"'Here's my throat—smite, I beseech thee!
Smite, and fatal be thy blow!
Death is all I ask, thou caitiff,—
Grant this boon unto thy foe.'"
Ancient Spanish Ballads (Lockhart's tr.).
As this denunciation and appeal remained without effect (for the king had been too well served by the Cid to listen to any accusation against him), the distressed damsel departed, only to return to court three times upon the same fruitless errand. During this time the valor and services of the Cid had been so frequently discussed in her presence that on her fifth visit to Ferdinand she consented to forego all further thoughts of vengeance, if the king would but order the young hero to marry her instead.
"'I am daughter of Don Gomez,
Count of Gormaz was he hight,
Him Rodrigo by his valor
Did o'erthrow in mortal fight.
"'King, I come to crave a favor—
This the boon for which I pray,
That thou give me this Rodrigo
For my wedded lord this day.'"
Ancient Spanish Ballads (Lockhart's tr.).
[Sidenote: Marriage of the Cid.] The king, who had suspected for some time past that the Cid had fallen in love with his fair foe, immediately sent for him. Rodrigo entered the city with his suite of three hundred men, proposed marriage to Ximena, and was accepted on the spot. His men then proceeded to array him richly for his wedding, and bound on him his famous sword Tizona, which he had won from the Moors. The marriage was celebrated with much pomp and rejoicing, the king giving Rodrigo the cities of Valduerna, Soldañia, Belforado, and San Pedro de Cardeña as a marriage portion. When the marriage ceremony was finished, Rodrigo, wishing to show his wife all honor, declared that he would not rest until he had won five battles, and would only then really consider himself entitled, to claim her love.
"'A man I slew—a man I give thee—
Here I stand thy will to bide!
Thou, in place of a dead father,
Hast a husband at thy side.'"
Ancient Spanish Ballads (Lockhart's tr.).
[Sidenote: The Cid's piety.] Before beginning this war, however, the Cid remembered a vow he had made; and, accompanied by twenty brave young hidalgos, he set out for a pious pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the shrine of the patron saint of Spain. On his way thither he frequently distributed alms, paused to recite a prayer at every church and wayside shrine, and, meeting a leper, ate, drank, and even slept with him in a village inn. When Rodrigo awoke in the middle of the night, he found his bedfellow gone, but was favored by a vision of St. Lazarus, who praised his charity, and promised him great temporal prosperity and eternal life.
"'Life shall bring thee no dishonor—
Thou shalt ever conqueror be;
Death shall find thee still victorious,
For God's blessing rests on thee.'"
Ancient Spanish Ballads (Lockhart's tr.).
When his pilgrimage was ended, Rodrigo further showed his piety by setting aside a large sum of money for the establishment of a leper house, which, in honor of the saint who visited him, was called "St. Lazarus." He then hastened off to Calahorra, a frontier town of Castile and Aragon, which was a bone of contention between two monarchs.
Just before the Cid's arrival, Don Ramiro of Aragon had arranged with Ferdinand of Castile that their quarrel should be decided by a duel between two knights. Don Ramiro therefore selected as his champion Martin Gonzalez, while Ferdinand intrusted his cause to the Cid. The duel took place; and when the two champions found themselves face to face, Martin Gonzalez began to taunt Rodrigo, telling him that he would never again be able to mount his favorite steed Babieça, or see his wife, as he was doomed to die.