But the
heroic Moor is set before us in the most vivid colors. The hues and
material of his cloak, his housings, his caftan, and his plumes are given,
and quite a vocabulary is exhausted in depicting the color, sex, and breed
of his war-horse. His weapons, lance, scimitar, and corslet of steel are
dwelt upon with enthusiasm. He is as brave as Mars, and as comely as
Adonis. Sometimes he dashes into a bull-ring and slays wild creatures in
the sight of fair ladies and envious men. He throws his lance of cane,
which is filled with sand, so high that it vanishes in the clouds. He is
ready to strike down, in his own house, the Christian who has taken from
him and wedded the lady of his choice. He is almost always in love with
some lady who is unkind and cold, and for her he wanders at times in dark
array, expressing his sombre mood in the device and motto which he paints
upon his shield. Some of the ballads picture love more fortunate in the
most charming manner, and the dark tortures of jealousy are powerfully
described in others. The devotion of the Moor to his lady is scarcely
caricatured in the mocking language of Cervantes, and is not exceeded by
anything to be found in the history of French chivalry.
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