Antes les niega la fabla,
Temiendo no les ofenda
El aliento de su infamia.
The pun on the name of Count Lozano (Haughty or Proud) is of course not translated.
[216] This is a very old, as well as a very spirited, ballad. It occurs first in print in 1555; but “Durandarte, Durandarte,” found as early as 1511, is an obvious imitation of it, so that it was probably old and famous at that time. In the oldest copy now known it reads thus, but was afterwards changed. I omit the last lines, which seem to be an addition.
A fuera, a fuera, Rodrigo,
El soberbio Castellano!
Acordarte te debria
De aquel tiempo ya passado,
Quando fuiste caballero