VII. BOOK day when I sate down before Juballa I had no more than four loaves of bread, and now by God's mercy I have won Valencia. And if I administer right and justice here, God will let me enjoy it, but if I do evil, and demean myself proudly and wrongfully, I know that he will take it away. Now then let every one go to his own lands, and possess them even as he was wont to have and to hold them. He who shall find his field, or his vineyard, or his garden, desert, let him incontinently enter thereon; and he who shall find his husbanded, let him pay him that hath cultivated it the cost of his labor, and of the seed which he hath sown therein, and remain with his heritage, according to the law of the Moors. Moreover I have given order that they who collect my dues take from you no more than the tenth, because so it is appointed by the custom of the Moors, and it is what ye have been wont to pay. And I have resolved in my heart to hear your complaints two days in the week, on the Monday and the Thursday; but if causes should arise which require haste, come to me when ye will, and I will give judgment, for I do not retire with women to sing and to drink, as your Lords have done, so that ye could obtain no justice, but will myself see to these things, and watch over ye as friend over his friend, and kinsman over his kinsman. And I will be Cadi1 and Guazil, and when dispute happens among ye I will decide it. When he had said these things they all replied that they prayed God to preserve him through long and happy years, and four of the most honorable among them rose and kissed his hands, and the Chr. Gen. Cid bade them take their seats again. Chr. del Cid. cap. 205. ff. 272. 1 Both originals have Alcayde. The Cid uses the word in its civil sense; in which sense every person who has read the Arabian Nights Entertainments will understand it. If the Moors in Spain had but one Cadi, that is, if the civil power was in the hands of a military officer, as perhaps may be inferred from the word Alcayde, it is one proof more of the miserable state of barbarism into which they had fallen. VII. ther the unto the IV. Then the Cid spake unto them and said, it is told BOOK me that Abeniaf hath done much evil, and committed great wrong toward some of ye, in that he hath taken great riches What farfrom ye to present them to me, saying, that this he did be- Cid said cause ye sold food for a great price during the siege. But I Moors. will accept of no such gift; for if I were minded to have your riches, I could take them, and need not ask them. neither from him, nor from any other; but thing so unseemly as to take that which is his from any one, without just cause, I will not do. They who have gotten wealth thus, God hath given it them; let them go to Abeniaf, and take back what he hath forced from them, for I will order him to restore the whole. Then he said, Ye see the riches which I took from the messengers who went to Murcia; it is mine by right, for I took it in war because they brake the covenant which they had made, and would have deceived me: nevertheless I will restore it to the uttermost farthing, that nothing thereof shall be lost. And ye shall do homage to me that ye will not withdraw yourselves, but will abide here, and do my bidding in all things, and never depart from the covenant which ye make with me; for I love ye, and am grieved to think of the great evil and misery which ye endured from the great famine, and of the mortality which there was. And if ye had done that before which ye have done now, ye would not have been brought to these sufferings and have bought the cafiz of wheat at a thousand maravedis; but I trust in God to bring it to one maravedi. Be ye now secure in your lands, and till your fields, and rear cattle; for I have given order to my men that they offer ye no wrong, neither enter into the town to buy nor to sell; but that they carry on all their dealings in Alcudia, and this I do that ye may receive no displeasure. Moreover I command them not to take any captive into the town, but if this should be done, lay ye hands on the captive and set him free, without fear, and if any one should resist, kill him and fear not. I myself will not enter your city nor dwell therein, VII. BOOK but I will build me a place beside the Bridge of Alcantara, where I may go and disport myself at times, and repair when it is needful. When he had said these things he bade Chr. del Cid. cap. 205. Chr. them go their way. Gen. ff. 272. promises of the Cid proved how he that Abe be deliv ered into his hands. V. Well pleased were the Moors when they departed How the from him, and they marvelled at the greatness of his promises, and they set their hearts at rest, and put away the fear false, and which they had had, thinking all their troubles were over; demanded for in all the promises which the Cid had made unto them, niaf should they believed that he spake truth; but he said these things only to quiet them, and to make them come to what he wished, even as came to pass. And when he had done, he sent his Almoxarife, Abdalla Adiz, to the Custom House, and made him appoint men to collect the rents of the town for him, which was done accordingly. 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. So the Moors seeing this, waited till Thursday, when the Cid was to hear complaints, as he had said unto them. When Thursday came all the honorable men went to the Garden, but the Cid sent to say unto them that he could not come out that day, because of other causes which he had to determine; and he desired that they would go their way for that time, and come again on the Monday: this was to show his mastery. And when it was Monday they assembled again in the Garden, and the Cid came out to them, and took his seat upon the estrado, and the Moors made their complaint. And when he had heard them, he began to make similitudes, and offer reasons which were not like those which he had spoken the first day, for he said to them, VII. I ask of ye, whether it is well that I should be left without BOOK men? for if I were without them, I should be like unto one who hath lost his right arm, or to a bird that hath no wings, or to one who should do battle and hath neither spear nor sword. The first thing which I have to look to is to the well-being of my people, that they may live in wealth and honor, so that they may be able to serve me, and defend my honor for since it has pleased God to give me the city of Valencia, I will not that there be any other Lord here than Therefore I say unto you and command you, if you would be well with me, and would that I should show favor unto you, that ye see how to deliver that traitor Abeniaf into my hands. Ye all know the great treason which he committed upon King Yahia, his Lord and yours, how he slew him, and the misery which he brought upon you in the siege; and since it is not fitting that a traitor who hath slain his Lord should live among you, and that his treason should be Cid. cap. confounded with your loyalty, see to the obeyment of my Chr. Gen. me. command. Chr. del 206. 207. ff. 272. Moors ask of Abdalla VI. When the honorable Moors heard this they were How the dismayed; verily they knew that he spake truth touching the ed counsel death of the King, but it troubled them that he departed Adiz, and how they from the promise which he had made; and they made an- delivered swer that they would take counsel concerning what he had up Abeniaf. said, and then reply. Then five of the best and most honorable among them withdrew, and went to Abdalla Adiz, and said unto him, Areed us thy reed now the best and truest that thou canst, for thou art of our law, and oughtest to do this: and the reason why we ask counsel of thee is this. The Cid promised us many things, and now behold he says nothing to us of what he said before, but moveth other new reasons, at which great dismay hath seized us. And because thou better knowest his ways, tell us now what is his pleasure, for albeit we might wish to do otherwise, this is not a time wherein any thing but what he shall command can be done. When the Almoxarife heard this he made VII. BOOK answer, Good men, it is easy to understand what he would have, and to do what should be done. 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. And since God hath brought him who was the cause to this state, see now by all means how ye may deliver him into the hands of the Cid. And fear not, neither take thought for the rest; for though the Cid may do his pleasure in some things, better is it to have him for Lord, than this traitor who hath brought so much evil upon ye. 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. When the good men heard what he said, they thanked him much, and held themselves to be well advised, and said that they would do willingly what he bade them: and they returned forthwith to the Cid, and said unto him that they would fulfil his commandment. Incontinently did the good men dispeed themselves of the Cid, and they went into the city, and gathered together a great posse of armed men, and went to the place where Abeniaf dwelt; and they assaulted the house and brake the doors, and entered in and laid hands on him, and his son, and all his company, and carried them before the Cid. And the Cid ordered Abeniaf to be cast into prison, and all those who had taken counsel with him for the death of King Yahia. Chr. del Cid. cap. 207. 208. Chr. Gen. ff. 273. How the Cid said that he would the Alcazar, VII. When this was done, the Cid said unto the good men, Now that ye have fulfilled my bidding, I hold it good dwell in to show favor unto you in that which ye yourselves shall and how he understand to be fitting for me to grant. 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 took pos session thereof. |