teresting and thrilling tale is that of Dona Lambra and the Seven
Lords of Lara, and while the story is somewhat legendary and based
rather upon stirring ballads than upon authentic records, it must not be
forgotten here. Dona Lambra, a kinswoman of the Count of Castile, had
been married with great ceremony at Burgos to Ruy Velasquez,
brother-in-law to Don Gonzalo, Count of Lara in the Asturias; and during
the five weeks of pleasure and feasting which celebrated this happy
event, there were no knights in all the glittering throng more striking
in appearance and more admired for their many accomplishments than the
seven stalwart sons of Don Gonzalo, the nephews of the bridegroom, who
were called the Seven Lords of Lara. During the very last week of the
festivities a wooden target was set up upon the other side of the river,
and the knights threw light Moorish _djerrids_, or wooden javelins, at
it, each trying with a surer aim to outdo his fellows. Dona Lambra was
an interested spectator, and when at last Alvaro Sanchez, one of her
favorite cousins, struck the target full in the centre, she was more
than pleased, and declared that he was the best marksman of them all.
The Seven Lords of Lara had taken no part in this contest as yet, for
six of the brothers had been busily engaged in playing chess, and the
youngest of them all, Gonzalo Gonzales, had been standing idly by.
Piqued, however, by Dona Lambra's praise of her kinsman, young Gonzalo
threw himself upon his horse, rode to the river's edge, and hurled his
_djerrid_ with such force that he completely shattered the target far on
the other side. This unexpected turn of events so angered the bride that
she grew white with rage, and Alvaro vented his spleen in such abusive
language that Gonzalo dealt him a blow which struck him fairly upon the
mouth and knocked out his teeth. Thereat Dona Lambra cried out that no
maiden had ever been so dishonored at her wedding, and bloodshed was
narrowly averted by the interference of the Counts of Castile and Lara.
As it was feared that Ruy Velasquez might be urged on to vengeance by
his angered wife, he was induced to set out upon a trip through Castile
with many of the older knights, while the Seven Lords of Lara, in the
midst of a larger company, were left to escort the bride to her new home
at Bavardiello. Once arrived, the brothers went into the garden of the
palace, where Gonzalo, who was a devotee of falconry, was engaged in
bathi