vide
- imperative sing. of L. videre, to see; -- used to direct attention to something; as, vide supra, see above.
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- padre n.
- A Christian priest or monk; -- used in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Spanish America.
- moro n.
- A small abscess or tumor having a resemblance to a mulberry. [Cf. It. mora mulberry, L. morum.]
- mala n.
- Evils; wrongs; offenses against right and law. Mala in se Etym: [L.] (Law), offenses which are such from their own nature, at common law, irrespective of statute. [L.]
- cayo n.
- A small island or ledge of rock in the water; a key. [Sp. Am.]
- mora n.
- A game of guessing the number of fingers extended in a quick movement of the hand, -- much played by Italians of the lower classes. [It.]
- avian a.
- Of or instrument to birds.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- glare v. i.
- To shine with a bright, dazzling light. [OE. glaren, gloren; cf. AS. glær amber, LG. glaren to glow or burn like coals, D. gloren to glimmer; prob. akin to E. glass.]
- 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.]
- squadron n.
- Primarily, a square; hence, a square body of troops; a body of troops drawn up in a square. [F. escadron, formerly also esquadron, or It. squadrone. See Squad.]
- wage v. i.
- To bind one's self; to engage.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ballad XVI: Translated from the Spanish is in the public domain. This text is taken from Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, Volume 1 (of 3) Consisting of Old Heroic Ballads, Songs and Other Pieces of Our Earlier Poets Together With Some Few of Later Date, Project Gutenberg ebook #45939; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Percy, Ballad XVI: Translated from the Spanish, in Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, Volume I (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #45939, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/percy-reliques/ballad-xvi-translated-from-the-spanish.html, id L08562.
Form and metre
Ballad XVI: Translated from the Spanish is 124 lines in 32 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 45 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 23% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic tetrameter.
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.
- 4 -A-A alonso · ilamabaA · urdiales · acababaA
- 8 -A-A river · goreA · captain · shoreA
- 9 -A-A waters · brightA · warriors · fightA
- 10 -A-A princes · slainA · slaughter · spainA
- 11 -A-A alonzo · diedA · urdiales · sideA
- 12 -A-A saavedra · retiresA · city · admiresA
- 13 -A-A renegado · cryA · saavedra · flyA
- 14 -A-A christian · roofA · glory · proofA
- 17 AA-- oyeraA · caraA · flecha · acertaba
- 23 -A-A parents · knowA · captive · woeA
- 24 -A-A wishes · mineA · sorrow · thineA
- 25 -A-A warrior · glareA · javelin · airA
- 26 -A-A fury · woundA · renegado · groundA
- 27 -A-A surrounded · bayA · daunted · layA
- 28 -A-A alonzo · bandsA · dismounted · standsA
- 29 -A-A squadron · rageA · enfeebles · wageA
- 30 -A-A o'ershadows · retir'dA · hero · expir'dA
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Rio verde, rio verde, | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Quanto cuerpo en ti se baña | 10 | ··/˘··//·· |
| De Christianos y de Moros | 9 | ·˘˘/˘··/˘ |
| Muertos por la dura espada! | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| Y tus ondas cristalinas | 8 | ········ |
| De roxa sangre se esmaltan: | 10 | ···/˘//··· |
| Entre Moros y Christianos | 9 | /˘/˘·˘˘/˘ |
| Muy gran batalla se trava. | 9 | ······/·· |
| Murieron Duques y Condes, | 6 | ······ |
| Grandes señores de salva: | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Murio gente de valia | 6 | ····/˘ |
| De la nobleza de España. | 9 | ········· |
| En ti murio don Alonso, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Que de Aguilar se Ilamaba; | 10 | ··/˘//···· |
| El valeroso Urdiales, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Con don Alonso acababa. | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| Por un ladera arriba | 8 | ········ |
| El buen Sayavedra marcha; | 7 | ······· |
| Naturel es de Sevilla, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| De la gente mas granada. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Tras el iba un Renegado, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Desta manera le habla; | 8 | ········ |
| Date, date, Sayavedra, | 5 | ····· |
| No huyas de la Batalla. | 7 | ······· |
| Yo te conozco muy bien, | 7 | ······· |
| Gran tiempo estuve en tu casa; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Y en la Plaça de Sevilla | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Bien te vide jugar cañas. | 7 | ······· |
| Gentle river, gentle river, | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Lo, thy streams are stain'd with gore, | 7 | ······· |
| Many a brave and noble captain | 9 | /˘···/˘/˘ |
| Floats along thy willow'd shore. | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| All beside thy limpid waters, | 8 | ·˘/·/˘/˘ |
| All beside thy sands so bright, | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Moorish Chiefs and Christian Warriors | 9 | /˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Join'd in fierce and mortal fight. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Lords, and dukes, and noble princes | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| On thy fatal banks were slain: | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Fatal banks that gave to slaughter | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| All the pride and flower of Spain. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| There the hero, brave Alonzo | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Full of wounds and glory died: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| There the fearless Urdiales | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| Fell a victim by his side. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Lo! where yonder Don Saavedra | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Thro' their squadrons slow retires; | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Proud Seville, his native city, | 8 | ·˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Proud Seville his worth admires. | 7 | ·˘/··˘/ |
| Close behind a renegado | 8 | ········ |
| Loudly shouts with taunting cry; | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Yield thee, yield thee, Don Saavedra, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Dost thou from the battle fly? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Well I know thee, haughty Christian, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Long I liv'd beneath thy roof; | 7 | ······· |
| Oft I've in the lists of glory | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Seen thee win the prize of proof. | 7 | ······· |
| Conozco a tu padre y madre, | 10 | ·····/··/· |
| Y a tu muger doña Clara; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Siete anos fui tu cautivo, | 8 | ········ |
| Malamente me tratabas. | 7 | ······· |
| Y aora lo seras mio, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Si Mahoma me ayudara; | 8 | ········ |
| Y tambien te tratare, | 6 | ······ |
| Como a mi me tratabas. | 8 | /˘······ |
| Sayavedra que lo oyera, | 7 | ······· |
| Al Moro bolvio la cara; | 8 | ·/····/˘ |
| Tirole el Moro una flecha, | 10 | ····/·/˘·· |
| Pero nunca le acertaba. | 9 | /˘······· |
| Hiriole Sayavedra | 6 | ······ |
| De una herida muy mala: | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Muerto cayo el Renegado | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Sin poder hablar palabra. | 8 | ········ |
| Sayavedra fue cercado | 7 | ······· |
| De mucha Mora canalla, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Y al cabo cayo alli muerto | 10 | ··˘//˘/˘·· |
| De una muy mala lançada. | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| Don Alonso en este tiempo | 8 | ·˘/˘···· |
| Bravamente peleava, | 6 | ······ |
| Y el cavallo le avian muerto, | 10 | ··˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Y le tiene por muralla. | 7 | ······· |
| Mas cargaron tantos Moros | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Que mal le hieren y tratan: | 8 | ········ |
| De la sangre, que perdia, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Don Alonso se desmaya. | 8 | ·˘/˘//·· |
| Al fin, al fin cayo muerto | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Al pie de un pena alta.---- | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| ----Muerto queda don Alonso, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Eterna fama ganara. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Well I know thy aged parents, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Well thy blooming bride I know; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Seven years I was thy captive, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Seven years of pain and woe. | 7 | /˘····· |
| May our prophet grant my wishes, | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Haughty chief, thou shalt be mine: | 7 | /˘····· |
| Thou shalt drink that cup of sorrow, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Which I drank when I was thine. | 7 | ······· |
| Like a lion turns the warrior, | 9 | ··/˘··/˘˘ |
| Back he sends an angry glare: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Whizzing came the Moorish javelin, | 9 | /˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Vainly whizzing thro' the air. | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Back the hero full of fury | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Sent a deep and mortal wound: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Instant sunk the Renegado, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Mute and lifeless on the ground. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| With a thousand Moors surrounded, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Brave Saavedra stands at bay: | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Wearied out but never daunted, | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| Cold at length the warrior lay. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Near him fighting great Alonzo | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Stout resists the Paynim bands; | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| From his slaughter'd steed dismounted | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Firm intrench'd behind him stands. | 7 | ······· |
| Furious press the hostile squadron, | 9 | /˘˘··/˘/˘ |
| Furious he repels their rage: | 8 | /˘˘·˘/·· |
| Loss of blood at length enfeebles: | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Who can war with thousands wage! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Where yon rock the plain o'ershadows | 8 | ········ |
| Close beneath its foot retir'd, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Fainting sunk the bleeding hero, | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| And without a groan expir'd. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| The image of the Lion, &c. in ver. 37, is taken from the other | 16 | ·/˘··/····/˘··/˘ |
| Spanish copy, the rhymes of which end in ia, viz. | 13 | /˘/˘······/˘· |
| "Sayavedra, que lo oyera, | 7 | ······· |
| "Como un leon rebolbia." | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
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