1.1.27
Don Quixote 1.1.27 · The pasteboard helmet1.1.27The pasteboard helmet
The armor is missing one piece, and he makes it himself.
· · ·
Limpiólas1
lim·PIÓ·las
cleaned them
y2
y
and
aderezólas3
a·de·re·ZÓ·las
fixed them updressed them
lo4
lo
the
mejor5
me·JOR
best
que6
que
that
pudo7
PU·do
could
, pero8
PE·ro
but
vio9
vio
saw
que10
que
that
tenían11
te·NÍ·an
had
una12
U·na
a
gran13
gran
great
falta14
FAL·ta
flawlack
, y15
y
and
era16
E·ra
was
que17
que
that
no18
no
no
tenían19
te·NÍ·an
had
celada20
ce·LA·da
helmetsallet
de21
de
with
encaje22
en·CA·je
closedfitting
, sino23
SI·no
onlybut rather
morrión24
mo·RRIÓN
a morion
simple25
SIM·ple
plainsimple
; mas26
mas
but
a30
a
forto
esto31
ES·to
this
suplió29
su·PLIÓ
made upsupplied
su27
su
his
industria28
in·DUS·tria
ingenuity
, porque32
POR·que
because
de33
de
out of
cartones34
car·TO·nes
pasteboardcardboards
hizo35
HI·zo
made
un36
un
a
modo37
MO·do
sortway
de38
de
of
media39
ME·dia
half
celada40
ce·LA·da
helmet
, que41
que
which
, encajada42
en·ca·JA·da
fitted
con43
con
ontowith
el44
el
the
morrión45
mo·RRIÓN
morion
, hacían46
ha·CÍ·an
gavemade
una47
U·na
a
apariencia48
a·pa·RIEN·cia
lookappearance
de49
de
of
celada50
ce·LA·da
helmet
entera51
en·TE·ra
whole
. He cleaned them and fixed them up as best he could, but he saw that they had a great flaw, and it was that they had no closed helmet, only a plain morion; but his ingenuity made up for this, because out of pasteboard he made a sort of half helmet, which, fitted onto the morion, gave the look of a whole helmet.
He cleaned them and fixed them up as best he could, but he saw that they had a great flaw, and it was that they had no closed helmet, only a plain morion; but his ingenuity made up for this, because out of pasteboard he made a sort of half helmet, which, fitted onto the morion, gave the look of a whole helmet.
Interpretation
He cleaned it and mended it as best he could, but he saw that it had one great flaw: there was no closed helmet, only a plain open morion. His ingenuity made up for this. Out of pasteboard he made a kind of half helmet which, fitted to the morion, gave the look of a complete one.
The two helmets belong to two different worlds. A celada de encaje closes round the head, the helmet of a mounted knight in the romances. A morrión is an open steel cap with a brim, the helmet of the infantry in Cervantes’s own day; he had served as a soldier and knew the gear. Our gentleman owns the soldier’s cap and wants the knight’s helmet, so he builds the missing half out of cartones, sheets of pasteboard.
Industria is the false friend of the passage. It comes from Latin industria, “diligence”, and in Cervantes means skill or cleverness at getting something done. The narrator praises the ingenuity with a straight face.
1.1.28
Don Quixote 1.1.28 · One blow undoes a week1.1.28One blow undoes a week
He tests the new helmet with his sword.
· · ·
It is true that to test whether it was strong and could stand the risk of a sword cut, he drew his sword and gave it two blows, and with the first, and in an instant, he undid what he had made in a week;