The Poem of the Cid (The Song of the Cid)

Diego and Fernando decide to ask leave of the Cid to head home with their new wealth. Once out of his reach, they plot to kill their wives and “marry the daughters of kings or emperors” (177) with the new wealth they have acquired. The Cid, unaware of their plan, agrees and offers them even more wealth for their return. As the daughters leave, they beg their father to send messages, to which he agrees. Their mother blesses them, and everyone “Could see these marriages were far from perfect” (181), so the Cid sends his nephew, Félix Muñoz, to escort them and report back. The Cid himself escorts the girls as far as possible then turns back, but first asks Félix to stop in Molina and ask his friend Abengalbón to accommodate them. When they stop in Molina, Abengalbón welcomes them and escorts them further along the coast. The sons-in-law see his wealth and decide to kill Abengalbón as well as the daughters, but one of the Moors who understands Spanish overhears them and tells Abengalbón of their treasonous plot.

Abengalbón confronts them directly with an army of two hundred men, saying “I’ve gone far out of my way [for you]—and you’re planning my death?” (183). Only love for the Cid stops him from killing them, and he abandons them on the road, returning to Molina. The travelers continue hurriedly, entering a dangerous forest. They find a clearing and camp for the night, “often embracing their wives, and showing their love” (185), but in the morning they order everyone to leave except their wives. All alone, they order the girls to strip to their undergarments, and they beat the girls savagely with leather straps despite their pleas for mercy. Beaten and bloody, Sol and Elvira are left for dead on the forest floor as the Carrións ride away, satisfied that they had their revenge “for that lion business” (189).

Meanwhile, the girls’ cousin Félix had separated from the troupe, not wanting to leave. Deep in the woods, he overhears the Carrións passing by, retraces their tracks, and finds his cousins, “both half-dead” (191). He rouses them, despite their state of shock and suffering, and gives them water. Eventually he gets both girls on his horse and leads them out of the mountains by the end of the day. They find shelter first in Doña Urraca’s tower, then in San Esteban with Diego Téllez, who takes good care of them until they can recover. The Carrións return home, boasting to King Alfonso. News also reaches the Cid, who spends “a long, long time thinking it over” (193), before thanking Christ for the “honor” (193) he has had from the Carrión heirs.

The Cid sends Minaya and his best men to retrieve his daughters, who are grateful to see him. Pedro Bermúdez comforts them saying, “You’re healthy, you’re alive, there’s no need to worry” (195). The Cid and his allies promise revenge and ride out the next day, staying one night with Abengalbón and returning to Valencia the next. The Cid welcomes them with joy and later meets with his best men to discuss how to broach the topic with the king.

The Cid sends a message to the king with Muño Gustioz, explaining the dishonor and asking for justice. Muño is welcomed at court and recounts what happened to the girls, saying, “[Y]ou have been dishonored still more than my Cid, / and it is you, wise king, on whom we call” (199). The king agrees, regretting the marriage match he made to help the Cid, and he calls all men with titles to court. He sends a message to the Cid, inviting him to come to Toledo in seven weeks and asking him to be patient. The Carrións are scared to face the Cid in Toledo, but the king does not grant them an exception. They discuss the problem as a family, including the Cid’s enemy, Don García. The time comes and all the counts gather, including the Carrións and their men who, according to the narrator, “Assembled for assaulting my Cid, the Warrior” (203). The Cid arrives five days late with a large entourage of his best knights, and the king rides out to meet him.

The King grants the Cid permission to arrive the next day after all his men have arrived and they have a chance to pray at San Servando. The Cid chooses his best knights and a hundred men, advising them on how to dress for battle. He himself puts on his best clothes, wears a linen cap so no one can pull his hair, and binds his beard so that “whoever might want to pull his beard couldn’t” (209). When he arrives, everyone at court stands for him except the Carrións. The king offers him a seat on his bench, saying “you’re better than us all!” (209), but the Cid humbly refuses. King Alfonso is pleased and calls court to order to give the Cid “justice against the Carrión heirs” (211), asking Count Don Enrique and Count Don Ramón, among others, to stand as judges. The Cid begins, saying the desertion of his daughters brings dishonor on the king, not himself, since the king gave the girls away in marriage. Instead, he first asks for his two swords back, Colada and Tizón, to which the judges agree and the Carrións concede, thinking “once he’s gotten them, he’ll leave the court” (213). The Cid gives Tizón to his nephew Pedro Bermúdez, and Colada to Martín Antolínez.

Next, he asks for the three thousand marks he gave as a dowry to be reimbursed, and the Carrións try to refuse, having already spent that money. They are compelled by the court to repay them in kind, with racing horses, mules, palfreys, and swords, along with some help from the king. Finally, the Cid submits his “most bitter complaint” (215), seeking revenge for the brutal beating and abandonment of his daughters in the Corpes forest. Don García insults the Cid’s beard and says the daughters are not good enough to be mistresses of the Carrións. The Cid retorts, insisting no one has ever pulled his beard, but that he and “every single Moorish boy” (219) took their turn pulling Don García’s beard in Cabra castle. Fernando insists they had a right to abandon his daughters because it raised their reputation; as Carrión heirs, they “ought to be married to the daughters of kings, or emperors” (221). Pedro Bermúdez accuses Fernando of lying, showing how association with the Cid bettered their reputations. He reminds Fernando of his cowardice on the battlefield at Valencia and how he hid under a couch from the lion. Pedro invites him to fight in the names of Doña Elvira and Doña Sol. Diego speaks, claiming the marriages should have never happened and that the girls will forever be humiliated, while Martín Antolínez reminds him of his cowardice in front of the lion and challenges him to fight.

The brothers’ kin Ansur arrives, whose “face [is] beet red, from eating and drinking” (225). He insults the Cid, so Muño Gustioz insults him for his gluttony and lies and challenges him to a fight. They move to proceed to combat, but suddenly messengers from the Princes of Navarre and Aragon arrive. They ask the Cid “for his daughters as queens of Aragon and Navarre” (227). As before, the Cid allows the king to decide, who gives it his blessing. With that settled, Minaya arises and addresses his “profound quarrel” (229) with the Carrións, accusing them of being traitors and pleased to see they will now have to serve the girls as subjects. But only the previous three accusers will fight the next day. The Cid asks to return home to Valencia. Due to a lost page, there is a break in the narrative, which resumes with the king and the Cid bidding farewell.

Three weeks later, the fighters meet in Carrión. The Cid’s men prepared for the fight as “three who were as one, serving one lord” (237), while the Carrións unsuccessfully try to bar the knights from using Colada and Tizón. The king warns the Carrións to fight fair, and the boundaries are set on the battlefield. The fight begins, each man charging the other. Pedro wounds Fernando with the lance, knocking him off his horse. Fernando concedes when he sees Pedro draw Tizón, and that battle finishes. Martín Antolínez fights Diego González, smashing his helmet with Colada and slightly wounding him, but Diego flees the field terrified, forfeiting the battle. Finally, Muño Gustioz battles Ansur, knocking him from his horse and winning the match.

The victors return home to Valencia that same night, having “shamed the Carrión heirs” (245). The Cid is pleased his daughters have been avenged and turns to planning their upcoming weddings. They eventually become queens of Aragon and Navarre. For the Cid, “two Spanish kings were his close relations” (245) and he brought them honor. The Cid dies around Pentecost, and the narrator concludes the tale.