III. Chr. del Chr. Gen. King went with him. And the King detained his messengers, giving BOOK them no reply, and went on advancing into the land, doing no hurt therein. And when he came to Olias, he ordered the whole army to halt. And when the King of Cordova knew that King Don Alfonso was coming, he rose up from before Toledo, and fled away, and the men of Toledo pur- Cid.cap.82. sued him, and inflicted great loss upon him in his flight. ff. 222. XIV. And when the army had halted at Olias, the King How the called for the messengers of Alimaymon, and took with him into Toledo. five knights, and rode to Toledo. And when they came to gate which is called Visagra, the messengers who went with him made him enter the town, and he sent one of them to tell the King that he was there, and went on in the mean time towards the Alcazar. And when King Alimaymon heard this, he would not wait till a beast should be brought him that he might ride, but set out on foot and went to meet him; and as he was going out he met King Don Alfonso, and they embraced each other. And the King of Toledo kissed King Don Alfonso's shoulder, for the joy and pleasure that he had in his heart at seeing him; and he gave thanks to God for what he had done to King Don Alfonso, and thanked him also for the truth which was in him, in coming thus to his deliverance, and for remembering the oath which they had made each to the other. And they rejoiced together all that night, and great was the joy of the people of Toledo, because of the love which King Don Alfonso bore toward their Lord. But great was the sorrow in the host of the Castilians, for they never thought to see their Lord again; and they thought Chr. del that he had committed a great folly in thus putting himself Cid.cap.83. into the power of the Moors. XV. On the morrow, King Don Alfonso besought King Of the noble dealing Alimaymon that he would go and eat with him at Olias, of the King with Alyand see how he came to help him. And they went both together with a little company, and when they of the host saw their lord they were all right joyful, and the two Kings Chr. Gen. ff. 222. maymon. III. BOOK went through the camp, and they sat down to eat in the tent of the King, which was a large one. And while they were at meat King Don Alfonso gave order in secret that five hundred knights should arm themselves and surround the tent. And when the King of Toledo saw these armed knights, and that the tent was surrounded, he was in great fear, and he asked of King Don Alfonso what it should be; and the King bade him eat, and said, that afterwards they would tell him. And after they had eaten, King Don Alfonso said to Alimaymon, You made me swear and promise when you had me in Toledo in your power, and no evil should ever come against you on my part: now since I have you in my power I will that you release me from this oath and covenant. And the King of Toledo consented to release him, and besought him to do him no other wrong, and he acquitted him from the promise three times. And when he had done this King Don Alfonso called for the book of the Gospels, and said unto him, Now then that you are in my power, I swear and promise unto you, never to go against you, nor against your son, and to aid you against all other men in the world. And I make this oath unto you because there was reason why I should have broken that other one, seeing that it was made when I was in your hands; but against this I must not go, for I make it when you are in mine, and I could do with you even whatever pleased me; and he laid his hands upon the book, and swore even as he had said. Right joyful was the King of Toledo at this which King Don Alfonso had done, for the loyalty which he had shown towards him. And they remained that night together; and on the morrow Alimaymon returned to his city full gladly, and King Don Alfonso made his host move on towards Cordova, and Alimaymon went with him; and they overran the land, and burnt towns and villages, and destroyed castles, and plundered whatever they could find; and they returned each into his own country with great spoils. And from thenceforward the King of Cordova durst no more attack the King of Toledo. Chr. del Cid. cap. 84. 85. Chr. Gen. ff. 223. III. How my XVI. In the following years nothing is found to be BOOK related, save that my Cid did battle by command of the King, with a knight called Ximen Garcia de Tiogelos, who Cid won was one of the best of Navarre: they fought for the castle many batof Pazluengas, and for two other castles, and my Cid conquered him, and the King Don Alfonso had the castles. And after this my Cid did battle in Medina Celi, with a Moor called Faras, who was a good knight in arms, and he defeated and slew him and another also. And in the fifth year of the reign of King Don Alfonso, the King sent the Cid to the Kings of Seville and of Cordova, for the tribute which they were bound to pay him. Now there was at this time war between Almocanis King of Seville, and Almundafar King of Granada, and with Almundafar were these men of Castille, the Count Don Garcia Ordoñez, and Fortun Sanchez, the son-in-law of King Don Garcia of Navarre, and Lope Sanchez his brother, and Diego Perez, one of the best men of Castille; and they aided him all that they could, and went against the King of Seville. And when my Cid knew this it troubled him, and he sent unto them requiring them not to go against the King of Seville, nor to destroy his country, because he was King Don Alfonso's vassal; otherwise the King must defend him. And the King of Granada and the Ricos-omes who were with him, cared nothing for his letters, but entered boldly into the land of Seville, and advanced as far as Cabra, burning and laying waste before them. When the Cid saw this, he gathered together what Christians he could, and went against them. And the King of Granada and the Christians who were with him, sent to tell him that they would not go out of the country for him. And the wrath of the Cid was kindled, and he went against them, and fought with them in the field, and the battle lasted from the hour of tierce even until the hour of sexts; and many died upon the part of the King of Granada, and at length my Cid overcame them, and made them take to flight. And Count Garcia Ordoñez was taken III. BOOK prisoner, and Lope Sanchez, and Diego Perez, and many other knights, and of other men so many that they were out of number; and the dead were so many that no man could count them; and the spoils of the field were very great. And the Cid held these good men prisoners three days,' and then set them free, and he returned with great honor and great riches to Seville. And King Almocanis received him full honorably, and gave him great gifts for himself, and paid him the full tribute for the King; and he returned rich to Castille, and with great honor. And King Don Alfonso was well pleased with the good fortune of the Cid in all his feats; but there were many who wished ill to him, and sought to set the King against him. Chr. del Cid. cap. 86. 87. Chr. Gen. ff. 223. Don Alfon so was made wroth with the Cid. 2 How King XVII. After this King Don Alfonso assembled together all his power and went against the Moors. And the Cid should have gone with him, but he fell sick and perforce therefore abode at home. And while the King was going through Andalusia, having the land at his mercy, a great power of the Moors assembled together on the other side, and entered the land, and besieged the castle of Gormaz, and did much evil. At this time the Cid was gathering strength; and when he heard that the Moors were in the country, laying waste before them, he gathered together It was a custom that the victor should remain three days upon the field of battle, in proof of his victory and this seems to have been the Cid's reason for detaining his prisoners thus long. A disgraceful instance of this custom will be found in the history of Affonso V. of Portugal, who remained three days upon the field at Alfarrobeira, after he had slain the Infante Don Pedro, his uncle, guardian, and father in law, the best and ablest man that ever Portugal produced. 2 In recompense for these services, Alfonso granted a privilege to the Cid, confirming to him all his possessions, and declaring them free from all imposts the town of Bivar is especially mentioned. This privilege bears date July 28, 1075; it is preserved at Bivar, and in reverence for the Cid's memory has been confirmed by all the subsequent kings of Castille, down to Philip V. and is probably continued to this day. Berganza 5. 14. § 196. III. what force he could, and went after them; and the Moors, BOOK when they heard this, dared not abide his coming, but began to fly. And the Cid followed them to Atienza, and to Siguenza, and Fita, and Guadalajara, and through the whole land of St. Esteban, as far as Toledo, slaying and burning, and plundering and destroying, and laying hands on all whom he found, so that he brought back seven thousand prisoners, men and women; and he and all his people returned rich and with great honor. But when the King of Toledo heard of the hurt which he had received at the hands of the Cid, he sent to King Don Alfonso to complain thereof, and the King was greatly troubled. And then the Ricos-omes who wished ill to the Cid, had the way open to do him evil with the King, and they said to the King, Sir, Ruydiez hath broken your faith, and the oath and promise which you made to the King of Toledo: and he hath done this for no other reason but that the Moors of Toledo may fall upon us here, and slay both you and us. And the King believed what they said, and was wroth against the Cid, having no love towards him because of the oath which he had pressed upon him at Burgos concerning the death of Chr. del King Don Sancho his brother. And he went with all speed to 88. 89. Burgos, and sent from thence to bid the Cid come unto him. ff. 224. XVIII. Now my Cid knew the evil disposition of the How the King towards him, and when he received his bidding, he wrongfully made answer that he would meet him between Burgos and Bivar. And the King went out from Burgos and came nigh unto Bivar; and the Cid came up to him and would have kissed his hand, but the King withheld it, and said angrily unto him, Ruydiez, quit my land. Then the Cid clapt spurs to the mule upon which he rode, and vaulted into a piece of ground which was his own inheritance, and answered, Sir, I am not in your land, but in my own. And the King replied full wrathfully, Go out of my kingdoms without any delay. And the Cid made answer, Give me then thirty days time, as is the right of the hidalgos; and the King said he would Cid. cap. Chr. Gen. Cid was banished. |