The Van Buren press., 1898-08-13
The Cid Of Spanish Legend
By FRANK WALLER ALLEN.


THE Cid of Spanish ballad, the Cid
of legend, romance and drama,
the Cid Of hundred thousand battles,
the Cid of famous Spanish epic, the Cid
invoked by all Spaniards, good and
bad, at ali times when the nation is in
danger, and whose very name inspires
the tired soldier on to victory, and has
ever been perpetual in inspiring Span
ish patriotism, is a neurological char
acter in Spanish tradition that has
doubtless grown from the real char
acter of Rodrigo Diaz De Bivar--a sort
of freebooter and rebel whose daring
bravery and many victories won him
the name of The Cid, or "The Lord"
The people not only worshiped this
perfect one while he lived, but in all
the ages since they have sung his
praises in song and ballad until to-day
among the Spanish soldiers he is the
invincible, magnanimous, the all-pow-
erful "My Cid" who is the type of all
ic duty. and the biossoming flower of
all Christian grace. He is everything.
He is almost the Christ as the Jews
would have had him. He is Napoleon,
Wellington and Nelson, and Washing
ton, Lincoln and Lee all in one.
In all the other nations of the world,
uot excepting King Arthur, of English
legend. there is no character that holds
the place Of that of the Cid in Spanish
literature. In fact, most all of the
Spanish classics are built around some
story OF his NEUROLOGICAL life. The
song Of the Cid that was chanted by
the wandering minstrels in the twelfth
century las survived to be hymned in
the odes of the Spanish soldier to-day.
They believe just as firmly as they be-
lieve in God that the Cid will deliver
them finally victorious from the hands
of the Americans in this present war.
Within a hundred years of his death
the Cid had become the center of hun
dreds of myths. The Poem Del Cid"
writtenin the latter half of the twelfth
century, has scarcely any trace of his
torical character. The poem Of the Cid
is but a fragment of 3,744 lines, writ
ten in barbarous style, in rugged asso-
nant rhymes, and rude Alexandrine
measure, but it glows with the pure
Are of poetry, and is full of a noble sim
plicity and true epical value and
e.. Ia Il L. Hi,
picture Of the age. Most of the ballads
Of the Cid are extinct. There were at
one time over 200 of them; to-day, how
ever, there are not more than half
dozen that can be traced without
doubt over few centuries back. One
of the most beautiful Of these is given
further on. All these ballads take
great liberties with history, thus belly
ing the opinion of Sancho Panza that
"the ballads are too old to tell lies"
The renl Cid Of history, although fall
ing short of the poetical ideal which
his countrymen have bestowed upon
him, was great warrior, gaining his
name in the long struggle between the
Christians and the Moslem. He was
born at Bivar, from which he derives
his name Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar. of a
noble family some time between the
years 1880 and 1910. His exploits were
great, but nevertheless he was a man
with human power. From this person,
however. doubtless started all the
beautiful Spanish legends that hover
about the Cid
While these legends, written in both
prose and poetry, are very beautiful
and form a great part of Spanish lit
erature, they cannot be relied upon,
and some aspiring Spanish author is
continually discovering a new one,
doubtless concocted in his own brain.
There is one beautiful story of his
birth that tells of his mother praying
to the Virgin to give her a son. She
continued her prayer day after day
until one morning she begins her
PRAYERS over a beautiful red rose, and
while praying her tears drop on its pc
tails and turn them white. When she
stops her prayers and glances down
ward. there in the heart of the white
rose she finds a little wee baby nesting
among the immaculate petals. Such
was the birth of the Cid.
Like cur own great men, the famous
hero of Spain is represented as eXhib-
iting on so many occasions great gen
tleness of disposition and compassion.
The following ballad, "The Cid and the
Leper." viii not only serve rs an ex-
ample Of this, but also of the quaint
beauty Of the lines of the old Spanish
songs:
He had ta'cn some twenty gentlemen.
along with him to 60
For he viii pay the ancient vow he to Saint
James doth owe,
To Comnastelia, where the shrine doth by
the altar stand,
The good Rodrigo de Blvar Is riding
through the land.
IL
wbere'er ne goes much elms he throws. to
.eebls feik and poori ....