Pierre Corneille

The Cid

Published by Good Press, 2022
goodpress@okpublishing.info
EAN 4057664123961

Table of Contents


Preface.
The Cid.
Act the First.
Scene I. — Chimène and Elvira .
Scene II. — The Infanta , Leonora , and a Page .
Scene III. — The Infanta (alone) .
Scene IV. — Count de Gormas and Don Diego (meeting) .
Scene V. — Don Diego .
Scene VI. — Don Diego and Don Rodrigo .
Scene VII. — Don Rodrigo .
Act the Second.
Scene I. — Count de Gormas and Don Arias .
Scene II. — The Count and Don Rodrigo .
Scene III.—The Infanta , Chimène and Leonora .
Scene IV. — The Infanta , Chimène , Leonora , and a Page .
Scene V. — The Infanta and Leonora .
Scene VI. — Don Fernando (the King) , Don Arias , Don Sancho , and Don Alonzo .
Scene VII. — Don Fernando , Don Alonzo , Don Sancho , and Don Arias .
Scene VIII. — Don Fernando , Don Diego , Chimène , Don Sancho , DON ARIAS , and Don Alonzo .
Act the Third.
Scene I. — Don Rodrigo and Elvira .
Scene II. — Don Sancho , Chimène , and Elvira .
Scene III. — Chimène and Elvira .
Scene IV. — Don Rodrigo , Chimène , and Elvira .
Scene V. — Don Diego .
Scene VI. — Don Diego and Don Rodrigo .
Act the Fourth.
Scene I. — Chimène and Elvira .
Scene II. — The Infanta , Chimène , Leonora , and Elvira .
Scene III. — Don Fernando (the King) , Don Diego , Don Arias , Don Rodrigo , and Don Sancho .
Scene IV. — Don Fernando , Don Diego , Don Rodrigo , Don Arias , Don Alonzo , and Don Sancho .
Scene V. — Don Fernando , Don Diego , Don Arias , Don Sancho , Don Alonzo , Chimène , and Elvira .
Act the Fifth.
Scene I. —Don Rodrigo and Chimène.
Scene II. — The Infanta .
Scene III. — The Infanta and Leonora .
Scene IV. — Chimène and Elvira .
Scene V. — Don Sancho , Chimène , and Elvira .
Scene VI. — Don Fernando , Don Diego , Don Arias , Don Sancho , Don Alonzo , Chimène , and Elvira .
Scene VII. — Don Fernando , Don Diego , Don Arias , Don Rodrigo , Don Alonzo , Don Sancho , The Infanta , Chimène , Leonora , and Elvira .
The End.

Preface.

Table of Contents

Cid Campeador is the name given in histories, traditions and songs to the most celebrated of Spain's national heroes.

His real name was Rodrigo or Ruy Diaz (i.e. "son of Diego"), a Castilian noble by birth. He was born at Burgos about the year 1040.

There is so much of the mythical in the history of this personage that hypercritical writers, such as Masdeu, have doubted his existence; but recent researches have succeeded in separating the historical from the romantic.

Under Sancho II, son of Ferdinand, he served as commander of the royal troops. In a war between the two brothers, Sancho II. and Alfonso VI. of Leon, due to some dishonorable stratagem on the part of Rodrigo, Sancho was victorious and his brother was forced to seek refuge with the Moorish King of Toledo.

In 1072 Sancho was assassinated at the siege of Zamora, and as he left no heir the Castilians had to acknowledge Alfonso as King. Although Alfonso never forgave the Cid for having, as leader of the Castilians, compelled him to swear that he (the Cid) had no hand in the murder of his brother Sancho, as a conciliatory measure, he gave his cousin Ximena, daughter of the Count of Oviedo, to the Cid in marriage, but afterwards, in 1081, when he found himself firmly seated on the throne, yielding to his own feelings of resentment and incited by the Leonese nobles, he banished him from the kingdom.

At the head of a large body of followers, the Cid joined the Moorish King of Saragossa, in whose service he fought against both Moslems and Christians. It was probably during this exile that he was first called the Cid, an Arabic title, which means the lord. He was very successful in all his battles.

In conjunction with Mostain, grandson of Moctadir, he invaded Valencia in 1088, but afterwards carried on operations alone, and finally, after a long siege, made himself master of the city in June, 1094. He retained possession of Valencia for five years and reigned like an independent sovereign over one of the richest territories in the Peninsula, but died suddenly in 1099 of anger and grief on hearing that his relative, Alvar Fañez, had been vanquished and the army which he had sent to his assistance had been defeated.

After the Cid's death his wife held Valencia till 1102, when she was obliged to yield to the Almoravides and fly to Castile, where she died in 1104. Her remains were placed by those of her lord in the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña.