I. St. Andre's, and buried there and in their Monastery as many BOOK as had died during the siege, either of arrow-wounds or by lances, or of their own infirmities. So they came before him and gave him joy of his conquest; and he said unto them, Take ye now of this city as much as ye desire, since by God's favor and your council I have won it. 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 favor and dwell among Christians. Only for the love of God, and for the remedy of your own soul, give us one church with its dwelling houses within the city, and confirm unto us the gifts made to us in old times by your forefathers, and the good men to whom God give a happy rest. With that the King turned to his sons and his soldiers, and said, Of a truth, by our Creator, these who desire so little are men of God. I would have given them half the city, and they will have only a single church! Now therefore, since they require but this, on the part of God Almighty let us grant and confirm unto them what they ask, to the honor of God and St. Mamede. And the brethren brought him their charters of King Ramiro, and King Bermudo, and King Alfonso, and of Gonzalo Moniz, who was a knight and married a daughter of King Bermudo, and of other good men. And the King confirmed them, and he bade them make a writing of all which had passed between him and them at the siege of Coimbra; and when they brought him the writing, they brought him also a crown of silver and of gold, which had been King Bermudo's, and which Gonzalo Moniz had given to the Monastery in honor of God and St. Mamede. The King saw the crown, how it was set with precious stones, and said to them, To what end bring ye hither this crown? And they said, That you should take it, Sire, in return for the good which you have done us. But he answered, Far be it from me that I should take from your Monastery what the good men before me have given to it! Take ye back the crown, and also ten marks of I. BOOK silver, and make with the money a good cross, to remain with you forever. And he who shall befriend you, may God befriend him; but he who shall disturb you or your Monastery, may he be cursed by the living God and by his Saints. So the King signed the writing which he had commanded to be made, and his sons and chief captains signed' it also, and in the writing he enjoined his children and his children's children, as many as should come after him, to honor and protect the Monastery of Lorvam, upon his blessing he charged them so to do, because he had found the brethren better than all the other Monks in his Brito Mon. Lus.2.7.28. dominions. The history of the siege of Coimbra, as far as the Monks of Lorvam are concerned, is preserved in this very writing, to which among other witnesses, the name of Rodrigo Diaz appears. Brito has printed the original Latin in the Monarchia Lusitana. P. 2. L. 7. C. 28. Its authenticity has never I believe been called in question; the Latin is barbarous, and contains one Arabic word, which was disused at a very early period; it differs from the Ballads and Chronicles, in assigning seven months to the siege, instead of seven years, and is in other respects authenticated by other records. There is however one passage which at first appears suspicious. The Monks in asking leave of the Moors to make their pilgrimage say, Volumus ire ad SANCTUM DOMINICUM facere orationem pro peccatis nostris. Sanctum Dominicum has been literally rendered St. Domingo; but Brito has perceived the error, for neither of the St. Domingos were then born. Dominicum, he says, is here used in its ancient signification, for a church; and the church thus called for distinction, is probably that of San Salvador at Oviedo, then the most famous in Spain for its treasury of relics. Sandoval explains it in the same manner, but accounts less satisfactorily for his explanation. He translates the words Santo Domingo, and says in a marginal note, Santo Domingo seria Oviedo, que por excelencia se diria Sanctum Dominicum, primer Santo del Señor. The document is very valuable, and that not merely because it gives a fuller and more authentic account of the conquest of Coimbra than is elsewhere to be found. It proves that the Kings of Leon had possession of this district at an early age; that the Christians were tolerated with the utmost freedom by the Moorish conquerors; and that the conquerors had good reason to repent of their toleration. I. How Ro XVIII. Then King Don Ferrando knighted Rodrigo of BOOK Bivar in the great mosque of Coimbra, which he dedicated to St. Mary. And the ceremony was after this manner: drigo was the King girded on his sword, and gave him the kiss,' but knighted. not the blow. To do him more honor the Queen gave him his horse, and the Infanta, Doña Urraca fastened on his spurs; and from that day forth he was called Ruydiez.' Then the King commanded him to knight nine noble squires with his own hand; and he took his sword before the altar, and knighted them. 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. But during the siege he had come to the King's service, and bestirred himself well against the Moors; and therefore the King took him into his favor, and gave him the city to keep, which he kept, and did much evil to the Moors till the day of his death. And the Cid.cap.14. King departed and went to Compostella to return thanks to ff. 199. Santiago. Chr. del Escobar XIX. But then Benalfagi, who was the Lord of many of the taklands in Estremadura, gathered together a great power of temor. ing of Mon. the Moors and built up the walls of Montemor, and from thence waged war against Coimbra, so that they of Coimbra called upon the King for help. And the King came up 1 The blow was given with the hand upon the neck, and with these words, Despertad, y no os durmais en las cosas de Cavalleria, — Awake, and sleep not in affairs of knighthood. Berganza. 5. 11. § 142. He adds that the King omitted this, knowing well that the Cid needed no such exhortation. Ruy is merely the abbreviation of Rodrigo. Berganza (5. 11. § 142.) infers from this passage, that they who aspired to knighthood were called only by their baptismal names, and did not assume the patronymic till they had received the order; in signification that they were not to pride themselves upon hereditary honor till they were able to support it. I. BOOK against the town, and fought against it, and took it. Great honor did Ruydiez win at that siege; for having to protect the foragers, the enemy came out upon him, and thrice in one day was he beset by them; but he, though sorely pressed by them, and in great peril, nevertheless would not Brito Mon. send to the camp for succor, but put forth his manhood Lus.2.7.28. and defeated them. And from that day the King gave more Chr. Gen. power into his hands, and made him head over all his household. Chr. del Cid.cap.17. ff. 200. How Ruydiez was called the Cid. XX. Now the men of Leon besought the King that he would repeople Zamora, which had lain desolate since it was destroyed by Almanzor. And he went thither and peopled the city, and gave to it good privileges. And while he was there came messengers from the five Kings who were vassals to Ruydiez of Bivar, bringing him their tribute; and they came to him, he being with the King, and called him Cid, which signifyeth Lord, and would have kissed his hands, but he would not give them his hand till they had kissed the hand of the King. And Ruydiez took the tribute, and offered the fifth thereof to the King, in token of his sovereignty; and the King thanked him, but would not receive it, and from that time he ordered that Cid.cap.19. Chr. Gen. Ruydiez should be called the Cid, because the Moors had so Chr. del ff. 201. How the Emperor demanded called him. XXI. In those days Pope Victor II. held a council at Florence, and the Emperor Henry there made his comtribute of plaint against King Don Ferrando, that he did not acSpain. knowledge his sovereignty, and pay him tribute, like all other Kings; and he besought the Pope to admonish him so to do. And the Pope being a German, and the friend of Henry, sent to the King to admonish him, and told him that unless he obeyed he would proclaim a crusade against him ; and in like manner the Emperor, and the King of France, and the other Kings, sent to exhort him to obedience, defying him if he should refuse. When the King saw their letters he was troubled, for he knew that if this thing were I. done, great evil would follow to Castille and Leon. And BOOK he took counsel with his honorable men. They seeing. on the one hand the great power of the Church, and on the other the great evil that it would be if Castille and Leon should be made tributary, knew not what counsel to give; howbeit at length they said to him that he should do the Pope's bidding. At this council the Cid was not present, for he had lately completed his marriage with Doña Ximena Gomez, and was then with her; but at this time he arrived, and the King showed him the letters, and told him the matter how it then stood, and what had been the advice of his good men, and besought him to speak his advice, as a good and true vassal to his Lord. 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 honor which God hath given you, and whatever good he hath done to you, is lost if it should be so. And, Sir, whoever hath given you this counsel is not a true man, neither one who regardeth your honor nor your power. But send to defy them since they will have it so, and let us carry the war home to them. You shall take with you five thousand knights, all of whom are hidalgos, and the Moorish Kings who are your vassals will give you two thousand knights; and, Sir, you are such a one as God loves, and he will not that your honor should perish. And the King thought that Chr. del Cid.cap.21. he was well counselled by him, for the King was of a great Chr. Gen. ff. 202. heart. XXII. Then the King ordered letters to be written, in Of the anwhich he besought the Pope not to proceed farther against the King 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 So, but would rather all die. Moreover he sent his letters be swer which sent. |