Carmen Campidoctoris
Encyclopedia
The Carmen Campidoctoris ("Song of the Campeador") is an anonymous medieval Latin
epic poem, consisting in 128 sapphic
-adonic
verses in 32 stanzas, with one line from an unfinished thirty-third. The earliest poem about the Spanish folk hero El Cid Campeador, it was found in the monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll
in the seventeenth century and was transferred to the Bibliothèque nationale de France
, where it currently resides as manuscript lat. 5132.
champion, over count García Ordóñez de Cabra, and finally over the Berenguer Ramon II, Count of Barcelona
. The poem begins conventionally, with the poet confessing his unworthiness to sing of such a hero as El Cid, and moves quickly through his subject's youth, his early triumph over the champion from Navarre, and his loyal service to Sancho II of Castile
and Alfonso VI of León. The anonymous poet blames the Cid's subsequent exile from court on certain enemies who turn the king against him. But the Cid is victorious over the army of García Ordóñez that Alfonso sent against him. The poet then describes, in great detail, a description of the Cid arming himself for battle against the Count of Barcelona, at Almenar
near Lérida. The poem ends abruptly, obviously incomplete, before the battle.
The description of the Cid's weapons, the earliest in the literature, contains references to chainmail
, a silver-plated helm with a golden gem on it, a lance
, an anonymous sword with golden ornamentation (which may be Tizona
, based on the description), and a shield
depicting a "fierce shining golden dragon" (which is the only surviving description of the Cid's shield).
The Carmen also contains the earliest description of the Cid's ancestry, describing him as Nobiliori de genere ortus / Quod in Castello non est illo maius: "He sprung from a more noble family, there is none older than it in Castile." R. A. Fletcher suggests this is a discreet way of saying that the Cid's ancestors were not among the most noble, just nobler than some.
The motive of a Catalan
monk in writing about a Castilian hero has been explained by the date of 1083 and the politics of Catalonia at that time. Since 1076 the brothers Berenguer Ramon II and Ramon Berenguer II
had been trying to rule Catalonia jointly in accordance with their late father's wishes. This had proved unworkable and two divisions of the realm (1079 and 1080) had granted the Diocese of Vic, in which lay Ripoll, to Ramon Berenguer. The bishop of Vic, Berenguer Sunifred de Lluçà, was among Ramon's supporters. The Carmen was probably written by supporters of Ramon to celebrate his brother's defeat at the hands of the Cid, on the eve of civil war in Catalonia.
The Late Latin
title campi doctor or campi doctus (literally "teacher of the [military] field"), rendered campeador in Castilian Romance, is first applied to the Cid by the anonymous author of the Carmen, and it may be his literary invention. The library of Ripoll may have contained references to the obscure fourth- and fifth-century Roman military usage
. It is not known how the term, which originally indicated a "regimental drill-instructor", came to currency in eleventh-century Spain, with a meaning like "armiger
".
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...
epic poem, consisting in 128 sapphic
Sapphic
Sapphic can refer to:* Related to Sappho, a 7th century BC poetess** Sapphic stanza, a four line poetic form* Sapphic love, related to female homosexuality...
-adonic
Adonic
An adonic is a unit of Aeolic verse, a five-syllable metrical foot consisting of a dactyl followed by a trochee. The last line of a Sapphic stanza is an adonic.- External links :*...
verses in 32 stanzas, with one line from an unfinished thirty-third. The earliest poem about the Spanish folk hero El Cid Campeador, it was found in the monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll
Santa Maria de Ripoll
The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is a Benedictine monastery, built in the Romanesque style, located in the town of Ripoll in Catalonia, Spain...
in the seventeenth century and was transferred to the Bibliothèque nationale de France
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
, where it currently resides as manuscript lat. 5132.
Content
Subjectwise, the poem is a narrative of three of El Cid's victories: over an unknown NavarreseKingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....
champion, over count García Ordóñez de Cabra, and finally over the Berenguer Ramon II, Count of Barcelona
Berenguer Ramon II, Count of Barcelona
Berenguer Ramon II the Fratricide was Count of Barcelona from 1076 to 1097. He was the son of Ramon Berenguer I, and initially ruled jointly with his twin brother Ramon Berenguer II....
. The poem begins conventionally, with the poet confessing his unworthiness to sing of such a hero as El Cid, and moves quickly through his subject's youth, his early triumph over the champion from Navarre, and his loyal service to Sancho II of Castile
Sancho II of Castile
Sancho II , called the Strong, or in Spanish, el Fuerte, was King of Castile and León .He was the eldest son of Ferdinand I of Castile and Sancha of León, the eventual heiress to the Leonese crown...
and Alfonso VI of León. The anonymous poet blames the Cid's subsequent exile from court on certain enemies who turn the king against him. But the Cid is victorious over the army of García Ordóñez that Alfonso sent against him. The poet then describes, in great detail, a description of the Cid arming himself for battle against the Count of Barcelona, at Almenar
Almenar
Almenar is a municipality in the comarca of the Segrià in Catalonia, Spain.The Battle of Almenar, one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession, was fought in the hills close to this town on 27 July 1710.- Demography :-External links :...
near Lérida. The poem ends abruptly, obviously incomplete, before the battle.
The description of the Cid's weapons, the earliest in the literature, contains references to chainmail
Chainmail
Mail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....
, a silver-plated helm with a golden gem on it, a lance
Lance
A Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...
, an anonymous sword with golden ornamentation (which may be Tizona
Tizona
Tizona is the name of the sword carried by El Cid which was used to fight the Moors in Spain according to the Cantar de mio CidThe name Tizón translates to burning stick, firebrand....
, based on the description), and a shield
Shield
A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
depicting a "fierce shining golden dragon" (which is the only surviving description of the Cid's shield).
The Carmen also contains the earliest description of the Cid's ancestry, describing him as Nobiliori de genere ortus / Quod in Castello non est illo maius: "He sprung from a more noble family, there is none older than it in Castile." R. A. Fletcher suggests this is a discreet way of saying that the Cid's ancestors were not among the most noble, just nobler than some.
Date and authorship
The author of the Carmen was a good Latinist writing, to judge from his classical allusions, for a learned audience, probably at Ripoll. The hymn-like rhythm and rhyme strongly suggests that it was designed for public recitation. Scholars have dated the poem as early as 1083 (after the battle of Almenar in 1082) and as late as c.1100.The motive of a Catalan
Catalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
monk in writing about a Castilian hero has been explained by the date of 1083 and the politics of Catalonia at that time. Since 1076 the brothers Berenguer Ramon II and Ramon Berenguer II
Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona
Ramon Berenguer II the Towhead or Cap de estopes was Count of Barcelona from 1076 until his death...
had been trying to rule Catalonia jointly in accordance with their late father's wishes. This had proved unworkable and two divisions of the realm (1079 and 1080) had granted the Diocese of Vic, in which lay Ripoll, to Ramon Berenguer. The bishop of Vic, Berenguer Sunifred de Lluçà, was among Ramon's supporters. The Carmen was probably written by supporters of Ramon to celebrate his brother's defeat at the hands of the Cid, on the eve of civil war in Catalonia.
The Late Latin
Late Latin
Late Latin is the scholarly name for the written Latin of Late Antiquity. The English dictionary definition of Late Latin dates this period from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD extending in Spain to the 7th. This somewhat ambiguously defined period fits between Classical Latin and Medieval Latin...
title campi doctor or campi doctus (literally "teacher of the [military] field"), rendered campeador in Castilian Romance, is first applied to the Cid by the anonymous author of the Carmen, and it may be his literary invention. The library of Ripoll may have contained references to the obscure fourth- and fifth-century Roman military usage
Late Roman army
The Late Roman army is the term used to denote the military forces of the Roman Empire from the accession of Emperor Diocletian in 284 until the Empire's definitive division into Eastern and Western halves in 395. A few decades afterwards, the Western army disintegrated as the Western empire...
. It is not known how the term, which originally indicated a "regimental drill-instructor", came to currency in eleventh-century Spain, with a meaning like "armiger
Armiger
In heraldry, an armiger is a person entitled to use a coat of arms. Such a person is said to be armigerous.-Etymology:The Latin word armiger literally means "armour-bearer". In high and late medieval England, the word referred to an esquire attendant upon a knight, but bearing his own unique...
".
Extracts
| 1. Gesta bellorum possumus referre Paris et Pyrri necnon et Eneae, multi poete plurima in laude que conscripsere. 2. Sed paganorum quid iuvabunt acta, dum iam villescant vetustate multa? Modo canamus Roderici nova principis bella. 3. Tanti victoris nam si retexere ceperim cunta, non hec libri mille capere possent, Omero canente, sumo labore. 6. Hoc fuit primum singulare bellum cum adolescens devicit Navarrum; hinc campi doctor dictus est maiorum ore virorum. 7. Iam portendebat quid esset facturus, comitum lites nam superatus, regias opes pede calcaturus ense capturus. |
We can tell about the deeds of the warriors, Paris and Pyrrhus, and also Aeneas that many poets in their honor have written. But, what enjoy have the pagan stories if they lose their value due to their antiquity? Then let's sing about prince Rodrigo about this new battles. Because if I sang his victories, there are so many that not even one thousand books could gather them, even if Homer himself sings, with great effort. This was his first single combat, when as a young man he defeated the Navarrese champion; for this reason he was called campi doctor by his elders. Already he was foreshadowing what he was (later) to perform: for he would defeat the strivings of counts, trample beneath his feet and capture with his sword the wealth of kings. |