© Mark Wade
| Cid's Spain © Mark Wade |
Name derived from the Roman province of Hispania, which occupied the Iberian peninsula in antiquity. Despite the nationalist bent of historian Mendendez Pidal, and the movie El Cid, the concept of Spain as a nation did not exist in the Cid's day.
King Don Ferrando succeeded to the states of Castille after the death of his father King Don Sancho el Mayor, in the aera 1072, which was the year of the Incarnation 1034, and from the coming of the Patriarch Tubal to settle in Spain 3197, and from the general deluge 3339, and from the creation of the world 4995, according to the computation of the Hebrews, and from the beginning of the false sect of the Moors 413.
Now the history relates that King Don Ferrando contended with King Don Ramiro of Aragon for the city of Calahorra, which each claimed as his own; in such guise that the King of Aragon placed it upon the trial by combat, confiding in the prowess of Don Martin Gonzalez, who was at that time held to be the best knight in all Spain.
When the Cid heard what had passed it grieved him to the heart, more for the counsel which had been given to the King, than because of the Pope's commands; and he turned to the King and said, In an ill day, Sir, were you born in Spain, if it be in your time to be made tributary, which it never was before; for all the honour which God hath given you, and whatever good he hath done to you, is lost if it should be so.
Then the King ordered letters to be written, in which he besought the Pope not to proceed farther against him without just cause, for Spain had been conquered by those who dwelt therein, by the blood of them and of their fathers, and they had never been tributary, and never would be so, but would rather all die.
These letters came to the King when he had past Tolosa, and he took counsel with the Cid and with his good men, and they advised that he should send two of his good men to the Pope, who should tell him to send a Cardinal with power to make a covenant, that this demand should never again be made upon Spain; and that persons from the Emperor and from the other Kings also should come to ratify this, and meanwhile he would abide where he was.
And the Pope sent Master Roberto, the Cardinal of St. Sabina, with full powers, and the representatives of the Emperor and of the other Kings came also and signed the covenant, that this demand should never again be made upon the King of Spain.
Many other things did King Don Ferrando, which are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Spain, enriching churches and monasteries, and honouring the saints and martyrs, and making war upon the misbelievers.
When the Infante Don Sancho knew that the King his father had made this allotment it displeased him, for he was the eldest son; and he said to his father that he neither could nor ought to make this division; for the Gothic Kings had in old time made a constitution for themselves, that the kingdom and empire of Spain never should be divided, but remain one dominion under one Lord.
And after he had put all his affairs in order he remained three days lamenting in pain, and on the fourth, being the day of St. John the Evangelist, he called for the Cardinal Abbot, and commended Spain and his other sons to him, and gave him his blessing, and then at the hour of sexts he rendered up his soul without stain to God, being full of years.
Now the Kings of Spain were of the blood of the Goths, which was a fierce blood, for it had many times come to pass among the Gothic Kings, that brother had slain brother upon this quarrel; from this blood was King Don Sancho descended, and he thought that it would be a reproach unto him if he did not join together the three kingdoms under his own dominion, for he was not pleased with what his father had given him, holding that the whole ought to have been his.
When King Don Sancho heard this, being a man of great heart, he made answer, that he was the head of the kingdoms of Castille and Leon, and all the conquests in Spain were his, for the Kings of Aragon had no conquests appertaining unto them, being by right his tributaries, and bound to appear at his Cortes.
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.
I say this to you, that if peradventure evil should befall you by this traitor, it may not be said in Spain that you were not warned against him.
After this was the King Don Alfonso crowned King of Castille, Leon, Galicia, and Portugal; and he called himself King and Emperor of all Spain, even as his father had done before him.
And he was a comforter of the sorrowful, and an increaser of the faith, and a defender of the churches, and the strength of the people; a judge without fear; there was not in Spain a consoler of the poor and of those who were oppressed, till he came.
And on the morrow my Cid ordered a feast to be made, that he might do pleasure to the Count, but the Count said that for all Spain he would not eat one mouthful, but would rather die, since he had been beaten in battle by such a set of ragged fellows.
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.
Of the terms granted unto the Moors, and how they were set aside for the honour of the Catholic faith, and of the cunning of the Jews who dwelt in the city, and how the Romish ritual was introduced therein, this is not the place to speak; all these things are written in the Chronicles of the Kings of Spain.
The rise of this people and all that they did in Spain are not for me to relate in this place.
He went out upon this horse, and ran a career with him; Bavieca was the name of the horse, and when he was running all marvelled at him: from that day Bavieca was famous all over Spain.
And when they had all past by, the King blest himself again, and he laughed and said that never had so goodly a present been sent before to King of Spain by his vassal.
And he laid them upon his lap and said, Ah, my swords, Colada and Tizona, truly may I say of you, that you are the best swords in Spain; and I won you, for I did not get you either by buying or by barter.
Great was the multitude which was assembled from all Spain to behold this battle.
And when the marriage was concluded, the Cid took his sons-in-law and led them by the hand to Dona Ximena, and showed them all the noble things which the Soldan had sent him; and they when they beheld such great treasures and such noble things were greatly astonished, and said that they did not think there had been a man in Spain so rich as the Cid, nor who possessed such things.
And when the Cid saw him he asked him what he would have; and he like a prudent man bent his knees before him, and began to kiss his hand, and said, Sir Cid Ruydiez, blessed be the name of Jesus Christ who hath brought you to this state that you are Lord of Valencia, one of the best and noblest cities in Spain.
And when they had thus divided it, Dona Sol said that all which she had in the world should be for her nephew the Infante Don Garcia Ramirez, and with the good will of Queen Elvira his mother, she adopted him then to be her son, and she took him with her to Aragon, to the lands which had been given her in dower, and bred him up till he became a young man; and after the death of his father he was made King of Navarre, as may be seen in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Spain.