Note 16 — Chapter II
Reading edition
I would instance the following lines on the famine in Valencia during its Siege by the Cid:—
Mal se aquexan los de Valencia · que non sabent ques’ far; De ninguna part que sea · no les viene pan; Nin da consejo padre à fijo, · nin fijo à padre: Nin amigo à amigo nos · pueden consolar. Mala cuenta es, Señores, · aver mengua de pan, Fijos e mugieres verlo · morir de fambre. vv. 1183-1188.
Valencian men doubt what to do, · and bitterly complain, That, wheresoe’er they look for bread, · they look for it in vain. No father help can give his child, · no son can help his sire, Nor friend to friend assistance lend, · or cheerfulness inspire. A grievous story, Sirs, it is, · when fails the needed bread, And women fair and children young · in hunger join the dead.
From the use of Señores, “Sirs,” in this passage, as well as from other lines, like v. 734 and v. 2291, I have thought the poem was either originally addressed to some particular persons, or was intended—which is most in accordance with the spirit of the age—to be recited publicly.