by Gutierre Díez de Games (flourished 15th century)
Translation by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
This knight was fair to see, of heavy...
Language: English  after the Spanish (Español)
This knight was fair to see, of heavy build and large of body, neither very tall nor yet short, and well-formed; he had wide shoulders, a deep chest, hips high on his body, thighs thick and strong, arms long and well made, thick buttocks, a hard fist, a well-turned leg and a slim delicate waist, that became him very well. He had a low and pleasant voice and lively and gracious speech. He always dressed well, with care and thought, making the most of what he wore. He had a better understanding of new fashions than any tailor or robe-maker, so that the finely dressed always took him as their pattern. In point of armour he had much knowledge and understanding: he himself used to show the armourers the fairest shapes and tell them how they might make armour lighter without the loss of strength. He knew horses; he sought for them, tended them and made much of them. In his time had no man in Castille so many good horses; he rode them and trained them to his liking, those which were for war, and those which were for parade and for jousting. Hard did he strike with his sword and strong and signal blows did he make with its point; never did he meet a man who cut and thrust so well as he. He excelled in all other exercises which asked for boldness and nimbleness, in sports of lance-thrusting and dart-throwing. He was a mighty player at bowls and with the disc, as well as at hurling stones. He was also a mighty player with a spar and threw it better than other men; in all these sports he was rarely surpassed by those who tried their strength with him.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Spanish (Español) by Gutierre Díez de Games (flourished 15th century), appears in El Victorial [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Edward Rushton , "This knight was fair to see, of heavy build and large of body
", 2004 [baritone and piano], from Spanish Tragedy, no. 2. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Edward Rushton
This text was added to the website: 2012-04-01
Line count: 25
Word count: 293