III. BOOK wine, as they had done before, and sent to say to Don Arias Gonzalo that this son also was slain, and that he should send another. Chr. Gen. ff. 219. Chr. del Cid.cap.73. combat, and termined. VIII. Then Don Arias Gonzalo, in great rage and in Of the third great trouble called for his son Rodrigo Arias, who was a how it was good knight, right hardy and valiant, the elder of all the left unde- brethren; he had been in many a tournament, and with good fortune. And Don Arias said unto him, Son, go now and do battle with Diego Ordoñez, to save Doña Urraca your Lady, and yourself, and the Council of Zamora; and if you do this, in happy hour were you born. Then Rodrigo Arias kissed his hand and answered, Father, I thank you much for what you have said, and be sure that I will save them, or take my death. And he took his arms and mounted, and his father gave him his blessing, and went with him to the lists; and the judges took his reins and led him in. And when the judges were gone out, they twain ran at each other, and Don Diego missed his blow, but Rodrigo Arias did not miss, for he gave him so great a stroke with the lance that it pierced through the shield, and broke the saddle-bow behind, and made him lose his stirrups, and he embraced the neck of his horse. But albeit that Don Diego was sorely bested with that stroke, he took heart presently, and went bravely against him, and dealt him so great a blow that he broke the lance in him; for it went through the shield and all his other arms, and great part of the lance remained in his flesh. After this they laid hand to sword, and gave each to the other great blows, and great wounds with them. And Rodrigo Arias gave so great a wound to Diego Ordoñez, that he cut his left arm through to the bone. And Don Diego Ordoñez, when he felt himself so sorely wounded, went against Rodrigo Arias and delivered him a blow upon the head which cut through the helmet and the hood of the mail, and entered into his head. When Rodrigo Arias felt himself wounded to death, he let go the reins and took his sword in both III. hands, and gave so great a blow to the horse of Don Diego BOOK that he cut his head open. And the horse in his agony ran out of the lists, and carried Don Diego out also, and there died. And Rodrigo Arias fell dead as he was following him. Then Don Diego Ordoñez would have returned into the field to do battle with the other two, but the judges would not permit this,' neither did they think good to decide whether they of Zamora were overcome in this third duel or not. And in this manner the thing was left undecided. Nevertheless though no sentence was given, there remained no infamy upon the people of Zamora. But better had it been for Don Arias Gonzalo if he had given up Vellido to the Castilians, that he might have died the death of a traitor; he would not then have lost these three sons, who died like good men, in their duty. Now what was the end of Vellido the history sayeth not, through the default of the Chroniclers ;' but it is to be believed, that because the im 1 The Emperor Palmerin de Oliva, lest any good knight should some day lose the guerdon of his valor, (as Don Diego Ordoñez in this instance) encircled the lists at Constantinople with a palisade, sufficiently high; a precaution of which Palmerin of England found the benefit when he and his brother and Dramuziando fought with the three giants. The reins of his horse were cut, and if it had not been for the palisade he would have been carried out of the lists. Palmeirim de Inglaterra, P. 2. C. 94. The costume of the Spanish romances is very ill preserved in the various translations. Every translator seems to have thought himself privileged to make what omissions and additions he pleased in the manner of narration. No trace of the passage to which I have just referred is to be found in the English Palmerin. A 2 All the Chronicles, Histories and Ballads, are silent as to the fate of Vellido Dolfos. An account however, which is manifestly fabulous, is to be found in the interpolations made by an anonymous writer in the Sumario de los Reyes de España por el Despensero* Mayor de la Reyna Doña Leonor. This fable states that Vellido exacted from Doña Urraca a promise to lie * His name is said by the Marques de Mondejar to been Juan Rodriguez de Cuenca. III. BOOK peachment was not made within three days. Don Arias Gozalo thrust him out of the town as Doña Urraca had requested, and that he fled into other lands, peradventure among the Moors. And though it may be that he escaped punishment in this world, yet certes he could not escape it in hell where he is tormented with Dathan and Abiram, and with Judas the Traitor, for ever and ever. Chr Gen. ff. 220. Sandoval. ff. 37. Chr.delCid. How King from Tole IX. In the meantime the Infanta Doña Urraca wrote departed letters secretly and sent messengers with them to Toledo do. to King Don Alfonso, telling him that King Don Sancho his brother was dead, and had left no heir, and that he should come as speedily as he could to receive the kingdoms. And she bade her messengers deliver these privately that the Moors might not discover what had taken place, lest they should seize upon King Don Alfonso, whom she dearly loved. Moreover the Castilians assembled together and found that as King Don Sancho had left no son to succeed him they were bound by right to receive King Don Alfonso as their Lord; and they also sent unto him in secret. 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. Now Don Peransures, as he was a man of great understanding and understood the Arabic tongue, when he knew the death of King Don Sancho, and while he was devising how to get his Lord away from Toledo, rode out every day, as if to with him; - accordingly, after he had committed the treason, she had him bound hand and foot, put into a sack, tied in it, and laid in her bed, where she herself lay down in her clothes and past the night beside him. As soon as it was day-break he was by her orders fastened to four wild horses, and so torn in pieces. This anonymous interpolator wished to make the Sumario of the Despensero pass for his own, and altered it for that purpose. Many of his additions are as fabulous as the one which is here related; and they have been singularly mischievous, having misled such truly able men and excellent historians as Zurita, Mariana, Garibay, and Gil Gonzalez Davila. III. solace himself, on the way towards Castille, to see whom he BOOK might meet, and to learn tidings. And it fell out one day that he met a man who told him he was going with news to King Alimaymon, that King Don Sancho was dead; and Don Peransures took him aside from the road as if to speak to him, and cut off his head. And Peransures returned into the road and met another man coming with the same tidings to the King, and he slew him in like manner. Nevertheless the tidings reached King Alimaymon. Now Peransures and his brethren feared that if the Moor knew this he would not let their Lord depart, but would seize him and make hard terms for his deliverance; and on the other hand they thought that if he should learn it from any other than themselves, it would be yet worse. And while they! were in doubt what they should do, King Don Alfonso, trusting in God's mercy, said unto them, When I came hither unto this Moor, he received me with great honor, and gave to me abundantly all things of which I stood in need, even as if I had been his son; how then should I conceal from him this favor which it hath pleased God to show me? I will go and tell it unto him. But Don Peransures besought him not to tell him of his brother's death. And he went to King Alimaymon and said unto him, that he would fain go into his own country, if it pleased him, to help his vassals, who stood greatly in need of him, and he besought him that he would give him men. The death of King Don Sancho he did not make known. And King Alimaymon answered that he should not do this, because he feared that King Don Sancho his brother would take him. And King Don Alfonso said, that he knew the ways and customs of his brother, and did not fear him, if it pleased the king to give him some Moors to help him. Now Alimaymon had heard of the death of King Don Sancho, and he had sent to occupy the roads and the passes, that King Don Alfonso might be stopped if he should attempt to depart without his knowledge. Howbeit he did not fully believe the tidings, III. BOOK seeing that King Don Alfonso did not speak of it; and he rejoiced in his heart at what the King said, and he said unto him, I thank God, Alfonso, that thou hast told me of thy wish to go into thine own country; for in this thou hast dealt loyally by me, and saved me from that which might else have happened, to which the Moors have alway importuned me. And hadst thou departed privily, thou couldst not have escaped being slain or taken. Now then go and take thy kingdom; and I will give thee whatever thou hast need of to give to thine own people, and win their hearts that they may serve thee. And he then besought him to renew the oath which he had taken, never to come against him nor his sons, but alway to befriend them; and this same oath did the King of Toledo make unto him. Now Alimaymon had a grandson whom he dearly loved, who was not named in the oath, and King Don Alfonso therefore was not bound to keep it towards him. And King Don Alfonso made ready for his departure, and Alimaymon and the chief persons of the court went out from the city with him, and rode with him as far as the Sierra del Cid.cap.67. Dragon, which is now called Valtome; and he gave him ff. 217, 218. great gifts, and there they took leave of each other with Chr. del Chr. Gen. Rod. Tol. 1. 6. c. 20. great love.' How the Cid would X. As soon as King Don Alfonso arrived at Zamora, he not kiss the pitched his tents in the field of Santiago, and took counsel with his sister. And the Infanta Doña Urraca, who was a King's hand. The Chronicle of the Cid relates this differently; that Alimaymon, after giving him leave to depart, detained him day after day, upon various pretexts, and that at last Alfonso and his followers let themselves down from the castle by ropes, and escaped in the night. In the morning Alimaymon asked his favorites if they knew why Alfonso was in such haste to depart, and they said they thought his brother was dead; upon which he sent to seize him, meaning to detain him prisoner. I have preferred the Archbishop Rodrigo's account, because, if the previous narrative be authentic, Alfonso knew that the roads were guarded to prevent his flight, and because, by the after transactions between him and Alimaymon, it is evident that they parted in friendship. |