Chapter 9

And now the Heirs of Carrión saw that it must be done Since they are very near of kin, counsel they took thereon. Count García that to ruin the Cid sought evermore, My lord the Cid's arch-foeman, share in these matters bore. This man has given counsel to the Heirs of Carrión twain. Time came: to the assizes to hasten they were fain. Thither among the foremost doth good King Alfonso go, With him the Count don Henry, and Count don Remónd also-- For the sire of the most noble the Emperor was he known. There came the Count don Froíla and the Count don Birbón. Out of his realm came many of wise hearts and leal All the best men were gathered of the kingdom of Castile. And there with Crespo de Grañón, Count don García came And he who ruled in Oca--Alvar Diaz was his name. With Gonzalvo Ansuórez, Ansuór Gonzálvez stood. Know ye well with them was Pero of the Ansuórez blood. Diégo and Ferrándo both to the place resort, And with them a great company that they had brought to Court. Upon my lord Cid Campeador 'tis their intent to fall. Unto the place they gather from every side and all. But he who in good hour was born, not yet hath he drawn nigh. Because so long he tarries is the king displeased thereby. My lord the Cid the Campeador is come on the fifth day. He has sent Alvar Fañez ahead of his array, That he might kiss the King his hands that is his lord of right, The King might know it surely, he would be at hand that night. Now when the King had heard it, his heart was glad indeed. With companies most mighty the King leaped on the steed, And him who in good hour was born he went to welcome there. Came the Cid and all his henchmen equipped exceeding fair. Oh! noble troops that follow a captain of such might! When good King don Alfonso of my lord the Cid got sight, My lord the Cid, the Campeador, cast himself on the sward. Himself he thus could humble and do honor to his lord. When the King saw he tarried not. "Saint Isidore to speed! This day so shalt thou never. Mount, Cid, upon the steed! If not, so ends my pleasure. Let us greet on either part With heart and soul. What grieveth thee hath hurt me to the heart. God ordereth that by thee the court this day shall honored be." My lord Cid, the true Campeador, to this "Amen" said he. He kissed his hand and fairly gave him greeting then: "To God now thanks be given, that I see thee, lord, again. To thee I bow, so also to Count don Remónd I bow, To Count Henry and to all men that are in presence now. God save our friends and foremost, sire, may he cherish thee. My wife the Dame Xiména--a worthy dame is she-- Kisses thy hands. My daughters, the twain do so as well, That so thou mayst have pity for the ill thing that befel." "Verily, so God help me," answered the King thereto. CXXXVI. Then homeward to Toledo, the King returned anew. Unfain to cross the Tagus was my lord Cid that night: "A boon, King. The Creator, may he shield thee in His might! Oh sire, do thou get ready to enter in the town. In San Serván my henchman and I will lay us down, For hither in the night-tide shall come those bands of mine; And I will keep my vigil here by the holy shrine. I will come to town tomorrow at the breaking of the day, And, ere I eat my dinner, to court will take my way." To him the King gave answer: "Surely, I am content." Then the King don Alfonso into Toledo went. My lord the Cid Roy Diaz lieth in San Serván. To make candles and to set them on the shrine, his order ran. To watch that sanctuary was gladness to his heart, As he prayed to the Creator and spake to him apart. Minaya, and as many as were gathered of good fame Were in accord together when at length the morning came. CXXXVII. Matins and prime they sang there till the dawn had begun, Before the sun had risen the mass was o'er and done. With rich and timely offering that chapel they endow. "Minaya Alvar Fañez--my strongest arm art thou-- Thyself shall hear me company and the Bishop, don Jerome So too this Muño Gustióz and Per Vermudóz shall come, And Martin Antolínez from Burgos true and tried And with Alvar Salvadórez, Alvar Alvarez beside, And Martin Múñoz who was born in a season of good grace, So likewise Felez Múñoz a nephew of my race. Mal Anda wise exceeding, along with me shall go And the good Galínd Garcíaz of Aragon also. With these knights a round hundred of the good men here ordain. Let all men wear their tunics the harness to sustain, Let them assume the hauberks that white as sunlight glare, And upon the hauberks ermines and mantles of the vair Let them lace tight their armour, let not the arms be seen. They shall bear beneath their mantles the swords both sweet and keen. To the court in such a fashion to enter am I fain, My rights there to demand them and to speak my meaning plain. If there the Heirs of Carrión seek to dishonor me, No whit then shall I fear them, though a hundred strong they be." To him all gave their answer: "Such, lord, is our desire," Even as he had commanded they ordered their attire. He who in happy hour was born would brook no more delay. Upon his legs the hosen of fair cloth he drew straightway, And shoes adorned most richly upon his feet has done; he donned a shirt of linen fine as white as is the sun; The sleeves are laced, moreover, with gold and silver braid. The cuff fit close upon them for he bade them so be made. Thereo'er a silken tunic most fairly wrought he drew. The threads of gold shone brightly that were woven through and through. A red fur gown gold-belted he cast his tunic o'er. That gown alway he weareth, my lord Cid Campeador. He hath of finest linen a cap upon his hair, With the gold wrought, moreover, and fashioned with due care, That the locks of the good Campeador might not be disarrayed. And with a cord his mighty beard my lord the Cid doth braid. All this he did desiring well his person to dispose. O'er his attire a mantle of mighty worth he throws. Thereat might all men wonder that thereabouts did stand. Then with the chosen hundred whereto he gave command From San Serván forth issuing he got to horse apace. Under arms the Cid departed unto the judgment-place. Duly without the postern he descended from his horse, And prudently he entered the palace with his force. Midmost he went; his hundred girt him round on every side. When they had seen him enter, who was born in happy tide, Then the good King Alfonso upon his feet did rise, So also Count don Henry, and Count don Remónd likewise. And they arose, the others of the court, ye well may know. To him who in good hour was born great honor did they show. One man there was arose not--'twas Crespo de Grañón-- Nor any of the party of the Heirs of Carrión.

The King has ta'en my lord Cid's hand: "Come sit thee, Campeador, On the bench here beside me--thy gift to me of yore. Thou art our better, though there be umbrage therefor that take." Then he who won Valencia for gratitude he spake: "Sit like a king and master on thy bench, for it is thine; In this station will I tarry here with these men of mine."

Of what my lord Cid uttered was the King's heart glad and fain. Upon a bench well carven the Cid his seat has ta'en; The hundred men that guard him are seated round him there. And all men in the Cortes upon my lord Cid stare, And the long beard he weareth that is braided with a cord. He seems by his apparel to be a splendid lord. For shame the Heirs of Carrión his gaze they could not meet. The good King don Alfonso then rose unto his feet: "Hearken ye gentle companies, so God your hands sustain. But two court have I holden in the space of all my reign. In Burgos one, in Carrión the next did I array; The third here in Toledo have I come to hold today, For the Cid's love, whose birth-hour for a glad time is known, That so he may have justice on the Heirs of Carrión. Let all men know they did him a bitter injury. The Counts Remónd and Henry judges thereof shall be, And all you counts, moreover, in the feud who bear no part. In your minds turn it over, for ye are wise of heart. See that ye render justice. All falseness I gainsay. On one side and the other let us keep the peace this day. Who breaks our peace, I swear it by the Saint Isidore Shall be banished from my kingdom, nor have my favor more. His side I will maintain it whose cause is right and fair. Therefore let the Cid Campeador forthwith his suit declare. Then shall we hear what Carrión's Heirs in answer shall depose."

My lord Cid kissed the King his hand. Then to his feet he rose: "My sovereign and my master great thanks I give to thee That thou this court hast summoned out of pure love for me. Against the Heirs of Carrión this matter I reclaim. They cast away my daughters. I had thereby no shame, For thou gavest them in marriage. What deed to do today Thou know'st well. From Valencia when they took my girls away, I loved with heart and spirit the Heirs of Carrión, And the two swords I gave them, Coláda and Tizón-- I won them in such manner as a good knight became-- That they might do you service and do honor to their fame. When in the Wood of Corpes they left my girls forlorn, They lost my love forever, for they made of me a scorn. Since my sons-in-law they are not, let them give me either sword." "All of the claim is righteous,'' so the judges gave accord.

Then said Count don García: "Of this let us debate." Apart from the assizes went the Heirs of Carrión straight, And all their following with them and the kindred of their name. And swiftly they debated, and to their resolve they came: "Now the Cid Campeador for us doth a great favor do, Since for his girls' dishonor for no damage doth he sue. With the King don Alfonso, we soon shall be at one. The swords them let us give him, for so the suit is done; They will hold the court no longer, when he has the swords once more. From us no further justice for the Cid Campeador." That parley being over, to court they get them now.

"Thy favor, King Alfonso, our overlord art thou. And we cannot deny it, for he gave us the two brands. And since that we return them he desires now and demands, Into his hand to give them in thy presence are we fain." Then they brought forth Coláda and Tizón, the falchions twain, Straightway they gave them over to the King their sovereign's hands. The whole court shone glorious when they brought forth the brands. The pommels and the hilt-bars are all of massy gold; To the true henchmen of the court 'twas a marvel to behold. The King my lord Cid summoned, to him the swords he gave. His sovereign's hands he kisseth. He receiveth either glaive. To the bench whence he had risen, he turned him back again, And in his hands he held them, he looked upon the twain. Changelings they could not give him; he knew the two aright, And his heart laughed within him, he was filled with all delight. "Now by my beard none ever plucked," gripping it hard he spake, For Dame Sol and Dame Elvíra high vengeance I will take."

By name his nephew Pero he has called out before; And stretching forth his hand, to him the sword Tizón gave o'er. "Take it nephew. The sword's master now is fairer of renown." To good Martin Antolínez the man of Burgos town, Stretching forth his hand Coláda into his care he gave;

"Thou Martin Antolínez, who art a vassal brave, Take Coláda that I captured from a true knight without fail, From him of Barcelona, from Remónd Berenguél. That thou mayst guard it rightly, therefore I give it thee, I know if aught befall thee, if occasion e'er should be, Great fame and estimation with the sword shalt thou attain." The lord Cid's hands he kissed them. He took the sword again.

My lord the Cid the Campeador unto his feet rose he; "Now thanks to the Creator and my lord the King to thee. With the swords Coláda and Tizón I am content indeed, But I have a farther issue 'gainst Carrión Heirs to plead: When with them from Valencia my daughters twain they bore, Three thousand marks of silver and gold I gave them o'er. When I did this, the winning of all their end they saw. Let them restore the treasure. They are not my sons-in-law."

Now might you hearken Carrión's Heirs, what a complaint made they. To them said the Count don Remónd: "Give answer, 'Yea' or 'Nay'!', And then the Heirs of Carrión, they made their answer plain: "Therefore to the Cid Campeador we gave his swords again That he might demand naught further, for his suit is closed thereby." Then straightway the Count don Remónd unto them made reply: "This say we: With the pleasure of the Sovereign if it stands, You shall give satisfaction in what the Cid demands." The good King said: "The measure with my assent doth meet." And now hath the Cid Campeador arisen to his feet:

"Say of those goods I gave you, will ye give them me anew Or render an accounting?"

Then Carrión's Heirs withdrew. For the greatness of that treasure they could not as one consent, And the two Heirs of Carrión the whole of it had spent. They returned with their decision, and spake their pleasure thus: "The Captor of Valencia, he presses sore on us. Since lust for our possession so on him hand hath laid, From our estates in Carrión the money shall be paid."

And then outspake the judges since the debt the Heirs avowed: "If it be the Cid's desire, it is not disallowed. So we ordain, for such wise with our pleasure doth it sort, That ye repay it to him in this place before the court."

Out spake the King Alfonso when their words were at an end: "The inward of this lawing we wholly comprehend, That justice is demanded by the Cid Campeador. Now of those marks three thousand, I have in hand tenscore; They were given to me duly by the Heirs of Carrión twain. Since so sore are they impoverished, I will give it them again. To the Cid born in fair hour, let them pay the money back. To pay their debt, that money I will not let them lack."

As for Ferránd Gonzálvez, what he said ye now shall hear: "We have in our possession no minted goods and gear."

To him then the Count don Remónd answered to this intent: "All of the gold and silver, the twain of you have spent. Before the King Alfonso, our verdict we proclaim, That ye pay in goods. The Campeador, let him accept the same."

Now saw the Heirs of Carrión what need must be their course. Ye might have seen led thither full many a swift horse, Many fat mules, moreover, and many a well-paced jade, And every sort of armour, and many a fine blade. My lord the Cid accepted even as the court assessed, Beyond the tenscore marks whereof Alfonso stood possessed, To him who in good hour was born the Heirs have paid the price. On others' goods they borrow, for their own will not suffice Know well for fools men took them, from that suit when 'scaped the twain.

CXXXVIII. All of those great possessions my lord the Cid has ta'en. The men keep all that treasure, and they will ward it well. When this was done, a-pondering on other things they fell:

Lord King, for love of charity, a further favor yet, Of my complaints the chiefest, I cannot now forget. Let the whole court now hear me, and have pity on my woe: As for these Heirs of Carrión, the which have shamed me so, I brook not that unchallenged they may go hence away. CXXXIX. "In what thing I affronted you, ye Heirs of Carrión say, In what fashion whatsoever, in earnest or in sport. Let me make amends according to the judgment of the court. Why did ye tear in tatters the fabric of my heart? With great honor from Valencia what time ye did depart, I gave to you my daughters, and besides great wealth and gear. Now say, ye dogs and traitors, since ye did not hold them dear, Why took ye from Valencia what was their dower of right, And wherefore with the girth and spur the ladies did ye smite? Alone in Corpes Forest ye cast the twain away, Unto the savage creatures and the wood-fowl for a prey. In all ye did unto them, like vile men did ye show. Let the Court judge; satisfaction shall I get therefor or no?" CXL. And lo! Count don García has risen up amain: "Let us now have thy favor, best of all kings in Spain. Of the courts proclaimed is now the Cid well versed in the affairs. Since he let it wax so mighty, 'tis a long beard he wears. Some he affrights and others are for fear in sorry case. But as for them of Carrión, theirs is a lofty race, His daughters e'en as lemans to love becomes them not. Who to them for lawful consorts those ladies would allot? When they cast them off, then did they as might the right befit. All things he says soever we value not a whit."

And thereupon the Campeador his beard in hand gripped he: "To God who ruleth Heaven and the whole Earth glory be. Since tenderly I kept it, is my beard grown so long. Count, say what is the reason, that thou dost my beard this wrong, That since its first growth ever has been so gently reared. No man born of woman has ever plucked that beard. Nor has son of Moor or Christian e'er torn that beard of mine, As once in Cabra Castle I did, oh Count, to thine, When at one time on Cabra and thy beard my hand I set. Not a lad but for the plucking his pinch thereof could get. Nor is it yet grown even what portion I did tear. Here hidden in my wallet those tokens yet I bear." CXLI. Now had Ferránd Gonzálvez risen to his feet that tide. What thing ye now shall hearken that there so loud he cried:

"Cid, do thou now give over the suit which thou hast made, For the whole of thy possession into thine hands is paid. Look that thou make not greater the feud twixt us and thee, For the two Counts of Carrión by lineage are we. Of kings' and emperors' daughters are we fit to win the hands; To wed the girls of little chiefs scarce with our lineage stands. When thy daughters we abandoned we did but what was right. Not worse therefor but better, are we then in our own sight."

CXLII. To Per Vermudóz Roy Diaz my lord the Cid looked now: "Speak then, good Pero Mudo, though a silent man art thou. The ladies are my daughters, thy cousins twain are they. Into thy teeth they cast it, when such a thing they say. Thou shalt not do this battle, if I the answer make.

CXLIII. And thereupon Per Vermudóz began the tale and spake. No words he utters clearly, for 'tis a tongue-halt man. Natheless no rest he gave them, be it known, when he began: "To thee, Cid, now I tell it, for such thy customs be, That in Court, Pero Mudo, ever thou callest me. And verily thou knowest that I can do no more. As for what I must accomplish, there shall be no lack therefore.

"What thing thou saidest soever, Ferrándo, was a lie. Through the Campeador thy glory was risen yet more high. I can relate unto thee thine every trick and sleight. Minds't thou, near high Valencia, what time we fought the fight? Thou didst of the true Campeador for the first onslaught pray. And there a Moor thou sawest, whom thou wentest forth to slay. Or e'er thou camest to him, before him didst thou flee. If aid I had not borne thee, he had roughly handled thee. But I rushed on beyond thee, and with the Moor did close, And I made that Moor flee backward at the foremost of my blows. To thee I gave his charger, and kept the thing concealed. Until this day that cowardice I never have revealed. Before the Cid and all men thine own praises didst thou sing, How thou slewest the Morisco, and didst a gallant thing. And they believed it of thee, knowing not the truth at all. Of thy person art thou handsome, but thy courage it is small, Tongue without hands, the manhood to speak where gottest thou? CXLIV. "Do thou say on, Ferrándo. That my words are truth avow: That matter of the lion in Valencia dost thou keep In mind still, when he burst his bonds while the Cid lay asleep? Ferrándo, then what didst thou, when thy terror overbore? Thou didst thrust thyself behind the bench of the Cid Campeador. Thou didst hide, Ferrándo, wherefore cheap today thy worth is found, But we to guard our master his pallet gathered round, Till he who won Valencia out of his sleep did wake. He rose up from the pallet, at the lion did he make. His head the lion bended, for the Cid the beast did wait. By the neck he let himself be ta'en. In the cage he thrust him straight. When came once more the Campeador, there he saw his vassals stand. He asked about his sons-in-law, but neither found at hand. For a wicked man and traitor thy person I arraign. In fight before Alfonso that same I will maintain, For Dame Sol and Dame Elvíra, for the Cid's daughters' sake. Thou didst cast away the ladies thine honor cheap to make. Ye are men to all appearance, tender women are those two; Yet in every way whatever they are worthier than you. If, when we join the combat, God shall like well in his heart, Thyself shalt thou confess it, like a traitor as thou art. Whatever I have uttered shall then be known for true." And thereupon was ending of speech between these two.

CXLV. And Dídago Gonzálvez what he uttered ye shall hear: "We twain are Counts by lineage of blood of the most clear. Such marriages in no way we twain would undertake, With my lord Cid don Rodrigo alliance for to make. We do not yet repent us that we put his daughters by: So long as life endureth, may they sigh many a sigh. A sore reproach upon them what we did will still remain. The same with utmost valor in the fight will I maintain: When we cast away the women we made our honor good." CXLVI. Then Martin Antolínez upon his feet he stood: Thou wretch, do thou keep silence. Mouth that truth knoweth not! The matter of the lion hast thou so soon forgot Out through the door thou fleddest lurking in the court outside, Behind the wine-press timber in that hour didst thou hide. That mantle and that tunic were worn no more by thee. In fight I will maintain it. No other can it be. Since the lord Cid his daughters forth in such plight ye threw, They are in every fashion far worthier shall you. At the ending of the combat then thine own mouth shall avow That lies are all thine utterance, and a traitor knave art thou."

CXLVII. Between those two the parley has come unto an end. Now did Ansuór Gonzálvez into the palace wend. Was an ermine cloak about him, and his tunic trailed behind. His countenance was ruddy, for but lately had he dined. In what he had to utter small discretion did he show: CXLVIII. "How now ye noble gentlemen, was ever such a woe? With Bivár's lord Cid such honor who would have thought to find? On the Ovirna water his millstones let him grind, And take his wonted toll-corn. Would any man have thought That with the Heirs of Carrión alliances he sought?" CXLIX. And then did Muño Gustióz rise to his feet forthright: "Thou wretch, do thou keep silent! Thou wicked traitor wight! Before to prayers thou goest, certain thou art to dine. Whoe'er in peace thou kissest, sickens at that belch of thine. Whether to friend or master thou speakest perjury, False unto all, and falsest to the God who fashioned thee! And never in thy friendship will I have any part, And I will make thee say it that what I say thou art."

Said now the King Alfonso: "Let the suit quiet lie. Who have challenged shall do battle, so help me the Most High."