Three Major Plays by Lope de Vega, Gwynne Edwards Page B

young to know
what it means To be loved by others.

COMMANDER. The day
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The sword was placed around his waist,
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The cross of Calatrava * on His breast, it should have been enough To teach him due respect.
    FLORES. You'll soon know If they've turned him against you.

ORTUÑO. Look
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This way. Find out for yourself.
    COMMANDER. Let's hear What he has to say.
    The MASTER enters with his attendants.
    MASTER. Forgive me, Fernán Gómez de Guzmán! I've only just been told Of your arrival.

COMMANDER. I have good reason to
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Complain. My love and background led Me to expect much more respect
From you, Master of Calatrava, Towards your most obedient servant
and Commander.

MASTER. I was expecting the warmest
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Of welcomes, Fernando. * Let me Embrace you.
    COMMANDER. You are right to honour me. How often have I risked my life On your account, before the Pope
Acknowledged you had come of age!
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    MASTER. Of course! And I swear by the cross Displayed on your breast
and mine That I am grateful, and honour you As much as my own
father.
    COMMANDER. Then I Am happy.

MASTER. What news of the war?
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    -4-

COMMANDER. Hear my account and you shall learn Where your duty lies.
    MASTER. Proceed, then. I Am listening.
    COMMANDER. Rodrigo Téllez Girón, Master of Calatrava,
You owe your high position to
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Your brave and famous father. * When you Were only eight, he stepped Aside, granting you his great authority, Which was then ratified by kings
And great commanders too, as well
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As papal bulls, first from Pius, * then From Paul, * but on condition that Juan Pacheco, Master of Santiago, shared Your rule. Now that he's dead and you,
Though still so young, govern alone,
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Do not forget that you are duty bound To carry out the wishes of
Your family. They insist that, after The death of King Henry the
Fourth, *
His subjects swear allegiance to
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Alonso King of Portugal, Who, through his wife and consort, Juana, * The child of Henry, rightly claims Castile. And though Fernando, * Prince
Of Aragon, contests that claim,
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And seeks the kingdom for his wife, And Henry's sister, Isabel, * Your family favours Juana, at present in Your cousin's power, denying that
Her claims are false. So I am here
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To urge you call upon the Knights Of Calatrava, assemble them in Almagro, and take Ciudad Real, * A town that, placed between Castile
And Andalusia, faces both.
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We'll not need many men. The soldiers who
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Protect it are its own inhabitants, Together with some minor nobles, Who both defend the name of Isabel
And call Fernando their king.
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You would do well, Rodrigo, to astonish those Who think you are too
young and that Great Cross too much for you to bear. Remember your
ancestors,
The Counts of Urueña, * and take
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As your example their great deeds. Villena's Marquesses * as well, And other captains too whose feats The wings of Fame can scarcely bear.
Take your sword, so far unstained
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By blood, and turn it red as the Cross Upon your breast. How else
can I Address you as Master of the Cross If the one is red and not
the other?
Let both of them be crimson, and you,
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Worthy Girón, crown the immortal temple of Your famous ancestors.
    MASTER. Fernán Gómez, You may be sure that in this conflict I Support my family, for their cause
Is just. If you want proof, you'll see
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Me march upon Ciudad Real, And like a bolt from heaven, destroy
Its walls. My uncle may be dead, But no one should assume, because
I'm still so young, that with his death
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My courage vanished too. I'll take My sword and make the brightness
of Its blade the colour of this Cross, Bathed in blood. From where
you govern, can You provide some soldiers?

COMMANDER. Not many;
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In fact my vassals. But if they are obliged, They'll fight as fiercely as lions.
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In Fuente Ovejuna* they
Are humble people, more used to fields
And ploughshares than battles.

MASTER . Is that
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Where you live?
    COMMANDER . In times as dangerous
As these, it's