The bards, throughout the ages, have conveyed

Your story, from Homer on, your praises they declare,

And still today antagonists despair

When they recall the fury of your blade.

Breda, Ostend, Maastricht, Antwerp as well,

Were theaters for your exploits, each heroic deed,

Where, sword flashing, you were always in the lead

To serve the King, and his enemy repel.

Lutherans, contentious French, insurgent Flemish,

Dread Turks, Dutchmen, the ever-present English,

All served to help you win your well-earned fame,

Then let the heavens and the earth proclaim

The much-sung feats of a true warrior:

Alatriste! The thunderbolt of war!