XI. How King the Wise body of the XXII. The body of the Cid remained in the vault wherein it BOOK had been placed as ye have heard, till the year of the Incarnation 1272, when King Don Alfonso the Wise, for the great Don Alfonso reverence which he bore the memory of the Cid his forefather, removed the ordered a coffin to be made for him, which was hewn out of two Cid. 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, being, according as it is said, composed by King Don Alfonso himself. BELLIGER, INVICTUS, FAMOSUS MARTE TRIUMPHIS, And upon his tomb he ordered these verses to be graven also: QUANTUM ROMA POTENS BELLICIS EXTOLLITUR ACTIS, 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 5.32.384. Berganza. 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. BOOK battle which I won. I am he who won the swords Colada and XI. Of the secondremoval and how it to remove it again. Tizona. God be praised, Amen. XXIII. The body of the Cid remained here till the year of of the body, the Incarnation 1447, when the Abbot Don Pedro del Burgo was resolved 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 honour 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, before the steps of the altar, it would neither be seemly for the service of the altar, because it was in the way thereof, nor for his dignity, by reason that they might stumble against it;.. moreover it was fallen somewhat to decay, and set badly upon the stone lions which supported it; and there were other knights placed above him. Whereupon the Abbot, Prior, Monks, and Convent, resolved that they would translate his body, and remove the other tombs to places convenient for them, holding that it was not meet that those who neither in their exploits nor in holiness had equalled him in life, should have precedency of him after death. And they were of accord that the day of this translation should not be made public, knowing how great the number would be of knights and other persons who would be desirous of being at this festival, for which cause they doubted least some misadventure would betide of tumults and deaths, or XI. Berganza. F. Lope de Frias. monies be fore the lid of the tomb was lifted. scandals, such as are wont to happen on such occasions; they BOOK were therefore minded to do this thing without giving knowledge thereof to any but those who were in the Monastery, who were of many nations and conditions, and who were enow to bear testimony when it was done; for there was no lack there, besides the religious, of knights, squires, hidalgos, labourers, and folk of the city and the district round about, and Biscayans and 5. 33. 396. mountaineers, and men of Burgundy and of France. XXIV. So on Thursday, the eighth day of Epiphany, being of the corethe thirteenth day of January in the year of our Lord 1541, and at the hour of complines, the Abbot and Convent being assembled, together with serving-men and artificers who were called for this purpose, they made that night wooden biers that the tomb might be moved more easily and reverently, and with less danger. And on the morrow, which was Friday, the fourteenth day of the said month and year, the Convent having said primes, and the mass of Our Lady, according to custom, and the Abbot Fray Lope de Frias, who was a native of Velorado, having confessed and said mass, the doors of the Church being open, and the altar richly drest, and the bells ringing as they are wont to do upon great festivals, at eight in the morning there assembled in the Church all the brethren of the Monastery, nineteen in number, the other fifteen being absent each in his avocation; and there were present with them Sancho de Ocaña, Merino and Chief Justice of the Monastery; Juan de Rosales, Pedro de Ruseras, and Juan Ruyz, squires of the house; master Ochoa de Artiaga, a mason, with his men; Andres de Carnica, and Domingo de Artiaga, master Pablo and master Borgoñon, stone-cutters, with their men; and master Juan, a smith, with his; and all the other workmen and serving-men and traders. who were in the house. And the Abbot being clad in rich vestments, and the ministers and acolites with him, with cross, XI. BOOK candles, and torches burning, went all in procession to Our Lady's altar, where the sacrament was at that time kept, because of the repairs which were going on in the great Chapel; and all kneeling on their knees, and having recited the Paternoster and Ave-maria, the Abbot gave a sign, and the Precentor of the Convent began in plain descant the antiphony Salvator Mundi. And when the whole Convent had sung this, the Abbot said the verse Ostende nobis, and the verse Post partum virgo, and the prayer Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui es omnium dubitantium certitudo, and the prayer Deus qui salutis æternæ, demanding the grace and favour of the Lord. When this was done they returned in procession to the great Chapel, before the tomb of the blessed Cid, and then the choir began the anthem Mirabilis Deus, saying it to the organ. And while this was singing in great accord, the workmen stood ready with their instruments in hand, to lift off the upper stone of the coffin, because it was well nigh impossible to remove the whole together, and also because the Abbot, Prior, and Convent, had resolved to see that holy body and relicks, by reason of the devotion which they bore to the blessed Cid, and that they might bear testimony in what manner he lay in that tomb, wherein he had been deposited so many years ago, as behoved them for the honour of the Cid and the authority of the Monastery. F. Lope de How the shird trans lation was performed. XXV. When the anthem was finished, the Abbot said the verse Exultabunt sancti in gloria, and the prayer Deus qui es tuorum gloria servorum. And when all had said Amen, the Abbot himself, with a little bar of iron, began first to move the lid of the stone coffin; and then the workmen and others easily lifted it off upon the bier, and thus the tomb was laid open; and there appeared within it a coffin of wood fastened down with gilt nails, the hair of the coffin being entirely gone, and great part of the wood decayed also. Within this coffin was the holy XI. body, now well nigh consumed, nothing but the bones remaining BOOK entire. On some of the bones the flesh was still remaining, not discoloured, but with a rosy colour, and the bones were of the same rosy colour, and the flesh also which had fallen from them. The body was wrapt in a sendal wrought after the Moorish fashion, with sword and spear by its side, as tokens of knighthood. As soon as the coffin was opened there issued forth a good odour, and comforting fragrance. It appeared that no part of the body was wanting; but this was not narrowly examined, by reason of the reverence which they bore it. After all this had been seen well and leisurely by all those who were present, the Abbot and his ministers passed a clean sheet under the coffin, and collecting into it all the bones and holy dust, covered it with another sheet, and took it out, and laid it upon the high altar, with candles and torches on each side; and in this manner it remained there all day, till it was time to deposit it in the. tomb. And all this while the choristers sung to the organ, and the organ responded. And when the body was laid upon the altar, the Abbot said the verse Mirabilis Deus, and the prayer Magnificet te Domine sanctorum tuorum beata solemnitas. And when this was done he went and disrobed himself of his sacred vestments. And the workmen went and removed the stone lions, and placed them in the place where they were to be, and the tomb upon them. And the Convent went to perform divine service, which was celebrated that day at all the hours with a full choir. And at the hour accustomed, after this was done, the Abbot and the Convent invited all who were there present to be their guests, giving a right solemn feast to all; and the chief persons dined with the Convent in the Refectory. And that same day in the evening, after vespers, when it was about four o'clock, the workmen had removed the stone lions, and placed the tomb upon them, and laid the lid of the tomb |