BOOK How the body of the Cid was interred. XVIII. After that day the body of the Cid remained in the same posture, for they never took his hand off the sword, nor changed his garments more, and thus it remained three years longer, till it had been there ten years in all. And then the nose began to change color. And when the Abbot Don Garcia Tellez and Gil Diaz saw this, they weened that it was no longer fitting for the body to remain in that manner. And three Bishops from the neighboring provinces met there, and with many masses and vigils, and great honor, they interred the body after this manner. They dug a vault before the altar, beside the grave of Doña Ximena, and vaulted it over with a high arch, and there they placed the body of the Cid seated as it was in the ivory chair, and in his garments, and with the sword in his hand, and they 5. 33.9384. hung up his shield and his banner upon the walls. Chr. del Cid. cap. 291. Chr. Gen. ff. 313. Berganza. Of the death of Gil Diaz. XIX. After the body of the noble Cid Campeador had been thus honorably interred, Gil Diaz his trusty servant abode still in the Monastery of St. Pedro de Cardeña, doing service to the graves of the Cid and Doña Ximena, and making their anniversaries, and celebrating masses, and giving great alms to the poor both in food and clothing, for the good of their souls; and in this manner he lived while Don Garcia Tellez was Abbot, and two others after him, and then he died. And his deportment had alway been such in that Monastery, that all there were his friends, and lamented greatly at his death, because he had led so devout and good a life, and served so trustily at the graves of his master and mistress. And at the time of his death he gave order that they should lay his body beside the good horse Bavieca whom he had loved so well, in the grave which he had made there for himself while he was living. And Diego Gil remained in his place, doing the same service Chr. Gen. which he had done, till he departed also. And the history saith that though Gil Diaz was good, Diego Gil was even better. ff 313. Chr. del Cid. cap. 292. pass, X. How the stored the which he in honor to XX. Eighty and six years after the death of the Cid BOOK Campeador, that is to say, in the year of the Era 1223, which is the year of the Incarnation 1185, it came to King of Nathat there was war between the Kings of Leon and Na- varre revarre on the one part, and the King of Castille on the other, booty notwithstanding this King Don Sancho of Navarre was had taken uncle to the King of Castille, being his mother's brother. the Cid. And this King Don Sancho entered into the lands of his nephew King Don Alfonso of Castille, and advanced as far as Burgos, and with his sword he struck a great stroke into the elm tree which is before the Church of St. John at Burgos, in token that he had taken possession of all that land; and he carried away with him a great booty in flocks and herds and beasts of the plough, and whatever else he could find, and with all this booty went his way toward Navarre. Now he had to pass nigh the Monastery of St. Pedro de Cardeña, where the body of the Cid Campeador lay. And at that time the Abbot of the Monastery, whose name was Don Juan, was a good man, and a hidalgo, and stricken in years; and he had been a doughty man in arms in his day. And when he saw this great booty being driven out of Castille, he was sorely grieved at the sight, and though he was now an old man, and it was long since he had got on horseback, he went to horse now, and took ten monks with him, and bade the strongest among them take down the banner of the Cid from the place where it was hung up, and he went after King Don Sancho, who was carrying away the spoil. And the King when he saw him coming marvelled what banner this might be, for in those days there was no banner like unto that borne by any man in all the kingdoms of Spain; and perceiving how few they were who came with it, he halted to see what it might be. And the Abbot humbled himself before him when he came up, and said, King Don Sancho of Navarre, I am the Abbot of this Monastery of St. Pedro de Cardeña, wherein lies the body of the Cid Campeador, your great grand BOOK father; and for that reason presuming on your bounty and XI. favor, I am come hither with this banner, which was borne before him in his battles, to beseech you that you would leave this booty for the honor of this banner and of the body of the Cid. And when King Don Sancho heard this, he marvelled at the great courage of the man, that he should thus without fear ask of him to restore his booty. And he said unto him after a while, Good man, I know you not : but for what you have said I will give back the booty, for which there are many reasons. For I am of the lineage of the Cid as you say, and my father King Don Garcia being the son of Doña Elvira his daughter, this is the first reason; and the second is for the honor of his body which lies in your Monastery; and the third is in reverence to this his banner, which never was defeated. And if none of these were of any avail, yet ought I to restore it, were it only for this, that if he were living there is none who could drive away the spoils of Castille, he being so near. For the love of God therefore, and of my forefather the Cid, I give it to him, and to you, who have known so well how to ask it at my hands. When the Abbot heard this he was as joyful as he could be, and would have kissed the hand of King Don Sancho, but the King would not suffer this, because he was a priest of the mass. Then the King ordered the spoil to be driven to the Monastery, and went himself with it, and saw the banner hung up again in its place, and abode there three weeks, till all that booty had been restored to the persons from whom it was taken. And when this was done he offered to the Monastery two hundred pieces of gold for the soul of his forefather the Cid, and returned into his Cid. cap. kingdom of Navarre, and did no more evil at that time in the realm of Castille. This good service the Cid Ruydiez did to Castille after his death. Chr. del 293. Chr. Gen. ff. 314. How the Cid went to the great battle of the Navas de XXI. Moreover when the Miramamolin brought over from Africa against King Don Alfonso, the eighth of that name, the mightiest power of the misbelievers that had ever XI. been brought against Spain since the destruction of the BOOK Kings of the Goths, the Cid Campeador remembered his. country in that great danger. For the night before the battle was fought at the Navas de Tolosa, in the dead of the night, a mighty sound was heard in the whole city of Leon, as if it were the tramp of a great army passing through. And it passed on to the Royal Monastery of St. Isidro, and there was a great knocking at the gate thereof, and they called to a priest who was keeping vigils in the Church, and told him that the Captains of the army whom he heard were the Cid Ruydiez, and Count Ferran Gonzalez, and that they came there to call up King Don Ferrando the Great, who lay buried in that Church, that he might go with them, to deliver Spain. And on the morrow that great battle of the Navas de Tolosa was fought, wherein Yepes. sixty thousand of the misbelievers were slain, which was de S. Benione of the greatest and noblest battles ever won over Moors.' XXII. The body of the Cid remained in the vault How King wherein it had been placed as ye have heard, till the year of so the Wise the Incarnation 1272, when King Don Alfonso the Wise, the body of for the great reverence which he bore the memory of the the Cid. Cid his forefather, ordered a coffin to be made for him, which was hewn out of two great stones; and in this the body of the Cid was laid, and they placed it on that side where the Epistle is read; and before it, in a wooden coffin, they laid the body of Doña Ximena. And round about the stone coffin these verses were graven, in the Latin tongue, Chr. Gen. to. T. 1. the ff. 382. 1 This thing, says Yepes, God permitted to be heard in Leon, that it might be known how those persons whom the Gentiles in their vanity call Heroes, and the world holds for excellent men, do in Heaven take thought for the things of this world; and though their bodies were not verily and indeed present, yet inasmuch as their souls so vehemently desired to be there, this sound of their march was permitted to be heard, that it might be known how they were still watchful for the good of Spain. Don Alfon removed BOOK being, according as it is said, composed by King Don Alfonso himself. XI. BELLIGER, INVICTUS, FAMOSUS MARTE TRIUMPHIS, CLAUDITUR HOC TUMULO MAGNUS DIDACI RODERICUS. And upon his tomb he ordered these verses to be graven QUANTUM ROMA POTENS BELLICIS EXTOLLITUR ACTIS, NOBILIS E CAROLO QUANTUM GAUDET FRANCIA MAGNO, And upon the walls it was thus written. I who lie here interred am the Cid Ruydiez, who conquered King Bucar with six and thirty Kings of the Moors; and of those six and thirty, twenty and two died in the field. Before Valencia I conquered them, on horseback, after I was dead, being the seventy and second battle which I won. I am he who won the swords Colada and Tizona. God be praised, 5. 32. § 384. Amen. Berganza. Of the second re moval of the body, was resolved to remove it again. XXIII. The body of the Cid remained here till the year of the Incarnation 1447, when the Abbot Don Pedro del and how it Burgo ordered the old Church to be pulled down, that a new one might be built in its place. And then as all the sepulchres were removed, that of the Cid was removed also, and they placed it in front of the Sacristy, upon four stone lions. And in the year 1540 God put it in the heart of the Abbot and Prior, Monks and Convent of the Monastery of St. Pedro de Cardeña for the glory of God, and the honor of St. Peter and. St. Paul, and of the Cid and other good knights who lay buried there, and for the devotion of the people, to beautify the great Chapel of the said Monastery with a rich choir and stalls, and new altars, and goodly steps to lead up to them. And as they were doing this, they found that the tomb of the blessed Cid, if they left it where it was, which was in front of the door of the Sacristy, |