Poem of the Cid by Unknown.

By royal edict, the Cid is banished from Christian Spain by King Alfonso VI of Castile. The royal edict allows him nine days in which to leave the kingdom but forbids him from taking with him any of his wealth and goods. Any man in the kingdom who offers aid to the Cid will forfeit his estate. Nevertheless, the Cid enlists the aid of Martín Antolinez in swindling two moneylenders, Raquel and Vidas, in exchange for two large sealed coffers, supposedly loaded with the Cid’s riches but containing only sand. The Cid and a small force of vassals then ride away and make a secret camp. On the morning of the Cid’s actual departure from the country, with a fair-sized group of loyal vassals, Mass is said for all at the abbey where Doña Ximena, the Cid’s wife, and his two infant daughters, Doña Elvira and Doña Sol, have been ordered to remain.