His men then proceeded to array him richly for his wedding, and bound on him his famous sword Tizona, which he had won from the Moors.

The marriage was celebrated with much pomp and rejoicing, the king giving Rodrigo the cities of Valduerna, Soldania, Belforado, and San Pedro de Cardena as a marriage portion.

When the marriage ceremony was finished, Rodrigo, wishing to show his wife all honor, declared that he would not rest until he had won five battles, and would only then really consider himself entitled, to claim her love.
"'A man I slew--a man I give thee-- Here I stand thy will to bide! Thou, in place of a dead father, Hast a husband at thy side.'" _Ancient Spanish Ballads_ (Lockhart's tr.).
[Sidenote: The Cid's piety.] Before beginning this war, however, the Cid remembered a vow he had made; and, accompanied by twenty brave young hidalgos, he set out for a pious pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the shrine of the patron saint of Spain.

On his way thither he frequently distributed alms, paused to recite a prayer at every church and wayside shrine, and, meeting a leper, ate, drank, and even slept with him in a village inn.

When Rodrigo awoke in the middle of the night, he found his bedfellow gone, but was favored by a vision of St.Lazarus, who praised his charity, and promised him great temporal prosperity and eternal life.
"'Life shall bring thee no dishonor-- Thou shalt ever conqueror be; Death shall find thee still victorious, For God's blessing rests on thee.'" _Ancient Spanish Ballads_ (Lockhart's tr.).
When his pilgrimage was ended, Rodrigo further showed his piety by setting aside a large sum of money for the establishment of a leper house, which, in honor of the saint who visited him, was called "St.Lazarus." He then hastened off to Calahorra, a frontier town of Castile and Aragon, which was a bone of contention between two monarchs.
Just before the Cid's arrival, Don Ramiro of Aragon had arranged with Ferdinand of Castile that their quarrel should be decided by a duel between two knights.