Legends of the Middle Ages Part 33

The lion was abash'd the n.o.ble Cid to meet, He bow'd his mane to earth, his muzzle at his feet.

The Cid by the neck and mane drew him to his den, He thrust him in at the hatch, and came to the hall again; He found his knights, his va.s.sals, and all his valiant men.

He ask'd for his sons-in-law, they were neither of them there."

_Chronicles of the Cid_ (Southey's tr.).

This cowardly conduct of the Infantes of Carrion could not fail to call forth some gibes from the Cid's followers. The young men, however, concealed their anger, biding their time to take their revenge. During the siege of Valencia, which took place shortly after this adventure, the Infantes did not manage to show much courage either; and it was only through the kindness of Felez Munoz, a nephew of the Cid, that one of them could exhibit a war horse which he falsely claimed to have taken from the enemy.

Thanks to the valor of the Cid, the Moors were driven away from Valencia with great loss, and peace was restored. The Infantes of Carrion then asked permission to return home with their brides, and the spoil and presents the Cid had given them, among which were the swords Colada and Tizona. The Cid escorted them part way on their journey, bade farewell to his daughters with much sorrow, and returned alone to Valencia, which appeared deserted without the presence of the children he loved.

"The Cid he parted from his daughters, Naught could he his grief disguise; As he clasped them to his bosom, Tears did stream from out his eyes."

_Ancient Spanish Ballads_ (Lockhart's tr.).

[Sidenote: Cruelty of Infantes of Carrion.] After journeying on for some time with their brides and Felez Munoz, who was acting as escort, the Infantes of Carrion camped near the Douro. Early the next day they sent all their suite ahead, and, being left alone with their wives, stripped them of their garments, lashed them with thorns, kicked them with their spurs, and finally left them for dead on the blood-stained ground, and rode on to join their escort. Suspecting foul play, and fearing the worst, Felez Munoz cleverly managed to separate himself from the party, and, riding swiftly back to the banks of the Douro, found his unhappy cousins in a sorry plight. He tenderly cared for their wounds, placed them upon his horse, and took them to the house of a poor man, whose wife and daughters undertook to nurse them, while Felez Munoz hastened back to Valencia to tell the Cid what had occurred. The Cid Campeador then swore that he would be avenged; and as Alfonso was responsible for the marriage, he applied to him for redress.

"'Lo! my daughters have been outrag'd!

For thine own, thy kingdom's sake, Look, Alfonso, to mine honor!

Vengeance thou or I must take.'"

_Ancient Spanish Ballads_ (Lockhart's tr.).

The king, who had by this time learned to value the Cid's services, was very angry when he heard how the Infantes of Carrion had insulted their wives, and immediately summoned them to appear before the Cortes, the Spanish a.s.sembly, at Toledo, and justify themselves, if it were possible.

The Cid was also summoned to the same a.s.sembly, where he began by claiming the two precious blades Tizona and Colada, and the large dowry he had given with his daughters. Then he challenged the young cowards to fight. When questioned, they tried to excuse themselves by declaring that the Cid's daughters, being of inferior birth, were not fit to mate with them.

[Sidenote: Emba.s.sy from Navarre.] The falseness of this excuse was shown, however, by an emba.s.sy from Navarre, asking the hands of the Cid's daughters for the Infantes of that kingdom, who were far superior in rank to the Infantes of Carrion. The Cid consented to this new alliance, and after a combat had been appointed between three champions of his selection and the Infantes of Carrion and their uncle, he prepared to return home.

As proof of his loyalty, however, he offered to give to Alfonso his favorite steed Babieca, an offer which the king wisely refused, telling him that the best of warriors alone deserved that peerless war horse.

"''Tis the n.o.ble Babieca that is fam'd for speed and force, Among the Christians nor the Moors there is not such another one, My Sovereign, Lord, and Sire, he is fit for you alone; Give orders to your people, and take him for your own.'

The King replied, 'It cannot be; Cid, you shall keep your horse; He must not leave his master, nor change him for a worse; Our kingdom has been honor'd by you and by your steed-- The man that would take him from you, evil may he speed.

A courser such as he is fit for such a knight, To beat down Moors in battle, and follow them in flight.'"

_Chronicles of the Cid_ (Southey's tr.).

Shortly after, in the presence of the king, the Cid, and the a.s.sembled Cortes, the appointed battle took place. The Infantes of Carrion and their uncle were defeated and banished, and the Cid returned in triumph to Valencia. Here his daughters' second marriage took place, and here he received an emba.s.sy bringing him rich gifts from the Sultan of Persia, who had heard of his fame.

Five years later the Moors returned, under the leaders.h.i.+p of Bucar, King of Morocco, to besiege Valencia. The Cid was about to prepare to do battle against this overwhelming force when he was favored by a vision of St.

Peter. The saint predicted his death within thirty days, but a.s.sured him that, even though he were dead, he would still triumph over the enemy whom he had fought against for so many years.

"'Dear art thou to G.o.d, Rodrigo, And this grace he granteth thee: When thy soul hath fled, thy body Still shall cause the Moors to flee; And, by aid of Santiago, Gain a glorious victory.'"

_Ancient Spanish Ballads_ (Lockhart's tr.).

The pious and simple-hearted warrior immediately began to prepare for the other world. He appointed a successor, gave instructions that none should bewail his death lest the news should encourage the Moors, and directed that his embalmed body should be set upon Babieca, and that, with Tizona in his hand, he should be led against the enemy on a certain day, when he promised a signal victory.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CID'S LAST VICTORY.--Rochegrosse.]

"'Saddle next my Babieca, Arm him well as for the fight; On his back then tie my body, In my well-known armor dight.

"'In my right hand place Tizona; Lead me forth unto the war; Bear my standard fast behind me, As it was my wont of yore.'"

_Ancient Spanish Ballads_ (Lockhart's tr.).

[Sidenote: The Cid's last battle.] When these instructions had all been given, the hero died at the appointed time, and his successor and the brave Ximena strove to carry out his every wish. A sortie was planned, and the Cid, fastened upon his war horse, rode in the van. Such was the terror which his mere presence inspired that the Moors fled before him. Most of them were slain, and Bucar beat a hasty retreat, thinking that seventy thousand Christians were about to fall upon him, led by the patron saint of Spain.

"Seventy thousand Christian warriors, All in snowy garments dight, Led by one of giant stature, Mounted on a charger white;

"On his breast a cross of crimson, In his hand a sword of fire, With it hew'd he down the Paynims, As they fled, with slaughter dire."

_Ancient Spanish Ballads_ (Lockhart's tr.).

The Christians, having routed the enemy, yet knowing, as the Cid had told them, that they would never be able to hold Valencia when he was gone, now marched on into Castile, the dead hero still riding Babieca in their midst.

Then Ximena sent word to her daughters of their father's demise, and they came to meet him, but could scarcely believe that he was dead when they saw him so unchanged.

By Alfonso's order the Cid's body was placed in the Church of San Pedro de Cardena, where for ten years it remained seated in a chair of state, and in plain view of all. Such was the respect which the dead hero inspired that none dared lay a finger upon him, except a sacrilegious Jew, who, remembering the Cid's proud boast that no man had ever dared lay a hand upon his beard, once attempted to do so. Before he could touch it, however, the hero's lifeless hand clasped the sword hilt and drew Tizona a few inches out of its scabbard.

"Ere the beard his fingers touched, Lo! the silent man of death Grasp'd the hilt, and drew Tizona Full a span from out the sheath!"

_Ancient Spanish Ballads_ (Lockhart's tr.).

Of course, in the face of such a miracle, the Jew desisted, and the Cid Campeador was reverently laid in the grave only when his body began to show signs of decay. His steed Babieca continued to be held in great honor, but no one was ever again allowed to bestride him.

[Sidenote: Evacuation of Valencia.] As for the Moors, they rallied around Valencia. After hovering near for several days, wondering at the strange silence, they entered the open gates of the city, which they had not dared to cross for fear of an ambuscade, and penetrated into the court of the palace. Here they found a notice, left by the order of the Cid, announcing his death and the complete evacuation of the city by the Christian army.

The Cid's sword Tizona became an heirloom in the family of the Marquis of Falies, and is said to bear the following inscriptions, one on either side of the blade: "I am Tizona, made in era 1040," and "Hail Maria, full of grace."

CHAPTER XVIII.

GENERAL SURVEY OF ROMANCE LITERATURE.

[Sidenote: Cycles of romance.] In the preceding chapters we have given an outline of the princ.i.p.al epics which formed the staple of romance literature in the middle ages. As has been seen, this style of composition was used to extol the merits and describe the great deeds of certain famous heroes, and by being gradually extended it was made to include the prowess of the friends and contemporaries of these more or less fabulous personages. All these writings, cl.u.s.tering thus about some great character, eventually formed the so-called "cycles of romance."

There were current in those days not only cla.s.sical romances, but stories of love, adventure, and chivalry, all bearing a marked resemblance to one another, and prevailing in all the European states during the four centuries when knighthood flourished everywhere. Some of these tales, such as those of the Holy Grail, were intended, besides, to glorify the most celebrated orders of knighthood,--the Templars and Knights of St. John.

Other styles of imaginative writing were known at the same time also, yet the main feature of the literature of the age is first the metrical, and later the prose, romance, the direct outcome of the great national epics.

We have outlined very briefly, as a work of this character requires, the princ.i.p.al features of the Arthurian, Carolingian, and Teutonic cycles. We have also touched somewhat upon the Anglo-Danish and Scandinavian contributions to our literature.

Of the extensive Spanish cycle we have given only a short sketch of the romance, or rather the chronicle, of the Cid, leaving out entirely the vast and deservedly popular cycles of Amadis of Gaul and of the Palmerins. This omission has been intentional, however, because these romances have left but few traces in our literature. As they are seldom even alluded to, they are not of so great importance to the English student of letters as the Franco-German, Celto-Briton, and Scandinavian tales.

The stories of Amadis of Gaul and of the Palmerins are, moreover, very evident imitations of the princ.i.p.al romances of chivalry which we have already considered. They are formed of an intricate series of adventures and enchantments, are, if anything, more extravagant than the other mediaeval romances, and are further distinguished by a tinge of Oriental mysticism and imagery, the result of the Crusades.

The Italian cycle, which we have not treated separately because it relates princ.i.p.ally to Charlemagne and Roland, is particularly noted for its felicity of expression and richness of description. Like the Spanish writers, the Italians love to revel in magic, as is best seen in the greatest gems of that age, the poems of "Orlando Innamorato" and "Orlando Furioso," by Boiardo and Ariosto.

Mediaeval literature includes also a very large and so-called "unaffiliated cycle" of romances. This is composed of many stories, the precursors of the novel and "short story" of the present age. We are indebted to this cycle for several well-known works of fiction, such as the tale of patient Griseldis, the gentle and meek-spirited heroine who has become the personification of long-suffering and charity. After the mediaeval writers had made much use of this tale, it was taken up in turn by Boccaccio and Chaucer, who have made it immortal.

The Norman tale of King Robert of Sicily, so beautifully rendered in verse by Longfellow in his "Tales of a Wayside Inn," also belongs to this cycle, and some authorities claim that it includes the famous animal epic "Reynard the Fox," of which we have given an outline. The story of Reynard the Fox is one of the most important mediaeval contributions to the literature of the world, and is the source from which many subsequent writers have drawn the themes for their fables.

[Sidenote: Cla.s.sical cycle.] A very large cla.s.s of romances, common to all European nations during the middle ages, has also been purposely omitted from the foregoing pages. This is the so-called "cla.s.sical cycle," or the romances based on the Greek and Latin epics, which were very popular during the age of chivalry. They occupy so prominent a place in mediaeval literature, however, that we must bespeak a few moments' attention to their subjects.

In these cla.s.sical romances the heroes of antiquity have lost many of their native characteristics, and are generally represented as knight-errants, and made to talk and act as such knights would. Christianity and mythology are jumbled up together in a most peculiar way, and history, chronology, and geography are set at defiance and treated with the same scorn of probabilities.