Cantar de Mio Cid: Exile and Journey to Burgos
Location
This text is a fragment of the Cantar de Mio Cid. It is a narrative poem divided into three songs: The Song of Exile, The Song of the Weddings, and The Song of the Affront of Corpes. The text we are discussing is a part of it.
This epic poem, also called an *epic poem*, has an unknown author. However, it is believed it could have been written by two minstrels, one from Soria and another from Burgos, due to the specific references given for sites that appear throughout the work. We know the first copy was transcribed by the copyist Per Abbat in the fourteenth century.
This work belongs to the *Mester de JuglarÃa* school of work, as it recounts the exploits of a popular hero. It belongs to the thirteenth-century era, which developed during the Middle Ages. It is the only text that remains of the *Mester de JuglarÃa*.
Issue and Argument
This part describes Cid’s exile and Burgos’ refusal to help him because of threats and the prohibition of Alfonso VI.
At the beginning of this fragment, the exiled Cid departs very sadly, leaving behind his land and all his people, including his family. After riding for a long time, the hero came to Burgos, where he was the focus of all the people. However, nobody was able to offer him hospitality, as King Alfonso had threatened all who did so, taking away all their possessions and even their lives.
Not knowing anything about the subject, Cid knocked on the door of a house and got no response, but a girl passing by at that time informed him of what happened.
Finally, the Cid returns to his horse and sets off for Santa Maria.
Structure
Internal Structure
This text is divided into three parts as far as the internal structure is concerned:
- The first part comprises verses one through fifteen. This section details how Cid Ruy Diaz was banished and has to leave his life behind in his village, promising to return with his honor restored.
- The second part, ranging from verse sixteen to verse thirty-three, discusses the arrival of El Cid in Burgos and the threatening letter from King Alfonso VI, ordering all who welcomed him into his home to be banished.
- The third part, verses thirty-three to fifty-six, narrates how the Cid tries to request accommodation without receiving any response. Then, a girl informs the hero of this whole situation with the threats, and finally, he decides to ride to Santa Maria.
External Structure
As for the external metric structure, this fragment is irregular. All the verses are of high art, and tridecasyllable poetry predominates. Throughout the poem, a variant of assonance rhyme is used in every verse. Each verse is composed of two hemistiches separated by a pause called a caesura.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we must say that this poem is meant to entertain people and that it tells a story about a historical hero. We see that at no time does the author express their feelings or opinions, from which we can deduce that it is not an intimate poem.
The first lines reflect the thematic leitmotif throughout the poem, and throughout the poem, the honesty of the Cid is reiterated.
This work is one of the oldest we know of from the Middle Ages, and even today, there are different versions of it. We know, thanks to the language used, that it is one of the first.