The Chronicle of the Cid tells of the battle between the Christians and the Moors for possession of the Spanish peninsula.
After a while, as he was thus musing, there appeared before him one in white garments, who said unto him, Sleepest thou or wakest thou, Rodrigo? and he answered and said, I do not sleep: but who art thou that bringest with thee such brightness and so sweet an odour? Then said he, I am Saint Lazarus, and know that I was the leper to whom thou didst so much good and so great honour for the love of God; and because thou didst this for his sake hath God now granted thee a great gift; for whensoever that breath which thou hast felt shall come upon thee, whatever thing thou desirest to do, and shalt then begin, that shalt thou accomplish to thy heart's desire, whether it be in battle or aught else, so that thy honour shall go on increasing from day to day; and thou shalt be feared both by Moors and Christians, and thy enemies shall never prevail against thee, and thou shalt die an honourable death in thine own house, and in thy renown, for God hath blessed thee;-therefore go thou on, and evermore persevere in doing good; and with that he disappeared.
He encouraged them, saying that the city could not be taken in ten years, by a greater power than the Christians; and there were many good arbalisters in the city, who shot so strong that neither shield nor armour availed against their quarrels.
In this manner was Viseu recovered by the Christians, and never after did that city fall into the hands of the barbarians.
But then the Monks of Lorvam and the Abbot consulted together and said, Let us now go to the King and give him all the food which we have, both oxen and cows, and sheep and goats and swine, wheat and barley and maize, bread and wine, fish and fowl, even all that we have; for if the city, which God forbid, should not be won by the Christians, we may no longer abide here.
Then was there abundance in the camp; but they who were within the city waxed feeble for hunger and long suffering, because the Christians beset them on all sides, and warred upon them hotly, and brought their engines to bear on every part, and the walls of the city were broken down.
And as he was praying in the church he heard certain of the townsmen and of the pilgrims saying that Santiago was wont to appear in battle like a knight, in aid of the Christians.
Upon this it pleased God that he should fall asleep, and in his sleep Santiago appeared to him with a good and cheerful countenance, holding in his hand a bunch of keys, and said unto him, Thou thinkest it a fable that they should call me a knight, and sayest that I am not so: for this reason am I come unto thee that thou never more mayest doubt concerning my knighthood; for a knight of Jesus Christ I am and a helper of the Christians against the Moors.
But they made answer, Thanks be to God and to you, and to your forefathers, we have enough and shall have, if so be that we have your favour and dwell among Christians.
The King then gave Coimbra to the keeping of Don Sisnando, Bishop of Iria; a man, who having more hardihood than religion, had by reason of his misdeeds gone over to the Moors, and sorely infested the Christians in Portugal.
He sends to bid me break up the siege and depart from his land, and as soon as I should have departed, he would make friends unto himself among Christians and among Moors, and fail me in all which he covenants.
And while the battle was yet upon the chance, King Don Sancho riding right bravely through the battle, began to call out Castille! Castille! and charged the main body so fiercely that by fine force he broke them; and when they were thus broken, the Castillians began cruelly to slay them, so that King Don Sancho had pity thereof, and called out unto his people not to kill them, for they were Christians.
This was the battle whereof the Black Book of Santiago speaketh, saying, that in this year, on the day of the Conversion of St. Paul, was the great slaughter of the Christians in Porca.
Both Kings were in the field that day, and full hardily was the battle contested, and great was the mortality on either side, for the hatred which used to be between Moors and Christians was then between brethren.
And King Don Alfonso had pity upon the Castillians because they were Christians, and gave orders not to slay them; and his brother King Don Sancho fled.
And he returned to Toledo and asked it of the King, and King Alimaymon gave it him, and he placed there his huntsmen and his fowlers who were Christians, and fortified the place as his own.
And at evening Don Alfonso lay down upon a bed to sleep, and King Alimaymon fell in talk with his favourites concerning his city of Toledo, how strong it was and how well provided with all things, and that he feared neither war of Moor nor Christian against it; and he asked them if it could by any means be lost in war.
And as he was going by the side of the King, two honourable Moors followed them, and the one said unto the other, How fair a knight is this Christian, and of what good customs! well doth he deserve to be the lord of some great land.
He was a fair knight and of marvellous courage, so that both Moors and Christians were dismayed at what they saw him do, for they saw that nothing which he willed to take by force could stand against him.
And he mounted on horseback with his hidalgos and rode round the town, and beheld how strongly it was situated upon a rock, with strong walls, and many and strong towers, and the River Douro running at the foot thereof; and he said unto his knights, Ye see how strong it is, neither Moor nor Christian can prevail against it; if I could have it from my sister either for money or exchange, I should be Lord of Spain.
Now therefore tell me I beseech you what is it which my brother goes about to do, now that he has called up all Spain in arms, and to what lands he thinks to go, whether against Moors or Christians.
And now neither can I go before King Don Alfonso, your brother, nor remain among the Christians before Dona Urraca your sister, because they hold that whatsoever you have done against them was by my counsel.
Howbeit, certain of those spies who discover to the Moors whatever the Christians design to do, when they knew the death of King Don Sancho, went presently to acquaint the Moors therewith.
When the Cid saw this he gathered together what Christians he could and went against them.
And the King of Granada and the Christians who were with him, sent to tell him that they would not go out of the country for him.
Great sorrow had these Christian folk at this, and they hid themselves when he came near them because they did not dare speak to him; and my Cid went to his Posada, and when he came to the door he found it fastened, for fear of the King.
And he said to them, Give me your hands that you will not discover me neither to Moor nor Christian! I will make you rich men for ever.
Ye say well, replied the Burgalese: come then to the Campeador, and we will help you to bring away the chests, so that neither Moors nor Christians may see us.
And there was a cry within the castle that the Christians were upon them, and they who were within ran to the gates to defend them, but my Cid came up sword in hand; eleven Moors did he slay with his own hand, and they forsook the gate and fled before him to hide themselves within, so that he won the castle presently, and took gold and silver, and whatever else he would.
The Misbelievers called on Mahomet, and the Christians on Santiago, and the noise of the tambours and of the trumpets was so great that none could hear his neighbour.
A good day was that for Christendom, for the Moors fled on all sides.
And the Christians pursued them even to Calatayud.
So he and King Abenalfange gathered together a great power both of Moors and Christians, and went in pursuit of the Cid, and after three days and two nights they came up with him in the pine-forest of Tebar, and they came on confidently, thinking to lay hands on him.
They are coming upon us, said he, with a great power both of Moors and Christians, to take from us the spoils which we have so hardly won, and without doing battle we cannot be quit of them; for if we should proceed they would follow till they overtook us: therefore let the battle be here, and I trust in God that we shall win more honour, and something to boot.
King Abenalfange and Count Ramon and most of the others fled, and my Cid followed, smiting and slaying for three leagues; and many good Christian knights were made prisoners.
And in these days King Don Alfonso fought at Consuegra with King Abenalfange of Denia, and in this battle the Christians were defeated, and Diego Rodriguez, the son of my Cid, was slain.
Greatly was his death lamented by the Christians, for he was a youth of great hope, and one who was beginning to tread in the steps of his father.
And Abenalfange gathered together the greatest power of the Moors that he could, and entered the land of the Christians, and past the mountains, and came even to Medina del Campo, and there Alvar Fanez Minaya met him.
Never had so goodly a force of Christians been assembled in Spain, nor so great an enterprise attempted, since the coming of the Moors.
For not only was Toledo a strong city, both by nature and in its walls and towers, but the flower of the chivalry of all Spain and of all Christendom was there assembled, and the Moors of Spain also, knowing that this was, as it were, the heart of their empire, did all they could to defend it: greatly to be blamed are they who neglected to transmit to us the memory of their deeds, and greatly have they wronged the worthy knights whose exploits should else have gained for them a never-dying renown.
Nothing more, owing to their default, can we say of this so notable a siege, than that when Don Cabrian, the Bishop of Leon, was earnestly engaged in prayer for the success of the Christian arms, the glorious St. Isidro appeared unto him, and certified that in fifteen days the city should be surrendered; and even so it came to pass, for the gates were opened to the King on Thursday the twenty-fifth of May, in the year of the aera 1123, which is the year of Christ 1085.
The first Christian banner which entered the city was the banner of my Cid, and my Cid was the first Christian Alcayde of Toledo.
Then Yahia gathered together all his people, knights, and cross-bow men, and foot-soldiers, and they of his board, and the officers of his household which are the eunuchs; and he set forward on the way towards Valencia, and Alvar Fanez and his body of Christians with him.
The most honourable of his knights took up their lodging in the town, and the cross-bow men and others of low degree lodged round about the Alcazar, and in certain dwellings which were between it and the Mosque, and Alvar Fanez and the Christians who were with him, in the village which was called Ruzaf.
When Abenalfange heard this it pleased him well, and he sent one of his Alcaydes, who was called the Left-handed, to enter the Alcazar, and help to defend it till he could collect a company of Christians who might deal with Alvar Fanez.
And when it was seen that King Yahia was thus dishonoured, and that Alvar Fanez had not helped him as had been looked for, they who held the Castles lost all fear of him, so that their hearts were changed towards him, as well they of Valencia as of the other Castles, and they said that they would rather belong to Abenalfange than to him, because the town could not bear the charge of the Christians, nor the oppressions which they suffered because of them.
Abenalfange abode some days in Xativa, and then moved on towards Valencia, thinking to win the city; for he knew how greatly the people were oppressed because of the Christians, and that they could not bear it, and that there was no love between them and their Lord.
Then the Cid went to Valencia, and King Yahia received him full honourably, and made a covenant with him to give him weekly four thousand maravedis of silver, and he on his part was to reduce the Castles to his obedience, so that they should pay the same rents unto him as had been paid unto the former Kings of Valencia; and that the Cid should protect him against all men, Moors or Christians, and have his home in Valencia, and bring all his booty there to be sold, and that he should have his granaries there.
And the Count, thinking now to be revenged of the Cid for his former defeat, and because he had taken from him the rents which he used to receive from the land of Valencia, took what the King gave him, and assembled a great host of the Christians.
But I know you dare not come, for Moors and Christians know that I conquered you once, and took you and your vassals, and took from ye all that ye had with ye: and if ye come now ye shall receive the same payment at my hands as heretofore.
And he put them all in irons, and reproached them saying, that he well knew what his chivalry was, and his hardihood, and that he should thus beat them all down; and he said to them that he was in God's service, taking vengeance for the ills which the Moors had done unto the Christians, and had done them no wrong; but they being envious of him, had come to help the Moors, therefore God had helped him, because he was in his service.
Yet were they withal abundantly supplied with bread, and with flocks which the Christians brought in, and with captives both male and female, and with Moorish men and women, who gave great sums for their ransom.
And presently the Cid gathered together a full great host both of Moors and of Christians, and entered the land of King Don Alfonso, burning and destroying whatever he found, and he took Logrono, and Alfaro also, and sacked it.
When these tidings came to Valencia, the Bishop who was there, and the forty knights who were with the messenger of the King of Aragon because of the friendship between their King and the Cid, and all the other Christians who were in the city, would no longer abide there, but took of their goods each as much as he could, and went away in fear.
And the three hundred knights whom Abeniaf had collected went out against his foragers, with the men of the town, and the Christians slew many of them, so that there were lamentations daily within the walls, and wailings over the dead that were brought in.
And this while the cry went forth in the city, and many horsemen sallied forth and fought with the Christians before the bridge, and the battle lasted from morning until midday, and when they separated, the Cid returned to his camp.
Now this was the season for gathering in the fruit, and he appointed men in every place who should look to it, and see it valued, and receive the tenth; a Moor and a Christian did he appoint in every place, who were to receive this, and to gather the corn also into the granaries: and this was done after such manner that the Cid had his tribute well paid.
And they took counsel and made a letter for the leader of the army of the Almoravides, wherein they told him that the Cid had made a treaty with the King of Aragon, whereby the King bound himself to help him against them; and they bade him beware how he came towards Valencia, unless he chose to do battle with eight thousand Christian horsemen, covered with iron, and the best warriors in the world.
And the murmur which there had been concerning the garden died away; and then the Cid entered it, and took possession of the whole suburb of Alcudia round about it: and this he did peaceably, for the Moors and Christians dwelt there together.
And when night came they remained still upon the walls, for it was dark, and they saw the great fires of the camp of the Almoravides, which they had pitched near unto a place called Bacer; and they began to pray unto God, beseeching him to give them good speed against the Christians, and they resolved as soon as the Almoravides were engaged in battle with the Cid, that they would issue forth and plunder his tents.
And then the Christians drew nigh unto the walls, crying out unto the Moors with a loud voice like thunder, calling them false traitors and renegados, and saying, Give up the town to the Cid Ruydiez, for ye cannot escape from him.
And when the Christians began to plunder the suburbs they of the town came out and plundered also those houses which were nearest unto the walls, so that every thing was carried away and nothing but the timbers left: and then the Christians took that to build them lodgments in the camp; and when the Moors saw this they came out, and carried away what timber they could into the city.
And the Christians pulled down all the houses, save only such as could be defended with arrows, and these which they dared not pull down they set fire to by night.
And the Christians fought against them every day, and prest them close, and the price of food increased daily: and they withdrew themselves from the love of the sons of Aboegib, and thought that they had been ill advised to follow their counsel, and that because of them all this evil was come upon them, and they held them for fools.
And they of the town were in great misery, from the Christians who warred upon them from without, and the famine whereof they died within.
And they were so weak with hunger that the Christians came to the wars and threw stones in with the hand, and there was none who had strength to drive them back.
And many men, and many women, and many children watched when the gates were open, and went out and gave themselves into the hands of the Christians, who slew some, and took others, and sold them to the Moors in Alcudia; and the price of a Moor was a loaf and a pitcher of wine: and when they gave them food and they took their fill, they died.
And he called a Moor who spake the mixed language, and instructed him how to get out of the city by night, so that the Christians might not see him, and told him that when he had given that letter to the King of Zaragoza, the King would give him garments, and a horse, and a mule to ride on, and that he himself would show favour unto him as long as he lived.
And many for great misery went out to the Christians, recking not whether they should be made captive, or slain, for they thought it better to be slain than to perish for lack of food.
As many as could fled out of the town, and delivered themselves up to the Christians to be made prisoners.
And Abeniaf's company opened the gate and sallied out, seeing that the stones and arrows from the wall had hurt many, and made the Christians draw back; and the Cid and they who were with him remained in the bath, being shut up there, for they could not go out by the door whereat they had entered, and they broke through the wall on the other side, and the Cid escaped that way, being thus put to rout.
Nevertheless they continued to let themselves down from the walls, and the Christians took them without his knowledge.
One day it fell out that the Cid and his kinsmen and friends and vassals were engaged in a great encounter, and this Martin Pelaez was well armed; and when he saw that the Moors and Christians were at it, he fled and betook himself to his lodging, and there hid himself till the Cid returned to dinner.
Abeniaf sent three good men with him to confirm the terms which were made, and the covenant was after this manner, that they of Valencia should send messengers to the King of Zaragoza, and to Ali Abenaxa who was Adelantado of the Almoravides and Lord of Murcia, beseeching them to succour them within fifteen days; and if within that time they were not succoured they should then give up the city to the Cid, with such conditions, that Abeniaf should remain mighty in the town, as he had been before, his person being secure and all that he had, and his wives, and his children, and that he should remain Veedor, that is to say, Overseer, of all the rents of the town, he and the Almoxarife of the Cid, and a Moor who was called Musa should be Guazil of the town; this Musa had looked after the affairs of the Cid in the time of King Yahia, and never forsook him after the death of the King his Lord; and the Cid made him Alcayde of a Castle, and always found him loyal, and at his service, and for this reason trusted he in him so as to make him Guazil, who should keep the keys of the town, with a guard of Almocadenes, and of Christian foot-men of Almogavares who had been born in the land of the Moors.
Presently on the morrow they sent five good men as messengers to the King of Zaragoza, and as many more to Murcia; and it had been covenanted that neither of these messengers should take with him more than fifty maravedis for his journey, and that they should go by sea as far as Denia, in a ship of the Christians, and from thence by land.
The Moors of Valencia were now something comforted, for they weened that they should receive help, and the Christians did not now war upon them; nevertheless they kept guard, and went the rounds, as before, and waited for the day appointed, as one who looked to be released from prison.
And Abeniaf and other good men came out, and the writings were made and were confirmed on both sides, by the Chiefs of the Christians and of the Moors, and the gates were opened at the hour of noon, upon Thursday the last day of June, after the feast of St. John, which the Moors call Alhazaro.
And when the gate was opened Abeniaf was there within, with a great company round about him, both of his own people and of those of the town; and the Christians as they entered ascended the walls and towers.
On the following day after the Christians had taken possession of the town, the Cid entered it with a great company, and he ascended the highest tower of the wall, and beheld all the city; and the Moors came unto him, and kissed his hand, saying he was welcome.
And then he gave order that all the windows of the towers which looked in upon the town should be closed up, that the Christians might not see what the Moors did in their houses; and the Moors thanked him for this greatly.
And he commanded and requested the Christians that they should show great honour to the Moors, and respect them, and greet them when they met: and the Moors thanked the Cid greatly for the honour which the Christians did them, saying that they had never seen so good a man, nor one so honourable, nor one who had his people under such obedience.
And when the Cid had given order concerning his own affairs at his pleasure, the Moors would fain have entered again into possession of their heritages as he told them; but they found it all otherwise, for of all the fields which the Christians had husbanded, they would not yield up one; albeit they let them enter upon such as were left waste: some said that the Cid had given them the lands that year, instead of their pay, and other some that they rented them and had paid rent for the year.
We all know the great treason which Abeniaf committed against ye all in killing your Lord the King: for albeit at that time ye felt the burden of the Christians, yet was it nothing so great as after he had killed him, neither did ye suffer such misery.
Moreover the things of this world soon pass away, and my heart tells me that we shall ere long come out of the bondage of the Cid, and of the Christians, for the Cid is well nigh at the full of his days, and we who remain alive after his death, shall then be masters of our city.
Say therefore what ye would have, and I will do that which I think behoveth me: but in this manner, that my dwelling place be within the city of Valencia, in the Alcazar, and that my Christian men have all the fortresses in the city.
This Alhagi was he who made the lamentation for Valencia, as ye have heard; and when the Cid was peaceably established in Valencia, he was converted, and the Cid made him a Christian.
And when the Cid saw it all before him it pleased him much, and he called for the Moors before whom Abeniaf had taken the oath, and he took his seat upon the estrado full nobly, and there in the presence of Christians and Moors he ordered Abeniaf and all the other prisoners to be brought forth.
abide there; and as the Moors went out the Christians who dwelt in Alcudia entered in.
And the battle was nigh unto Valencia, beside the garden which is called the Garden of Villa Nueva; and it was a good battle, and at length he of the good fortune conquered; and the pursuit continued as far as Xativa; even so far did the Christians pursue them, smiting and slaying.
Great was the joy of the Christians in the Cid Ruydiez, he who was born in a good hour.
My Cid said of his chin, For the love of King Don Alfonso, who hath banished me from his land, no scissors shall come upon it, nor shall a hair be cut away, and Moors and Christians shall talk of it.
At this time there came a crowned one from the parts of the East, that is to say, one who was shaven and shorn; his name was the Bishop Don Hieronymo, a full learned man and a wise, and one who was mighty both on horseback and afoot: and he came enquiring for the Cid, wishing that he might see himself with the Moors in the field, for if he could once have his fill of smiting and slaying them, Christians should never lament him.
And when the Cid knew this it pleased him in his heart, and he took horse and went to visit him, and rejoiced greatly that he was come; and he resolved to make Valencia a bishopric and give it to this good Christian.
God! how joyful was all Christendom that there was a Lord Bishop in the land of Valencia!
Five pitched battles hath he won since that time, some with Moors and some with bad Christians; and he hath taken Xerica, and Ondra, and Almenar, and Monviedro which is a bigger place, and Cebola also, and Castrejon, and Pena Cadiella which is a strong eminence, and with all the right noble city of Valencia, for the honour of the faith of Jesus Christ, and of you our Lord and King; and he hath made it a Bishopric, and made the Honourable Don Hieronymo Bishop thereof with his own hand.
And they said they heartily forgave him, and held themselves well paid; and they prayed God to, grant him long life and good health, and to give him power to advance Christendom, and put down Pagandom.
That good Christian the Bishop Don Hieronymo, night and day he guarded the ladies; on a goodly horse he rode, and they went between him and Alvar Fanez.
And he had the walls of the city prepared, and stored it well with food and with all things needful for war, and gathered together a great power of Christians and of the Moors of his seignory.
Then the Cid assembled together the Christians in the Alcazar, and when they were assembled, he rose upon his feet and said, Friends and kinsmen and vassals, praised be God and holy Mary Mother, all the good which I have in the world I have here in Valencia; with hard labour I won the city, and hold it for my heritage, and for nothing less than death will I leave it.
Great was the smiting and slaying in short time; but by reason that the Moors were so great a number, they bore hard upon the Christians, and were in the hour of overcoming them.
And in the pursuit he came up to King Yucef, and smote him three times: but the King escaped from under the sword, for the horse of the Cid passed on in his course, and when he turned, the King being on a fleet horse, was far off, so that he might not be overtaken; and he got into a Castle called Guyera, for so far did the Christians pursue them, smiting and slaying, and giving them no respite, so that hardly fifteen thousand escaped of fifty that they were.
Glad were the Christian folk in Valencia for the great booty which they had gotten, and glad was Dona Ximena and her daughters, and glad were all those ladies who were married.
But you so demeaned yourself that you never did me disservice, but contrariwise, great service both to God and to me, and have won Valencia, and enlarged Christendom, wherefore I am bound to show favour unto you and to love you always.
And if thou wilt not do this he sends to say that he will fight against Valencia, and take thee and thy wife and thy daughters, and torment thee grievously, in such manner that all Christians who shall hear tell of it shall talk thereof for evermore.
And then the great multitude of the Moors began to come out of their tents, and they formed their battle in haste, and came against the Christians, with the sound of trumpets and tambours, and with a great uproar; and as they came out upon the alarm, not expecting that the Cid would come against them so soon, they did not advance in order, as King Bucar had commanded.
Many were the Christians who died that day among the foot-soldiers; and the dead, Moors and Christians together, were so many, that the horses could scant move among their bodies.
But after the hour of nones the Cid and his people smote the Moors so sorely that they could no longer stand against them, and it pleased God and the good fortune of the Cid that they turned their backs; and the Christians followed, hewing them down, and smiting and slaying; and they tarried not to lay hands on those whom they felled, but went on in the pursuit as fast as they could.
Then might you have seen cords broken, and stakes plucked up as the Christians came to the tents; my Cid's people drove King Bucar's through their camp, and many an arm with its sleeve-mail was lopt off, and many a head with its helmet fell to the ground; and horses ran about on all sides without riders.
The poorest man among the Christians was made full rich that day.
And Moors and Christians both fear me.
And when the Cid knew that they were drawing nigh he rode out two leagues to meet them, and when they saw him they made great lamentation, they and all his company, not only the Christians but the Moors also who were in his service.
This seat he won in Valencia, where it had belonged to the Kings thereof: and much gold and silver, and many precious stones hath he won; and many a battle hath he won both against Christians and Moors: and of all the spoil which he hath won, he hath always sent me part, and great presents and full rich, such as never other vassal sent to his Lord; and this he hath done in acknowledgment that I am his Lord.
And the King answered, Since you will not sit with me, sit on your ivory seat, for you won it like a good man; and from this day I order that none except King or Prelate sit with you, for you have conquered so many high-born men, and so many Kings, both Christians and Moors, that for this reason there is none who is your peer, or ought to be seated with you.
Praise be to God and to your grace, such a one am I, and such favour hath God shown me, from the day when I first had horse and arms, until now, that not only the Infantes of Carrion, but saving yourself, Sir, there is not a King in Christendom who might not think himself honoured in marrying with either of my daughters,...how much more then these traitors!...I beseech you give me justice upon them for the evil and dishonour which they have done me! And if you and your Cortes will not right me, through the mercy of God and my own good cause, I will take it myself, for the offence which they have committed against God d and To the faith, and the faith, and the truth which they promised and vowed to their wives.
cabra.htm">Then Count Don Garcia rose and said, Come away, Infantes, and let us leave the Cid sitting like a bridegroom in his ivory chair:...he lets his beard grow and thinks to frighten us with it!...The Campeador put up his hand to his beard, and said, What hast thou to do with my beard, Count? Thanks be to God, it is long because it hath been kept for my pleasure; never son of woman hath taken me by it; never son of Moor or of Christian hath plucked it, as I did yours in your castle of Cabra, Count, when I took your castle of Cabra, and took you by the beard; there was not a boy of the host but had his pull at it.
And the Cid besought the King that he would be pleased to take the horse, but the King answered, God forbid that I should take him!...rather would I give you a better if I had one, for he is better bestowed on you than on me or any other, for upon that horse you have done honour to yourself, and to us, and to all Christendom, by the good feats which you have achieved.
Now it came to pass after this, that the Great Soldan of Persia, having heard of the great goodness of the Cid, and of his great feats in arms, and how he had never been vanquished by mortal man, and how he had conquered many Kings, Moor and Christian, and had won the noble city of Valencia, and had defeated King Bucar Lord of Africa and Morocco, and twenty nine Kings with him, all these things made him greatly desirous of his love.
And when he had somewhat recovered and could speak, he would have kissed the Cid's hand, but the Cid would not give it him: and he thought this was done for haughtiness, but they made him understand that it was to do him honour; then was he greatly rejoiced, and he said, I humble myself before thee, O Cid, who art the fortunate, the best Christian, and the most honourable that hath girded on sword or bestrode horse these thousand years.
And then he embraced him in the name of the Soldan, and said, that if he were a Christian he would give him the kiss of peace; and he asked whether among those things there was aught which had belonged to the person of the Soldan, that if so he might kiss it in his honour, and in token that if he were there present, he would kiss him on the shoulder, according to the custom of the Moors, for he knew that his Lord was one of the noblest men in all Pagandom.
And the Almoxarife answered that he was the man in the world who had the bravest heart, and the best knight at arms, and the man who best maintained his law; and in the word which he hath promised he never fails; and he is the man in the world who is the best friend to his friend, and to his enemy he is the mortallest foe among all Christians; and to the vanquished he is full of mercy and compassion; and full thoughtful and wise in whatsoever thing he doeth; and his countenance is such that no man seeth him for the first time without conceiving great fear.
Then he told him that the land beyond sea was in such state that they weened it would be lost, and that the Christians would win it, so great a Crusade had gone forth against it from Germany, and from France, and from Lombardy, and Sicily, and Calabria, and Ireland, and England, which had won the city of Antioch, and now lay before Jerusalem.
After this the Cid abode in Valencia, and he laboured a full year in settling all the Castles of the Moors who were subject unto him in peace, and in settling the Moors of Valencia well with the Christians; and this he did so that their tribute was well paid from this time till his death.
This Alfaqui had served the Cid well in his office of Alcalde over the Moors of Valencia: for he kept them in peace, and made them pay their tribute well, being a discreet man and of great prudence, so that for this and for his speech he might have been taken for a Christian; and for this reason the Cid loved him and put great trust in him.
And now, Sir, thinking in my heart concerning the law in which I have lived, I find that I have led a life of great error, and that all which Mahommed the great deceiver gave to the Moors for their law, is deceit: and therefore, Sir, I turn me to the faith of Jesus Christ, and will be a Christian and believe in the Catholic faith.
And from this time forward I will live the life of a Christian, and fulfil what is written in the Gospel, and forsake wife and children and kin, and all that there is in the world, and serve God, and believe in his faith and holy law, as far as the weakness of my body can bear.
When the Cid Ruydiez heard this he began to smile for very pleasure; and he rose up and took Alfaraxi with him to Dona Ximena, and said, Here is our Alcalde, who will be a Christian, and our brother in the faith of Jesus Christ: I beseech you therefore give order to provide all things that may be needful.
It is written in the history which Abenalfarax, the nephew of Gil Diaz, composed in Valencia, that for five years the Cid Ruydiez remained Lord thereof in peace, and in all that time he sought to do nothing but to serve God, and to keep the Moors quiet who were under his dominion; so that Moors and Christians dwelt together in such accord, that it seemed as if they had always been united; and they all loved and served the Cid with such good will that it was marvellous.
And God hath shown such mercy to you and to me, that we have won many battles against Moors and Christians; those which were against Christians, God knows, were more through their fault than my will, for they strove to set themselves against the good fortune which God had given me, and to oppose his service, helping the enemies of the faith.
And the Christians defended themselves right well, and every time that they went upon the walls, they sounded trumpets and tambours, and made great rejoicings, as the Cid had commanded.
And it seemed to them that there came against them on the part of the Christians full seventy thousand knights, all as white as snow: and before them a knight of great stature upon a white horse with a bloody cross, who bore in one hand a white banner, and in the other a sword which seemed to be of fire, and he made a great mortality among the Moors who were flying.
And so great was the spoil of that day, that there was no end to it: and they took up gold, and silver, and other precious things as they rode through the camp, so that the poorest man among the Christians, horseman or on foot, became rich with what he won that day.
Then he went out and called aloud to the Moors of the suburbs, and told them that the city was deserted by the Christians; and they were more amazed than before: nevertheless they did not yet dare either to go out to the camp or to enter into the town, and in this doubt they remained till it was mid-day.