The Song of Side, an old Spanish epic, is distinguished from others by the restraint of the hero, the plausibility of his adventures, and the absence of supernatural elements. Sid is shown as an excellent example of patience: he takes his time in battles and prefers to think about his every move. This article summarizes "Songs of My Side," the historical background and analysis of the work.
History of creation
The Song of Side is the oldest Spanish poem. It is based on the real story of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, known as El Cid, and this happens during the Spanish Reconquista (the conquest of land by Christians from the Moors in the Pyrenees). The Reconquista ended when the last Moorish ruler was expelled from the Pyrenees - in 1482.
“A Song of Side” is the first, well-known literary work written in Romance. They attribute it to about 1200. This is the oldest Spanish poem that has been preserved almost completely. The first page of the original was lost, as well as 50 lines in the text.
The “song” is supposedly composed of 3,735 lines of varying lengths. It is not strictly divided into stanzas; the text flows like one long stanza - divided into paragraphs of various lengths from 3 to 193 lines. Poems are grouped in rhyme: assonance is a very ancient technique. It is found in many medieval poems in Latin, in French epics, in Spanish ballads.
Poetic tricks
The “Song of Side,” which is summarized below, was originally an oral epic. And the person who read it to the public needed to be not just a reader, but also a great actor. In this, of course, the abundance of direct speech in the poem helped him, its characters become understandable and close to the reader and listeners. The image of Sid is clearly presented: when he speaks, prays, speaks to warriors, or to his wife and daughters.
Another poetic trick in “Song” is repetition. The narrator repeats the line twice, sometimes briefly summarizes. He does this in order to emphasize the importance of the event.
Another feature of the epic “Song of My Side” is the abundance of epithets: for each eight lines there is one epithet, more than half of them refer to Sid, the rest to other characters or cities.
Language and style
It is difficult to determine in which dialect the poem is written, since there is nothing to compare - there are no texts of the same time and place. Presumably, the author was originally from Medinaceli, from the southeast of Castile, and wrote in Burgos. The poem has many words that relate to military affairs and legal proceedings. Many words of Arabic origin. There are French and Provencal words.
A distinctive feature of language is concreteness. Often mentioned by the author are words such as “see,” “speak,” and so on. Instead of the expression “all people”, “Moors and Christians” is used. This gives the language a special colorfulness - the words indicate the emotions and gestures of the hero.
The language of the poem is clear and simple. But the author showed himself to be a true master of the word. There are no superfluous adjectives, metamorphic digressions. Even when the battle is verbose described in Song, the author does this solely to give clear outlines to heroic events.
“A Song of My Side” is a heroic epic, but the author allows himself to make “non-heroic” retreats: dinner, the need to replenish food supplies, etc. The poet does not tell what the city of Kardenya looked like when Sid went into exile, he simply tells vivid details: the bells rang, the wife threw herself on the steps of the altar. These brief details add richness and vividness to the events of that era.
Composition
Continuing the analysis of "Songs of My Side", we consider the compositional features of the poem. It begins with the expulsion of Sid after being accused of theft - this is dishonor. The titles and lands of Sid are also taken away. After the conquest of Valencia, he receives a royal pardon, restores his land and is called the Lord of Valencia. To confirm their new lordship, his daughters married the infants Carrion.
However, this turned into a tragedy: his daughters were beaten and left to die in Korp. Their marriage to the Carrion infants was annulled, and the daughters of Sid, restoring their lost honor, remarry the Spanish princes. Thus, the "song" can be divided into three parts:
- Sid is expelled from Castile, leaves his family and begins a military campaign to restore his honor.
- Sid conquered Valencia, his daughters marry the infants Carrion, although Sid does not have confidence in them.
- The Infants of Carrion leave Sid's daughters beaten in the middle of the country. He asks the king for judgment against them and wins. His daughters are promised to the heirs of Navarra and Aragon.
Below, in a brief summary of “Songs of Side,” let us try to trace the key events of this poem.
Exile
Rodrigo de Bivar, nicknamed Cid, lost the favor of his king, and was sent into exile. Sid was given nine days to leave Castilian lands, after which the royal squad had the right to kill him. Having gathered all the relatives, warriors and vassals, Sid went to Burgos. But the inhabitants of the city refused him refuge. Only Martin Antolines sent them wine and bread, and then he himself joined the Sid camp.
There was no money, but the squad needed to be fed, and Sid decided to cheat: he ordered to knock down two caskets, cover them with skin, fill them with sand and tightly close them. With them, he sent Martin to Burgos to the usurers, claiming that the stolen gold was in the chests. Judah and Rachel believed Martin and sent him six hundred marks.
Sid left his daughters and wife in the monastery of San Pedro, having prayed and said goodbye to them, Sid went on a journey. Meanwhile, the news spread over Castile that Sid went to the Moorish lands. And many courageous warriors rushed to him, eager for adventure and easy profit.
One hundred and fifteen knights joined Sid, and he promised that exploits and untold riches await them. On the way of his squad lay the city of Castejon. Alvar, a relative of Sid, offered to capture him. The city was taken, and the booty was so large that the equestrian soldiers got 100 marks, fifty on foot. Castejon liked Sid, but for a long time it was impossible to stay here, since there was no water in the fortress.
Sid's Conquests
We continue the summary of “Song of Side” with stories about the hero’s glorious campaigns. Sid decided to camp near the city of Alcoser, and raided local villages. The city was beautifully fortified, it was beyond Sid's strength to take it, and he went on a trick. Pretended to be removed from the parking lot and retreating, the opponents rushed after him and left the city without protection. Then Sid burst with his knights into Alcoser.
In fear of him, the inhabitants of nearby cities turned to the king of Valencia, Tamina, for help. He sent three thousand Saracens. But Sid's squad won this brutal battle, the Christians captured the infidels and received unprecedented prey.
Sid called Alvar and ordered him to go to King Alphonse and present him with thirty best horses in a rich harness. The king accepted his gift, but said that the time to forgive had not yet arrived. But he will not punish those who deign to join Sid's army. And he, meanwhile, moved on, robbing the surrounding areas. Soon, the possessions of the Count of Barcelona Raimund were devastated. Count captured, but released him without a ransom, taking only a precious sword.
Forgiveness of the king
We continue the summary of “Songs of My Side”. Sid's squad spent three years in endless raids. There was no knight left who could not call himself rich. But Sid decided to conquer Valencia. He overlaid the city and held it under siege for nine months. The Valencians surrendered. One fifth of all production fell to Sidu.
The king of Seville, having heard that the Christians had seized Valencia, sent an army of Saracens there. Sid defeated them. Then he sent Alvar once more to the king. Alphonse could not resist the rich gifts and promised to release the wife and daughters of Sid. Alvar stopped by them and brought the good news that they would soon meet with her husband and father. Along the way, I drove to Judah and Rachel, who cried over the chests with sand, and fully compensated them for the damage.
The marriage of daughters
We continue the summary of “Songs of My Side” with the story of how the Carryon infants, sons of the enemy, were seduced by his riches. And although they believed that Sid was no match for them, they got hold of his daughters. The Moroccan king Yusuf gathered a fifty thousandth army and landed near Valencia. Sid won a tough battle and sent rich gifts to King Alphonse in gratitude for his wife and daughters.
Then the infants of Carrion approached the king with a request for matchmaking. The king publicly announced their engagement. Sid invited everyone to the wedding. For two years, son-in-law lived with Sid, surrounded by honor. But somehow a misfortune happened - a lion burst out of the cage, the infants hid somewhere, and all the knights began to taunt them openly.
After some time, a Moroccan army appeared near Valencia. Sid's sons-in-law showed themselves to be cowards in battle and requested home. Sid gave them many treasures, but they conceived the evil. Once they ordered their people to go forward, saying that they want to be alone with their wives. No matter how the noble daughters of Sid cried out for mercy, but the bastards beat them and threw them into the forest.
Among the travelers was their cousin, he was worried about the lack of sisters and went in search of them. Found them at the place of spending the night in unconsciousness. The Infants returned to Castile and boasted to everyone that they had insulted Sid. The king grieved for his soul. Sid sent ambassadors to him - since he had seized his daughters for the unworthy Carryonians, now he should also resolve the dispute between them and Sid. But with the offenders was the cunning and treacherous father of Count Garcia.
God punished the guilty
We conclude the summary of “Songs of My Side” with a story about the king’s fair decision. He ordered only the priceless swords and treasures that Sid endowed them to be returned. But the offenders hoped in vain that they would return the wealth, and he would calm down. The ambassadors came forward and demanded that the Carrionians, in a duel with them, wash away the shame inflicted on the daughters of Sid.
Scheduled fights by the rules. One of them surrendered to the noble Don Pedro, the second fled in fear, and the third Carrionite surrendered. So God's judgment punished the guilty. Meanwhile, ambassadors from Aragon and Navarra arrived at the king and asked to give the daughters of Sid for their infants. These marriages were happy. Spanish kings still honor the memory of their great ancestor Sid.