{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_66716/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_66716","id":"gutenberg_66716","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66716","summary":null,"tags":["Alfonso X, King of Castile and Leon, 1221-1284","Category: History - Medieval/Middle Ages","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint -- Legends","Miracles","Spanish literature -- To 1500 -- History and criticism","Supernatural in literature"],"text":"THE SUPERNATURAL\n IN\n EARLY SPANISH\n LITERATURE\n\n STUDIED IN THE WORKS OF THE COURT\n OF ALFONSO X, EL SABIO\n\n By\n\n FRANK CALLCOTT, Ph. D.\n\n Department of Romance Languages\n Columbia University\n\n [Illustration]\n\n INSTITUTO DE LAS ESPA\u00d1AS\n en los ESTADOS UNIDOS\n\n NEW YORK\n 1923\n\n\n Es propiedad.\n Derechos reservados\n para todos los pa\u00edses.\n\n Copyright, 1923,\n by the Instituto de las Espa\u00f1as.\n\n\n\n _To\n MY PARENTS_\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nIt has been the aim of the author in the following study to collect,\nclassify, and analyze the various references made in the works of\nAlfonso X, el Sabio, to the beliefs and superstitions, of the Spaniard\nof that day, with reference to the supernatural. It is hoped that it\nwill be possible in this way to reach a better understanding of the\nattitude of the Spanish people toward the supernatural in general and\nthus to acquire a more complete appreciation of that early period of the\nnation\u2019s life.\n\nNo attempt has been made here to trace the origins of these early\nSpanish traditions (many of which were common thruout Europe during the\nMiddle Ages), and the comparison of what has been found with the\nsupernatural in the early literature of other European countries has\nbeen left for a later study.\n\nThe works of Alfonso el Sabio have been chosen because, to a large\nextent, they represent not only their own period but all that had gone\nbefore them, as recorded not only in Castillian but in Latin and to a\ngreater or less degree in Arabic and Hebrew also. Alfonso gathered to\nhis court a select group of scholars versed in these languages; and\nunder his direction they produced or collected a representative library\nof works dealing with their respective subjects. It is the accessible\nbooks of this collection that have furnished the material for the\npresent study.\n\nThe author wishes to express sincere thanks to Professor Federico de\nOn\u00eds of Columbia University for sympathetic encouragement and valuable\nsuggestions thruout the entire period of study; to Professor Antonio G.\nSolalinde, of the _Centro de Estudios Hist\u00f3ricos_, Madrid, for helpful\nsuggestions and criticism of the manuscript as well as for the privilege\nof consulting the proof-sheets of the _Antolog\u00eda de Alfonso X, el\nSabio_, which has recently issued from the press; to Professor Raymond\nWeeks, of Columbia University, for his sympathetic interpretation of the\nMiddle Ages and for actually introducing the writer to the true spirit\nof that period; to his wife, thru whose timely assistance solely it has\nbeen possible to complete the study without undue delay; and especially\nto Professor Henry Alfred Todd, of Columbia, for his painstaking aid and\nexpert criticism while this work was taking form and being put thru the\npress.\n\n _F. C._\n\n_Columbia University_, January, 1923.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY\n\n\nThe human mind is always interested in those things that it can not\nunderstand; as soon, however, as the problem has been solved it is no\nlonger an absorbing subject of attention. When a sleight-of-hand feat\nhas been explained we turn with renewed zest to something else and\nrevive our former interest only to mystify or amuse some friend. The\nunsolved problem, on the other hand, will grip our undivided interest\nfor an indefinite length of time; our minds will revert continually to\nthe unelucidated trick of legerdemain until we learn how it was\naccomplished. And so we might continue our illustrations thru the whole\nrange of human knowledge.\n\nFurthermore, we are not content to limit our curiosity to the\ncomprehension of what others have understood before us, but push our way\nin quest of the answer to the eternal and ever haunting _how?_ and\n_why?_ We climb the mountains, we crouch beneath a shelter while the\nstorm beats, we gaze into space on a starlight night, and these\ncompelling queries become ever more insistent. This element of\ninexhaustible curiosity is, and has been as far back as the existence of\nsociety can be traced, present in all human nature; the leaders of\nmankind have not been slow to utilize it for the attainment of their\nown lofty or ignoble aims. The warrior has employed it to inspire his\nsoldiers; the priest to exalt his followers; the minstrel to entrance\nhis auditors.\n\nIn the introduction to her Columbia doctorial dissertation, _The\nSupernatural in Modern English Fiction_,[1] Dr. Dorothy Scarborough has\ndiscussed in a very engaging manner the inherent need of the\nsupernatural in fiction. In real life as well it plays a highly\nimportant part. It is a demonstrated fact that when a man faces a\nsupreme crisis--when face to face with death--not only will he turn\ninstinctively to the supernatural powers in that moment but all that is\nextraneous to his real self will disappear and the true man will stand\nforth revealed. What is true of the individual in this respect applies\nalso to the race. It is in recognition of this universal truth that the\nfollowing study has been undertaken, in the hope that a careful\nexamination of the supernatural aspect of the beliefs and practices of\nSpain as reflected in the literature of a given period will contribute\nto a better understanding of the questions involved.\n\nNaturally there is a wide difference between the method of thinking of\nthe average person in the Middle Ages and that of the average person of\nto-day. In the 20th century every peculiar or remarkable phenomenon of\nnature is subjected to the scrutiny of scientific study, while with the\nmedieval man it was accepted at its face value as being the\nmanifestation of unseen powers, of gods or of devils. It would seem\nthat consciously or otherwise they attempted to make everything appear\nsupernatural whether they could explain it or not. We of today demand\nthat the God of the universe should work thru well defined natural laws;\nthey, on the other hand, expected that \u201cel milagro sea contra\nnatura\u201d.[2] It is true nevertheless that the \u201ccall\u201d of the supernatural\nin one form or another has continued to exert a powerful influence even\ndown to our own time. Some of its forms of manifestation may have\nchanged, but the belief is almost everywhere present. Instead of\nforecasting the future by Astrology many today seek aid in the _s\u00e9ance_;\nmiraculous cures are still being sought for as of old not only in many\ncases abroad but also in communities nearer home--even in the city of\nNew York, during the Novena of St. Ann; while only recently it was\nreported in the daily press that a young girl in a convent on the banks\nof the Hudson showed the marks of the _stigmata_ so prominently\nassociated with the history of St. Francis of Assisi.\n\nBefore entering upon the study proper of the early Spanish period it\nwill be well to review rapidly some of the important facts in the\n\u201csupernatural\u201d history of the Iberians since the time when the Goths\ninvaded Spain.[3]\n\nWhen they came they brought with them their songs and legends, which\nwere peculiarly Germanic. The writer Jordanes, about the middle of the\n6th century, states that stories of sunken cities, subterranean voices,\netc., were common in the region of the Vistula, the river which\nseparated Scythia from Germany.[4] But we find no trace of this in the\nearly Spanish literature owing to the fact that when the Goths conquered\nthe Iberians they did not blend readily with the people of the newly\nacquired territory. Nor did they, as the Romans had done, encourage the\nvanquished to continue their established customs and religion giving to\ntheir own traditions an opportunity, thru friendly intercourse, to\nbecome adopted by their new subjects. On the other hand, in their effort\nto make assimilation still more impossible they forbade intermarriage.\nThe result of this was, to use the words of Amador de los R\u00edos, that\n\n \u201cLa Iglesia, que durante el Imperio visigodo procur\u00f3 desterrar del\n pueblo cat\u00f3lico las reprobadas pr\u00e1cticas del gentilismo,\n limpi\u00e1ndole al propio tiempo de las torpes \u00e9 inmundas aberraciones\n \u00e1 que le arrastraban los magos, encantadores, sort\u00edlegos y adivinos\n que plagaban la naci\u00f3n espa\u00f1ola, vi\u00f3se forzada \u00e1 condenar una y\n otra vez tama\u00f1os abusos, trasmitidos de edad en edad, con el\n auxilio de los cantos populares.\u201d[5]\n\nIt seems, however, that in this struggle the Church was not always\nsuccessful. Often the result was a compromise in which the pagan customs\nwere remodeled and made to conform to the requirements of the Church\ninstead of being completely abolished. For instance, according to J. A.\nMacCulloch, the ancient Celtic warriors used to advance dancing and\nsinging to the fray;[6] and \u00c9. Philipon says:\n\n\u201cLorsqu\u2019 ils marchaient au combat, les guerriers ib\u00e8res entonnaient \u00e0\npleine voix leur chants nationaux, leur _p\u00e9ans_, comme disaient les\nRomains.\u201d[7]\n\nIn the early Middle Ages this custom of the ancient inhabitants of Spain\nstill continued under the Christian domination; and into these war cries\nand songs had slowly crept the names of the Christian Deity and of the\nChristian saints.\n\nThis habit of consciously directing the minds of the soldiers to things\nspiritual in such a moment may have been an important factor in the\ndevelopment of the numerous legends of visions seen by soldiers during\nbattle.[8]\n\nOne would naturally expect to encounter a marked Arabic influence in the\nearly monuments of the language, considering the fact that the Moslems\nwith all their wealth of magic and other arts peculiar to the East,\nentered Spain in the early years of the 8th century, but this is not the\ncase. When the Moslems entered Spain those who were able retreated\nbefore them, but a large part of the population, unable to do this,\nremained under Mohammedan rule. These _moz\u00e1rabes_, as the conquered\nChristians were called, struggled bravely to keep themselves and their\nchildren free from the heresies of their conquerors and for some time\nwere successful, but by the 9th century the Mohammedans were rapidly\ninstilling their teachings into their captives.[9]\n\nA reaction against this began under Abderrahman II. The Christians,\nbecoming obsessed with a desire to be martyrs, began rashly to expose\nthemselves everywhere. So serious did this movement become that in 852\nAbderrahman constrained the bishops to call a council, presided over by\nRecafredo, instructing them to condemn this zeal for martyrdom, which\nthey did, but only in a half-hearted manner. This movement was the last\nserious attempt on the part of the _moz\u00e1rabes_ to rebel against the\nteachings of the Moors. From this time on they were rapidly merged into\nthe nation of the conquerors and it is a question whether any of them\nremained true to the Catholic Church at the time Spain was reclaimed by\nthe Christians, all of which explains the lack of a very noticeable\nArabic influence in the early Castillian writings.\n\nWe have therefore (at the time the early Castillian literature began to\nappear) a nation from which the clergy had attempted to remove\neverything that could not be remodeled to conform to their\ninterpretation of Christian Scriptures--an endeavor in which they had\nbeen signally successful. At this time, so far as the vernacular was\nconcerned, there had been little influence from the outside world\n(since the time of the Gothic invasion) other than that which had been\nimported from Rome. But this isolation was not to last long. When the\nChristians reconquered the cities from the Moors they made a practice of\nkilling the men but of enslaving the women and children.[10] These women\nas nurses naturally told the children in their care the stories of their\npeople. In addition to this, Paschal II, Pope from 1099-1118, issued a\nbull declaring sacred the war in Spain against the Moors as well as that\nin the Holy Land. This gradually brought into Spain Christian knights\nfrom all Europe with their traditions. Likewise, in the earlier part of\nthe 12th century a school of clerical writers appeared in Spain who\nsought to win the favor of the people thru making their versions of the\ntraditions of the Church more attractive by mixing freely sacred history\nand profane. They sought inspiration in the Moorish and the Classic\ntraditions; they confused the legends of the past by transferring to\nthem the customs of their own day.[11] It was they who sought out the\nmysterious legends of the East common among the Moors who lived in the\nSouth, incorporating them into their sermons and poems and mingling them\nwith the Christian mythology. All this prepared the way for the great\nefflorescence of the supernatural which began with Alfonso X and\ncontinued in full sway until the 17th century.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nALFONSO EL SABIO AS KING AND SCHOLAR\n\n\nAlfonso X is one of those unfortunate men who have been--sometimes\nunconsciously but in many cases purposely--maligned in history. The\n_Libro de las Querellas_, (a 17th century work until recently attributed\nto Alfonso); the dictum of Mariana, \u201cDumque coelum considerat\nobservatque astra, terram amisit\u201d; and the popular verse from the\nromances \u201cDe tanto mirar al cielo se le cay\u00f3 la corona\u201d which inspired\nMarquina\u2019s poem on that theme, all express the exaggerated and perverted\nidea which was generally prevalent concerning this monarch. Those who\nknew his works of science, especially of astronomy, were amazed at the\nwealth of knowledge displayed therein, and this, together with the fact\nthat his last years were taken up with rebellions on the part not only\nof his vassals but even of his own sons, seem to have been enough to\ncreate the impression just mentioned.\n\nRecent criticism has also brought to light the fact that the almost\nblasphemous quotation so long attributed to this king, \u201cSi Dios me\nhubiera consultado, habr\u00eda hecho el mundo de otra manera,\u201d is not his at\nall, but rather was invented later in Catalonia by a certain king Pedro\nIV, or perhaps by his chronicler Bernat Descoll. Some have attributed it\nto Fernando IV.[12]\n\nAltho these conceptions may contain some modicum of truth, they are only\na part of the truth. Alfonso took an active part in the politics of his\nday and the surprising thing is that amid all the strife and trouble\nthat surrounded him he found any time at all to give to literary\nproduction.\n\nAlfonso was born on November 23, 1221, according to the findings of his\nbiographer, the Marqu\u00e9s de Mond\u00e9jar[13] (whose deductions have been\nconfirmed by documents discovered later) and was named for his\ngrandfather Alfonso IX of Leon and his great-grandfather Alfonso VIII of\nCastile. Practically nothing is known of his early childhood except that\nhe was associated with certain of the nobility, viz., Garc\u00eda Fern\u00e1ndez\nand Do\u00f1a Mayor Arias of the province of Burgos. Of his early training\nnothing is known. He was probably reared in Toledo, his father\u2019s\ncapital, and as Sr. Solalinde suggests, much might be inferred from the\nrules for the training of princes given in the _Siete Partidas_, a\ncollection of the laws of the time, provided the reader does not take\nthese too literally. At the age of sixteen he began his career as a\nsoldier under his father, Fernando III, el Santo, in the conquest of\nAndaluc\u00eda. He himself added to his father\u2019s crown the kingdom of Murcia\nand took an active part in the conquest of Sevilla in 1248. The next\nyear he married Do\u00f1a Violante of Arag\u00f3n, daughter of Jaime el\nConquistador, hoping in this way to effect an alliance between the two\nkingdoms, but it seems as tho Fate had decreed that from the very first\nhis should be a life of disappointments and trouble. The frontier\nwarfare between these two nations continued, growing even more sharp\nlater when Alfonso aspired to the crown of Navarra. It was not until\nmuch later that the friendship of Alfonso and Don Jaime became firmly\nestablished.\n\nAside from his legal wife, whom he married by way of securing a\npolitical asset--a mode of procedure not unknown even in later times--he\nreally loved a certain beautiful lady, Do\u00f1a Mayor Guill\u00e9n de Guzm\u00e1n, who\nbore to him his daughter Do\u00f1a Beatriz, later married by her father to\nAlfonso III of Portugal. The sepulcher and also the body of Do\u00f1a Mayor\nin a remarkable state of preservation are still to be seen in Alcocer.\nOne of the hands still wears the glove with which it was clothed at the\ntime of the burial.\n\nIn May, 1252, Alfonso ascended the throne, after receiving his father\u2019s\nsolemn charge: \u201cFijo, ricas fincas et tierra et de muchos buenos\nvasallos m\u00e1s que rey que en la cristianidad sea; pugna en facer bien e\nser bueno, ca bien has con qu\u00e9.\u201d\n\nAlfonso, the king, was undoubtedly an indefatigable worker and a man of\nthe highest intentions. He knew what ought to be done but apparently did\nnot have the power of will or the personality to insure the execution\nof his purpose. When he ascended the throne the war with the Moors had\nbeen reduced to operations of minor importance and they recognized the\nCastillian monarch as their master. But here as elsewhere history\nrepeats itself. Each Christian king on the peninsula was dominated by\nthe desire to extend his territories; and, since there was no longer the\nnecessity of standing together against the common foe, a series of petty\nquarrels soon arose followed by attempted conquests. As time went on,\nnot only Alfonso\u2019s own nobles, but his brothers and even his own son\nbecame involved against their king. It was precisely here that Alfonso\nwas unable to hold the reins of power in as firm a hand as his father\nbefore him had done. It was because of internal troubles that he failed,\nat the critical moment, to bring the wars in Italy to a decisive\nconclusion, and to terminate successfully with the popes and others, the\ndiplomatic controversies in which the throne of the Holy Roman Empire\nwas at stake. To this throne he had been legally elected at the death of\nWilliam of Holland in 1256, when he received four of the seven votes. He\nwas opposed by Richard of Cornwall. The long contest which followed was\nin reality a political battle with the popes, from Alexander IV to\nGregory X, in which Richard usually had the upper hand. At Richard\u2019s\ndeath Rudolph of Hapsburg under the pontifical protection was elected to\ntake his place, and it was only after nineteen years that Alfonso\nfinally succeeded, in 1275, in obtaining an audience with Gregory in\nFrance. The unfortunate outcome of this interview was that Alfonso was\npersuaded to give up all pretentions to the imperial crown and to forego\nhis custom of signing international papers with the title of \u201crey de\nromanos.\u201d In this manner ended Alfonso\u2019s vain attempt at external\nterritorial expansion.\n\nAt home, in contests with his own nobles, he had been hardly more\nsuccessful. Indeed, with all the accumulated expenses of his\nlong-continued attempts to obtain the imperial crown it would have\nrequired a man of almost superhuman force to keep his powerful vassals\nunder control and at the same time subject them to the excessive\ntaxation necessarily involved. This, as we have seen, Alfonso did not\npossess. The Infante Don Enrique was the first to rebel. His outbreak\nwas followed by a more serious uprising of the nobles under the\nostensible leadership of the king\u2019s brother, the Infante Don Felipe, but\nwas really fostered and maintained by Nu\u00f1o de Lara, the boldest and most\nfavored noble of the court. To restore harmony the king surrendered many\nof his own prescriptive rights, but even then the nobles were not\nsatisfied and Nu\u00f1o de Lara, inspired by this recently acquired power,\nobjected to the royal decision to require no further payments of tribute\nfrom the king of Portugal. Alfonso, in anger, demanded that Nu\u00f1o\nwithdraw from the council; this he did but in open rebellion,\nsuccessfully drawing with him a large number of the nobles. Many of\nthese, apparently faithful to Alfonso, followed an intimation given them\nby Nu\u00f1o and outwardly supported their sovereign while privately plotting\nwith some of his powerful enemies, the king of Navarre and even the\nemir of Granada.\n\nIn an endeavor to adjust matters Alfonso summoned a general convocation,\nwhich the aggrieved nobles, in an attitude of open affront, attended\nfully armed while their sovereign wore only civilian dress. At this\nmeeting the monarch ceded still further privileges; but, pursuing their\nadvantage, they finally came out in open rebellion and, gathering their\narmy, marched away from Castile to the kingdom of Granada, burning and\nplundering as they went. Meanwhile Alfonso, by means of his eldest son\nand heir, Fernando de la Cerda, still endeavored to negotiate with them.\n\nIn spite of all these internal troubles the crown of the Holy Roman\nEmpire still held the uppermost place in the mind of the monarch and it\nwas just at this juncture that he succeeded in arranging for his above\nmentioned visit to France and left his oldest son, Fernando de la Cerda,\nto govern in his stead. The latter altho only a boy of twenty years was\nalready showing great ability as his father\u2019s representative, when\nsuddenly he died. Fate seemed determined that not one bright lingering\nhope should be permitted to relieve Alfonso\u2019s long, unhappy reign.\n\nThis unfortunate death was the cause of additional troubles. Don Sancho,\nAlfonso\u2019s second son, immediately took up the reins of government where\nhis brother had let them fall. War having been declared on the Moors, no\ntime was to be lost. Alfonso returned to find his son and heir dead, his\nfather-in-law, Don Jaime,--that valiant warrior who had now become his\ndevoted friend--just killed by the unbelievers, and his second son,\nSancho, self-established as heir-apparent. Altho this was contrary to\nwhat the king himself had ordered in _Las Siete Partidas_,[14] he\nconfirmed Sancho as his successor, whereas the crown should have gone to\nFernando\u2019s eldest son. This brought more trouble. Queen Violante left\nhim and sought refuge with her brother, Pedro III of Aragon, in order to\ndefend the rights of her grandsons. The wife of the deceased prince\nhastened to her father, king of France, and war was about to be declared\nbetween the two kingdoms, when Rome interfered. Violante returned to her\nlord upon receiving his promise to cede the kingdom of Ja\u00e9n to his\ngrandson; but this angered Don Sancho, who rebelled against his father.\nAlfonso publicly disinherited his son, and incontinently set out to\ncrush him. The other Infantes who had previously supported their brother\nnow forsook him and came to the aid of their father. Sancho himself,\nwith a kind of religious respect for his royal father, avoided battle\nand finally implored pardon. Such was the condition of affairs when,\nafter an exceedingly turbulent reign of thirty-two years, Alfonso X died\nin Seville on the 4th of April, 1284.\n\nDuring all these years Alfonso had cherished the fond hope of carrying\non an ever broadening war against the Moors and finally of extending it\ninto Africa and there dealing a death blow to the power of the\nCrescent. This purpose of his, like a will-o\u2019-the-wisp, fluttered\nconstantly just beyond his power of execution. He did succeed in\ncarrying out minor conquests, but the ruler of Granada was always quick\nto take advantage of the civil strife in the kingdom to the north of him\nto recover his lost territory. The final net result was that Alfonso\nsucceeded in adding to his crown the cities of Jerez de la Frontera,\nMedina-Sidonia, Lebrija, Niebla, C\u00e1diz, and a few other towns of little\nimportance.\n\nFrom the foregoing it is easy to see that Alfonso was not a mere\ntheorizing star-gazer. It is surprising that a man with his hands so\nfull of terrestrial affairs could ever have found time to turn his eyes\nheavenward or could ever find the leisure and the quiet necessary for\nthe careful editing of the lengthy works produced at his command.\n\nIn speaking of these works and discussing their chronological order Sr.\nRam\u00f3n Menendez Pidal says:\n\n \u201cLa actividad literaria de la corte de Alfonso X--que se hab\u00eda\n iniciado con las _Tablas Alfons\u00edes y el Septenario_--hab\u00eda\n producido ya las obras legales, coronadas por las _Partidas_; hab\u00eda\n dado a luz la primera edici\u00f3n de las Cantigas y gran parte de los\n _Libros Astron\u00f3micos_. Posteriormente a esa actividad desarrollada\n en las materias astron\u00f3micas, jur\u00eddicas y po\u00e9ticas, s\u00f3lo a partir\n del a\u00f1o 1270, debemos colocar el comienzo de la actividad hist\u00f3rica\n antes no representada. Primero se trabaja en la _Cr\u00f3nica General_,\n y, despu\u00e9s, se interrumpe la obra para impulsar la _Grande\n Estoria_; los redactores de esta, como luego indicaremos,\n conocieron noticias referentes a la historia de Espa\u00f1a que la\n _Cr\u00f3nica General_ no aprovech\u00f3. En fin, despu\u00e9s de la iniciaci\u00f3n\n de las obras hist\u00f3ricas se sigui\u00f3 trabajando en los _Libros\n Astron\u00f3micos_ y en las _Cantigas_, y se empezaron las \u00faltimas obras\n del reinado, como el _Lapidario_ y el _Ajedrez_.\u201d[15]\n\nOf the above I have been able to consult only those printed or\nreproduced in facsimile, which are the following:\n\n_Las Siete Partidas_, (the best edition of which is the large three\nvolume work published in 1807 by the Real Academia) is the result of\nAlfonso\u2019s successful attempt to complete the work begun by his father in\ncollecting, codifying and standardizing the various laws of the numerous\nregions of the kingdom, and it has been used as the basis of Spanish\njurisprudence ever since. This work has proved of very great value\nbecause of the ample comments (made, it seems, either by the compilers\nor by Alfonso himself) on the laws contained and the customs referred\nto.\n\n_Las Cantigas_ is a collection of 422 lyric or narrative poems in the\nGallego-portugu\u00e9s dialect, many of which were probably written by the\nmonarch. Of these 353 are narrations of miracles attributed to the\nBlessed Virgin. The edition used in this study is that of the Real\nAcademia, 1889, 2 Vols., 33 cm. edited with a critical introduction by\nLeopoldo Augusto de Cueto, Marqu\u00e9s de Valmar. A third volume of this\nwork by J. Ribera treating of the music of _Las Cantigas_ has just\nappeared.\n\n_Los Libros del Saber de Astronom\u00eda_, contain a large number of drawings\nof the heavens, various astronomical instruments, etc., as well as a\ncompendium of what was then known relating to this science. In the\nintroduction to the edition which consists of five 45 \u00d7 33 cm. volumes\nby Manuel Rico y Sinobas, Madrid, 1868, the editor states that among the\ncompilers were 8 Christians and 6 Jews; while the works of more than 17\nArabs were consulted (p. XCII).\n\n_La Primera Cr\u00f3nica General_ (edition of Ram\u00f3n Men\u00e9ndez Pidal in Nueva\nBiblioteca de Autores Espa\u00f1oles, vol. 5, 1906) is an account of the\nhistory of Spain from the time of Moses to the death of Fernando III, el\nSanto. This, says Sr. Pidal in his _Estudios Literarios_ (p. 208 ff.),\nis the first chronicle written in Spain which considers the Spaniards as\na Roman instead of a Gothic people. Being guided by the results of his\nresearch, the latest and most authoritative on the subject, I have\nincluded in this study only the first part of the _Cr\u00f3nica_, i. e.,\nchapters 1-566, as the remaining part is probably the work of Alfonso\u2019s\nsuccessor.\n\n_La General Estoria_ is still unedited. It is a work of five parts, each\nof which is in size equal to the _Primera Cr\u00f3nica General_. It purports\nto be a history of the world from the creation to the time of Alfonso\nand is based primarily on the Bible, altho other authorities, both\nsacred and profane, are freely drawn upon. For this study I have been\nable to consult only those extracts that appear in the _Antolog\u00eda_ of\nSr. Antonio G. Solalinde.\n\n_El Lapidario_ treats of 360 stones, dividing them into twelve groups\ndescribes their appearance and the country or locality in which they are\nfound, bringing in in this way interesting comments on manners and\ncustoms, scraps of folk-lore, etc., as well as discussing the medicinal\nand supernatural properties of the various stones introduced. The\nedition used was that of Jos\u00e9 T. Monta\u00f1a, Antonio Selfa, and Hipp\u00f3lito\nRodrig\u00e1\u00f1ez, Madrid, 1881.\n\n_El Libro de Ajedrez._ A two volume photographic edition of this work\nwas brought out in Leipzig in 1913 by J. G. White under the title of _A\nSpanish Treatise of Chess written by the order of King Alfonso, the\nSage, in 1283_. It is a careful discussion of the game and description\nof the various moves. As well as chess, the games of dice and backgammon\nare included.\n\nIn this study have been included only those works which may, without\nreasonable doubt, be considered to be the productions of Alfonso el\nSabio or works in whose composition he took part in the manner indicated\nbelow. Those which may have been more or less plausibly attributed to\nhim but whose authorship still remains in doubt, have been purposely\nomitted. Of these latter the most important is _Calila y Dimna_, which\nmany still maintain was translated by the order of Alfonso.[16] But even\nif this be correct the book is a purely allegorical one, entirely\nforeign to the spirit and manner of Spain, and can in no way aid us in\nunderstanding the superstitions and religious beliefs of the Spanish\nnation.\n\nWhile it is true that Alfonso did not with his own hands write out the\nworks included in our study, nevertheless the compilers themselves bear\nwitness to the fact that he did carefully edit them, scrutinizing the\ncontents, eliminating the non-essential and perfecting the language. In\nthe _General Estoria_ is found this significant statement:\n\n \u201cAssi como dixiemos nos muchas uezes: el rey face un libro, non por\n quel el escriua con sus manos, mas porque compone las razones del,\n e las enmienda et yegua e enderes\u00e7a, e muestra la manera de c\u00f3mo se\n deuen fazer, e desi escriue las qui \u00e9l manda, pero dezimos por esta\n razon que el rey faze el libro\u201d.[17]\n\nSmall wonder then that the king realized the value of quietude and\nspecified as one of the essentials for the making of good laws that\n\n \u201cOtrosi deben guardar que quando las fecieren no haya ni ruido nin\n otra cosa que les estorbe, et que lo fagan con consejo de homes\n entendidos et sabidores, et leales et sin codicia.\u201d[18]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nMIRACLES PERFORMED BY THE VIRGIN IN RESPONSE TO PRAYER\n\n\nWhen it is considered that in _Las Cantigas_ alone there are narrated\n353 separate miracles, it is obvious that it will be impossible to give\nhere even a brief r\u00e9sum\u00e9 of all the instances in which the supernatural\nappears. What I have attempted to do is to give a synopsis of the most\nrepresentative legends and stories, hoping in this way to present a\ncorrect, if succinct, idea of the beliefs, superstitions and religious\npractices of medieval Spain. The various occurrences of the supernatural\nfound in the writings of Alfonso X, have been grouped, as far as\npossible, under the headings commonly employed in classifications of\nthis kind.\n\nSince all the extant works of this period, with the exception of _Las\nCantigas_ and a few _cantigas de amor et de maldecir_, were written for\nthe erudite and were in no sense popular in their origins, it is\napparent that the popular beliefs in regard to the supernatural will be\nfound mentioned in them only incidentally. Occasionally, as in the\n_Cr\u00f3nica General_ for example, the traditions of the common people had\nfirmly established themselves in the _Cantares de Gesta_ and other\nsources which were drawn upon by the compilers. In such scientific works\nas _El Lapidario_ and _Los Libros del Saber de Astronom\u00eda_, the effect\nof the various heavenly bodies upon things terrestrial is mentioned, but\nthese reflect the beliefs of the learned, not of the ignorant. While\nthese beliefs of the intellectual classes are interesting and useful in\nthemselves, they are by no means as important for our study as the\nsuperstitions of the man of the street. _Las Siete Partidas_ has\nfurnished much pertinent information because of the laws concerning\npractices involving the supernatural which were forbidden, or which, as\nin the case of conjuring, were permitted only under certain\ncircumstances. But from such sources we can get only a very small\nproportion of the great mass of popular conceptions and traditions which\nmust have existed, as is forcibly illustrated by the fact that in all\nthe other works excepting _Las Cantigas_ only nine miracles are\nnarrated. On the other hand the term \u201cmilagro\u201d was considered important\nenough to merit a lengthy definition in the laws of the times.[19]\nAccording to this definition a \u201cmilagro\u201d is a divine intervention in the\nregular course of nature the purpose of which is, among other things, to\nreward the faithful and to bear witness to the veracity of the Christian\nfaith.\n\nBut when we consider _Las Cantigas_, a work whose avowed purpose is to\ngather together all the current stories of miracles attributed to the\nVirgin either directly or indirectly, we have a collection of 353\naccounts drawn both from the writings of the saints and from popular\ntradition. It is to be noticed too that all of these are performed\neither directly or indirectly _by the Virgin_ and do not include any of\nthose attributed to the various other saints, to the Child nor to the\nMan Jesus, etc. If such a host of legends and stories could be gathered\nwith the facilities of that time dealing with only _one_ phase of\nsupernatural lore and with only _one_ saint how great must have been the\nentire store!\n\nAnother interesting fact in connection with this collection is that,\naltho according to the Church authorities, the Virgin could perform\nmiracles only when especially empowered to do so, she is represented\nhere as performing them of her own accord. Only seldom does she go to\nher Son or to God the Father for aid or permission.\n\nSuch a procedure can not be attributed to ignorance on the part of one\nso well versed in ecclesiastical law and customs as Alfonso. It is\nprobably a conscious reflection of the general belief of the common\npeople who knew little of Theology.\n\nIn a period of such absolute and naive faith it is not at all surprising\nthat the same miracle, with a few minor alterations perhaps, should be\nattributed at one time to the Virgin and at another to God,[20] or at\none time to the crucifix and at another to the image of the Virgin,\netc.[21] The result of this customary promiscuous attribution of\nbenevolent deeds to various divine forces and personages was that the\ncounterpart of every miracle mentioned in any of the writings of king\nAlfonso X is found in _Las Cantigas_. Therefore our study of this topic\nwill be based on this collection with appropriate notes of any\nvariations of interest in the legends as found in his other works.\n\nA large number of the miracles in the beginning of the collection of\n_Las Cantigas_ are taken, as usually stated in the poem itself, from\nsome other accessible book.[22] But as legends from these sources grew\nscarce the store of oral tradition was drawn upon, and occasionally, as\nin apprehension that the veracity of the story might be challenged, some\nsuch strengthening line as \u201cmui bien sey que foi e \u00e9 gran uerdade\u201d[23]\nwas added. So personal is the tone of the whole collection that there is\nno hesitation whatever in recounting the miraculous experience of some\nmember of the royal family or of the king himself.[24] Constant search\nin the manuscripts at hand was apparently continued however during the\nentire time of composition and as late as No. 362 occurs the expression\n\u201cachei escrito.\u201d[25]\n\nThe cult of the Virgin became very popular during the 13th century and\nwhen we consider the influence it had all thru the period we are\nstudying it is natural to expect, that in a group of miracles dedicated\nexpressly to her, that Jesus, the Son of Mary, and even God the Father\nwould be but seldom mentioned.[26] But when they are they are recognized\nas being supreme. The Virgin herself often has to ask a favor of the\nSon, as in Nos. 14, 45, etc. At times we are privileged to catch a\nglimpse of the court of heaven resembling greatly a medieval court with\nGod the Father and His Son as the supreme rulers and below them the\nsaints in the order of their various ranks.\n\nOn one occasion, No. 14 for instance, Saint Peter pleads without success\nfor the soul of a licentious monk who during life was especially devoted\nto him. After invoking the aid of the other saints to no avail he\nfinally appeals to the Virgin and in answer to her God permits the\nreturn of the soul to the body for the benefit of another chance. The\ndetails here are such that one might easily imagine the scene to be that\nof any court of 13th century Europe.\n\nNaturally in so large a collection[27] any classification has to be\narbitrary, and however the division is made there will be a number which\nmay be placed under two or more headings. The present classification,\ntabulated in detail on page 135 has been made to suit the needs of this\nstudy exclusively. In what here follows I shall summarize only the\ntypical examples of each class.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe group of miracles studied especially in this chapter, those\nperformed by the Virgin in response to prayer, includes almost every\nconceivable form of aid, all the way from restoring life to the dead\ndown to helping a man find his lost falcon. They suffice to give us a\nrare conception of the beliefs and faith, often almost childlike in\ntheir simplicity, of that time.\n\nThe greatest of all miracles, the restoration of life, is performed in\nall over 30 times in answer to prayer and for a great variety of\nreasons. In one instance (No. 182) a certain robber who had the\nredeeming quality of always giving to those in need when asked in the\nname of Santa Mar\u00eda, died suddenly. In answer to a mother\u2019s prayer and\nto afford an opportunity for repentance his soul was restored and from\nthat moment he observed faithfully all the commandments \u201cda U\u00edrgen.\u201d In\nanother, to aid a faithful follower in his work on earth the Holy Mother\nsends to Santo Domingo as a helper a well-educated, zealous young man\nwho kills himself by overwork. In answer to the supplication of the\nsaint she descends from heaven with a chorus of virgins and together\nthey read from their books and anoint the corpse, head, body and feet,\nthus restoring the life of the young man that he might continue in the\nservice of his worthy master (No. 204).[28] In No. 84 a wife becomes\nignorantly jealous of the Holy Mother because her husband slips away\nmysteriously every night and when asked the reason for his absence he\nanswers that he loves his wife as much as ever but admits to her, almost\nin jest, that he loves another woman more. This proved too much and in a\nfit of anger she stabbed herself, but in answer to her husband\u2019s prayers\nher life was restored. No. 241 is particularly interesting because of\nits details and of its really lifelike setting. Two mothers, one having\na son and the other a daughter, decided that a marriage of the young\ncouple would be advantageous. All went well until the day of the\nwedding, when the boy, being in a very happy and buoyant mood, leaned\ntoo far out of the window as he wiped out a glass, lost his balance,\nfell and was killed. All were overcome with grief except his mother who\nconfidently took him to the altar of the Virgin, where his life was\nrestored. As life returned his first words were \u201cWhat a beautiful\nmansion you took me from.\u201d The two young people were so impressed they\ndecided to devote themselves to religion. At another time Alfonso\u2019s\nimmediate family were concerned for the daughter of \u201co bon rei Don\nFernando\u201d, who after being carefully reared for the convent at Las\nHuelgas died. Her mother took her to the foot of the image and putting\neveryone out of the church, determined to remain until her daughter\nrevived. Her faith was rewarded, and later in life the princess held an\nimportant place in the convent (No. 122).[29]\n\nWhen we come to consider the various kinds of _bodily ailments_ cured by\nthe Holy Mother we are presented with a formidable list. An arrow\nstriking a man in the face stuck in the bone in such a manner that none\ncould remove it. He requested to be taken to the altar of the Virgin and\nthere confessed, implored aid, and the arrow came out of its own accord\n(No. 126). Seven separate times do lepers appeal to her and are\nhealed.[30] The blind have their sight restored; but one clerk,\napparently thru lack of faith, asked only that his sight be given him\nwhile Mass was being said. She took him at his word and allowed him the\nprivilege of seeing every day _only during the time of Mass_ (No. 92).\nSwellings disappear (No. 346); while often Alfonso sings of the cures he\nhimself has experienced. After leprosy the most common ailment to incite\nthe pity of the Blessed Mother is rabies, which is mentioned in no less\nthan five separate cantigas;[31] reason is also restored to those who\nhave been deprived of it (No. 331). No. 69 is the legend of a deaf mute\nwho presented himself before the altar of the Virgin in Toledo. While\nthere he saw Saint Mary in the form of a beautiful girl approach him as\nin a vision, put her finger in his ear and take out a worm which had\n\n \u201c ... a semella\n d\u2019estes de sirgo, mais come ouella\n era ueloss\u2019 e coberto de l\u00e3a.\u201d\n\nLater Santa Mar\u00eda ordered a monk well versed in the art to aid the man\nrecover his voice. Another pretty story is that of a little girl with\ndeformed feet who was taken to the altar of Santa Mar\u00eda del Puerto,\nwhere, falling asleep, she suddenly cried out with a sharp pain. In\nanswer to the questions of her father and those near her she said the\nVirgin came down from the altar, broke her feet, and then returned. They\nhastily examined them only to find them in perfect condition.\n\nAs well as curing the ordinary ills of nature to which the human body is\nsubject, the Blessed Mother may also cure those due to acts of man if\nthey are unjustly inflicted, as in the case of the servant whose master\nput out his eyes because of false accusation. The servant, knowing he\nwas innocent, procured his eye-balls, had a surgeon put them back in\ntheir sockets, and then went to Santa Mar\u00eda de Salas, where his sight\nwas restored (No. 177). A miracle showing a strong trace of\nmysticism--another instance of the relief of suffering due to no\nconscious fault of the victim--is No. 315. A laboring woman went into\nthe field to work and left her child--with a prayer for its safety--tied\nto a sheaf of wheat. While she was gone the child swallowed a head of\nthe grain and became very ill. The mother, thinking it had swallowed\nsome insect or had been bitten hastened with it to Madrid where after\nmany days of unsuccessful treatment she was advised to take it to the\nChurch of Atocha. On arriving she undressed the child before the altar\nfor examination and to the astonishment of all present the head of\nwheat, intact, came out thru the _left_ side of the child, who recovered\nimmediately. No. 146 shows the influence of a well-known legend of the\nMiddle Ages of a father who cut off the hands of his daughter because\nshe insisted on being true to her new faith, Christianity. Later in\nlife, when, because of misfortunes and persecutions, her hands were\nnecessary for the care of her child, they were miraculously restored,\ngrowing out of the old stumps.[32] In the cantiga the object of the\nmiracle is a boy who wished to go on a pilgrimage to the shrine of the\nVirgin of Albeza. His mother hesitated because of his enemies but at\nlast he was permitted to go. He did, indeed, fall into their power and\nthey put out his eyes as well as cut off his hands. He was found,\nhowever, by some fellow-pilgrims, taken to the shrine, and there, upon\nhis praying the\n\n \u201cMadre de Deus Eman\u00fcel,\n fez-ll\u2019 ollos come de perdiz\n pequennos a aquel donzel\n muy fremosos, et de raiz\n crec\u00e9ron-ll\u2019 as m\u00e3os enton.\u201d\n\nAltho the Virgin did alleviate bodily ills for good cause she was not\nalway a saint of mercy. At times she was a saint of vengeance. Even\nmore, her devotees were sometimes given the privilege of seeing this\nvengeance brought down at their own request upon the enemies of the\nfaith because of some impious act. One Christian while kneeling at\nprayer before her shrine was bitten by a large dog that happened to pass\nthat way. As he arose to pick up a stone to drive the animal away he was\ngreatly incensed at seeing two Jews laughing at him. Not being able to\nrestrain his anger he called upon the Virgin to avenge herself of such\nan affront with the result that the wall by which they were standing\nfell upon the unbelievers (No. 286).\n\nSuch vengeance as this is usually only meted out to infidels and, even\ntho Saint Mary loves vengeance and desires to please her followers, more\nthan once has she to temper this very human desire on their part. One\nwoman asked that the one who had stolen her husband\u2019s affections be\nstricken with some serious illness, but the Virgin, considering the\npunishment too severe, by a vision caused the unlawful rival to repent\nand ask forgiveness of the wife, which the latter finally granted (No.\n68).\n\nIn many respects more important, tho perhaps making a less lasting\nimpression, are those miracles of prevention from harm. These are almost\nas numerous as the above, tho they offer less variety and less\nopportunity for dramatic effect. Among the most common are rescues from\nthe sea, and in No. 236 there is the added element of walking on the\nwater. A pious woman and her child are in a boat that sinks. She cries\nout to the Virgin who appears, takes her by the hand, and together they\nwalk on the water as tho it were land until they arrive at Marseilles.\n\nThose engaged in making objects for the glory of the Virgin, together\nwith the products of their art, receive special protection. A stone\nmason working at a great height in the church of Santa Mar\u00eda de\nCastrogeriz felt his legs weaken and began to fall. Calling on the local\nsaint he miraculously caught on an edge of one of the stones and altho a\nvery large man his fingers were strengthened, enabling him to hold on a\ngreater part of the day until aid came (No. 242). At another time a\npainter who habitually drew the Devil as ugly as possible and the Virgin\nas beautifully as he was able received a visit from his satanic majesty\nin person complaining of the treatment, but the artist refused to change\nhis pictures. The Devil, greatly offended, set loose a terrible\nhurricane, which entered the church; but, appealing to the Virgin, both\nthe painter and his work escaped unharmed (No. 74). Ten instances, most\nof which bear a striking resemblance to similar stories in the New\nTestament, are told of miraculous release from prison.[33] In one of\nthese (No. 227) Saint Mary appeared surrounded by a bright light and led\nthe captive, invisible to his captors, from the dungeon. In nearly all\nsuch releases the victim had been unjustly imprisoned.\n\nThose who are especially devout are saved even tho at times it is\nnecessary to bring down the heavenly hosts. One good knight (No. 233)\nfleeing on a swift horse before his enemies arrives at the church of the\nVirgin of Pena Cova. His pursuers, unbelievers, on arriving at the\nchurch, see a battalion of heavenly soldiers drawn up in front of it\nand, thus admonished, they repent and naturally no longer desire his\nlife.[34] When Bondoudar, the Sultan of Egypt, laid siege to Tortosa de\nUltramar there were but few defenders within its walls, but when the\nSultan arrived he saw a great host in the city. One of his advisers told\nhim:\n\n \u201c ... Per mandado\n da Uirgen Madre d\u2019 Ic\u00e1\n u\u00e9eron, que un eigreia\n dentro en a uila \u00e1,\n que est\u00e1 preto dos muros\n da parte do ar\u00e9al\u201d.\n\nOn hearing this the Sultan withdrew, saying he would not fight against\nthe Virgin and later even sent much money to those in the city (No.\n165). No. 49 reads almost like a fairy tale. A band of pilgrims\njourneying to Santa Mar\u00eda de Soissons lose their way in the mountains\nand in answer to their prayers she appears to them _with a shining wand_\nin her hand and leads them safely to their destination.\n\nThe idea of _bargaining_, one of the fundamental elements of all\nprimitive religions,[35] and one which even yet has by no means\ndisappeared, was present in a very striking manner. In this respect,\nindeed, the people were so na\u00efve at times that they made the Blessed\nMother human in the extreme and sometimes they seemed almost to lose\nsight entirely of her divinity. In no less than nineteen[36] cantigas is\nthe record of wax being offered in exchange for divine favors and in ten\nof these the wax was promised in the prayer of supplication; and altho\nthis may not at all times have been consciously offered as a bribe or as\na kind of barter yet there is no doubt that unconsciously the feeling\nwas there. Wax was by far the most popular of all offerings. It was\noffered in bulk, or in the form of an image of the Virgin or of the\nobject desired, or often in candles. One account which is very\ninteresting because of the well-known historical personages involved is\nNo. 376. During a conversation with the Infante Don Manuel, Alfonso\nshowed him a beautiful ring and offered it to him as a gift. The king\nsent a servant to deliver it to the house of the Infante, but on the way\nhe lost it. He immediately appealed to Santa Mar\u00eda del Puerto; offering\nher six pounds of wax for her church if she would help him recover the\nring. A little later a man voluntarily handed it to the messenger saying\nhe had found it on the street.\n\nAltho we might consider wax a suitable offering for a miracle of the\ntype just mentioned, it does cause some surprise to find it accepted in\nreturn for even such an important act as the restoration of life. But\nthere was a woman of Zaragoza whose children were always stillborn, so\nafter the third sad experience she offered a child of wax to the\nVirgin. The fourth child was also born dead but, confident now, she\nimplored Santa Mar\u00eda de Salas, and even while the prayer continued the\nchild came to life. In addition to wax many other kinds of gifts were\nacceptable such as a garland of roses; or when roses were unavailable an\n\u201cAve Mar\u00eda\u201d might be substituted for each rose in the bouquet (No. 121);\nor nails were offered for a temple (No. 106); or a promise was made of\nthe most beautiful thing captured from the enemy during a battle, which\nin No. 374 was a beautiful cloth of gold and scarlet.\n\nMore curious than these, and a miracle in which the moral lesson is not\nto be considered, is No. 214, in which two men, one very rich while the\nother possessed only a church building, were rolling dice. The wealthy\nman played high stakes, the poor man, having only the church, played it.\nThe rich one rolled and three sixes fell. His companion, trembling, in\nhis turn rolled. As he did so he offered the church to the Virgin should\nhe win. To his astonishment, and to the wonder of the bystanders, one of\nthe dice fell in two, three sixes and one ace appearing.\n\nAside from material gifts such as the above, offers of service such as\nthe promise to go on a pilgrimage to some shrine are also very\neffective.[37]\n\nThe na\u00efve elements become almost startling at times in their\nchildishness. For instance in No. 8 a singer, after singing a \u201clais\u201d to\nSanta Mar\u00eda, asked that one of the candles of her shrine light him\nwhile he ate. The candle was miraculously placed on his instrument, but\na monk seeing it out of place became angry, thinking it bewitched, and\nput it back where it belonged. This was repeated three times until the\npeople witnessing this repetition intervened, while the monk, convinced\nhe had witnessed a miracle, repented.[38] Again, at Rocamador, nine\npilgrims ordered nine pieces of meat prepared for their meal. When they\ndrew near the table only eight pieces were brought in, the servant\nhaving stolen one. They prayed Santa Mar\u00eda to show them where the ninth\npiece was and at once heard a noise in a chest. It was the piece of meat\njumping around to attract their attention (No. 159). Even more peculiar\nwere the actions of a paralyzed mule which was ordered killed and\nskinned by its master. The servant boy before beginning the task stopped\nto eat and upon finishing his meal was astonished to find the mule\nhealed and going toward the shrine of the Virgin of Torena. On reaching\nthe church it ran around it three times rapidly, entered and kneeled\nbefore the altar, then returned home with the servant (No. 228).\n\nIt is to be remarked also that while the miracles usually do contain a\nmoral lesson--in fact some have no other purpose than to teach a moral,\nNo. 155,--occasionally they are much less concerned with the moral than\nwith the really important fact, the miracle, which shows the goodness,\npower and mercy of Santa Mar\u00eda. Bent on emphasizing this they become at\ntimes realistic in the extreme. We must remember also that the\nconception of what is moral and what is immoral changes constantly and\nthat therefore it is imposible to measure the 13th century by the\nstandards of the 20th. But even so, we can say this for Alfonso el\nSabio; whenever he does include such accounts in his collection he\nhandles them with his accustomed brevity and never dwells upon the\nimmoral act nor enlarges upon it. With a few strokes he paints the\npicture and then comes to what, for him, is the all important part, the\nmiracle. One such, very popular thruout all Europe in the Middle Ages,\nis the legend of an abbess, accused by those under her of being with\nchild, who was called to account before the authorities. She prayed\nearnestly to the Virgin, who during her sleep brought the child and\nspirited him away to Saussonna. She was then examined and found\ninnocent.\n\nNo. 201 is even more interesting, being the story of a beautiful young\nwoman who vowed eternal chastity and then, falling in love with a young\ngallant, became the mother of three of his children and killed each one\nsoon after its birth. Later in life she repented and tried to kill\nherself with a knife but did not die; she then swallowed two poisonous\nspiders[39] and still she could not die. Finally she prayed the Holy\nMother, who appeared to her and with her own divine hand cured her. The\nsinner obtained forgiveness by a long life of penance. In this case the\nimmoral element of protecting the sinner from just punishment has\nentirely disappeared, for while the Virgin shows mercy toward her and\ncures her ills--the result of a self-imposed penance--yet she does not\nforgive her terrible sin. All she can do is to change the form of the\npenance.\n\nOne of the phases of the belief of the time which at first glance seems\nto us today to be sacrilegious, or to say the least quite startling, is\nthe part that the breasts of the Virgin and her sacred milk played in\nthe religion of Medieval Spain. In this belief can be seen how very real\nand how very human the Mother of Christ was to the people. This race,\nwhich has produced some of the greatest mystics of the world, to whom\neverything had a mystical meaning, saw in the sacred milk of the Virgin\nthe symbol of healing and of life, and the breasts which had nourished\nthe Christ-child were to them the symbol of the fountain of life.\n\nIn No. 138 Alfonso tells how San Juan Boca de Oro, exiled by the\nGentiles, was first blinded and then put out on the highway and told to\nleave the country. Wandering, he soon fell into brambles, when, calling\non \u201c\u00e1 R\u00ebynna esperital\u201d for aid, she came, restored his sight and led\nhim out into the road again. In the conversation which ensued he asked\nher what was the thing that Jesus loved most when He came into the\nworld. She left without answering, but appeared to him again that night\nwith the child Jesus playing with her breasts. Turning to the him she\nsaid,\n\n \u201c ... D\u2019 esto se pagou\n meu Fillo m\u00e1is d\u2019\u00e1l, et con mui gran raz\u00f3n.\n Ca estas tetas lo criaron tan ben\n como a sa carne mui nobre conuen;\n et porende as amou m\u00e1is d\u2019 outra ren,\n porque d\u2019 estas tetas ouu\u2019 \u00e9l cria\u00e7on.\u201d\n\nThe milk poured by the Blessed Virgin herself from her sacred breasts\ncured an infirmity of the face and neck which had caused long years of\nsuffering to one of her faithful monks (No. 54). Similar to this is No.\n93, an account of how God chastened a man of Burgos with leprosy for\nthree years because of his sins. After he had recited a good thousand\n\u201cAve Mar\u00edas\u201d Saint Mary at last took pity on him, and bathed him in her\nown milk, which cured him immediately.\n\nAnd after all, when considered reverently, and in the light of the fact\nthat the Virgin was the most important and most beloved personage in the\nreligion of the period, what more beautiful and sublime symbol could\nthere be than this!\n\nPossessions are constantly being restored thru the agency of the Holy\nMother, who is never unmindful of the needs of her children, and who is\njust as quick to respond to the needs of the rich, if they are real\nneeds, as to those of the poor. Altho such service is quite often\nperformed in return for some gift, as indicated in the discussion of\nBargaining,[40] it is by no means limited to this. Often the simple\nfaith and earnest prayer are sufficient.\n\nA certain Don Domingo of Santa Mar\u00eda del Puerto lost thirty sheep in the\nmountains. His devout wife appealed to the local Saint to save them from\nthe wolves. Three days later they were found surrounded by wolves, which\ninstead of harming them were _guarding_ them from harm (No. 398). In the\nincident of a woman of Toledo (No. 212) we catch a glimpse of some of\nthe customs of the times as well as find an entertaining story. This\nwoman had the habit of loaning a lovely string of pearls to the poor\ngirls of her acquaintance for their wedding ceremony, because\n\n \u201cEn Toled\u2019 \u00e1 un costume\n que foi de longa sazon,\n que quando y casar queren\n as donas que pobres son,\n peden aas ricas donas\n de suas d\u00f5as enton,\n que possan en suas uodas\n m\u00e1is ricas apparecer.\u201d\n\nBut her husband for some reason forbade her to do so any longer. Soon\nafter this another poor woman came begging for the pearls, and because\nshe asked \u201cin the name of the Virgin\u201d the lady could not withstand the\nplea and loaned them surreptitiously. While the girl was bathing, a\nservant stole them, but note--\n\n \u201cEla deu-o a sa filla\n el leuou-a a bannar,\n _com\u2019 \u00e9 costum\u2019 en Toledo_\n _de quantas queren casar_.\u201d[41]\n\nThe bride was heartbroken and the lady, very much grieved but still more\nfrightened, went to the church of the Virgin, where from sheer weakness\ncaused by her anxiety she fell asleep before the altar. While there\nstill asleep, the woman who had stolen the jewels passed thru the church\nwith them hidden in her bosom. The sleeping woman awoke at that moment\nand, miraculously given to know that this one had her pearls, forcibly\nrecovered them.\n\nLegends of necessities being miraculously supplied are not lacking.\nThere is one concerning a church in Jerusalem built under the guidance\nof the Virgin that reminds us of the widow\u2019s cruse of oil. The community\nwas about to have to leave owing to a severe famine. As a last resort\nthey met and prayed all night, and when morning came they found all the\nbread boxes full. Later a similar famine occurred and again they prayed\nall night, and this time they found a large sum of pure gold on the\naltar. (No. 187). Miracles similar to the one performed by Jesus at the\nwedding feast in Canaan of Galilee (John 2: 1-11) are Nos. 23 and 351.\nThe first is the simple story of a woman who was out of wine when the\nKing came to visit her, so she asked the Virgin to help her in her\nperplexity, and immediately the wine casks in the cellar were filled.\nThe second, on a larger scale and with an element of humor, maintains\nthat at the great annual feast in honor of the Virgen de Agosto one year\na great hogshead of wine was supplied for the public, but, sad to\nrelate, it did not last long. After it became exhausted the crowd was\nslow to go away and someone suggested that they look again to see\nwhether it was entirely empty. To their surprise they found it was full\nof miraculous wine supplied by the Saint, and it had the quality not\nonly of delighting those who partook of it but also of curing ills.\n\nAltho such benefits and protection are usually bestowed only upon\nChristians, and more especially upon those who are particularly devoted\nto the Mother of Christ, occasionally she will hear the requests of\nthose who belong to another faith provided they are ready to accept\nChristianity. A vagrant Jewess was cast from a high rock in punishment\nfor her misconduct, but, on appealing to the Virgin, she fell harmlessly\nbeside a fig tree. In gratitude she was baptised and remained constant\nto the faith thru life (No. 107). The Virgin\u2019s mercy was also great\nenough to restore life to the child of a Moorish woman who, because she\nhad heard of the miraculous power of Santa Mar\u00eda de Salas, took the dead\nbody of her little one to the shrine. After the mother had remained\nthere all night in prayer the child was brought back to life altho it\nhad been dead three days (No. 167).\n\nThere is another small group of miracles recorded in which the response\nis not to prayers but to threats--cases in which the believer loses\ncontrol of himself and defies both God and man. No reason is given why\nthe threats are effective after prayers and requests have been of no\navail. Does it imply that the Holy Mother was to them such a human\npersonality that, like an earthly lord, she might be susceptible to\nfear?\n\nOne case in point (No. 76) is that of a devout woman, the mother of a\ncriminal, who became desperate when her son was hanged. Snatching the\nform of the child Jesus from the arms of the image in the church she\nthreatened to keep it as a hostage. The Virgin became merciful--(or\nfearful)--and brought from the other world to the distracted mother her\ncriminal son, who, now truly penitent, reprimands his mother for her\nsacrilegious act. So greatly was she impressed by the experience that\nshe became a nun.\n\nThe most surprising miracle of the entire collection so far as the\nbehavior of Saint Mary is concerned and her show of fear is the\nfollowing, from which I shall quote freely. The young son of a baron\nfell with his horse from a high bridge. The father saw the accident and\ncried out aloud to the Virgin:\n\n \u201cDizend\u2019 a mui grandes uozes:\n \u2018Ual-me, R\u00ebynna Sennor.\u2019\n Enton a V\u00edrgen b\u00eaeita\n que seu fillo Saluador\n tijnna ontre seus bra\u00e7os,\n _ouue da uoz tal pauor_\n como quando Rei Herodes\n lle quis seu fillo matar.\n\n E mandou a esses santos\n que o fossen acorrer,\n que y estauan, _et ela_\n _foi o seu Fill\u2019 asconder_,\n _con medo d\u2019aquel braado_,\n que o non podes\u2019 auer\n Rei Herodes; _et porende_\n _foi logo passar o mar_.\n\n _D\u2019esta guisa con seu Fillo_\n _fugi\u00fa a Jerussalem_[42]\n a U\u00edrgen Santa Mar\u00eda,\n et guari\u00fa ac\u00e1 mui ben\n o menynn\u2019 e o caualo\n que se non fer\u00edron ren:\n et o padr\u2019, a bouc\u2019 aberta,\n fillou-see Deus a loar.\u201d (No. 337).\n\nThis is the first and only reference I have found to this peculiar fear\non the part of the Virgin.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nMIRACLES PERFORMED VOLUNTARILY BY THE VIRGIN\n\n\nAltho at times this study of Miracles may have the appearance of an\nexamination of the character of the Virgin, which indeed it is in a\ncertain sense, nevertheless it is such only in order that we may, by\nstudying her acts as recorded in these miracles, come to a better\nunderstanding of what was considered supernatural in that period and\nwhat was not. Perhaps it will help in arriving at this result if, before\nbeginning the study of the next group, we stop at this point to see what\nwas Alfonso\u2019s own judicial definition of \u201cmiraglo\u201d, as the term is used\nin his _Siete Partidas_.[43] It reads as follows:\n\n \u201cMiraglo tanto quiere decir como obra de Dios maravillosa que es\n sobre la natura usada de cada dia: et por ende acaesce pocas veces.\n Et para ser tenido por verdadero ha menester que haya en \u00e9l quatro\n cosas: la primera que venga por poder de Dios et non por arte: la\n segunda que el miraglo sea contra natura, ca de otra guisa non se\n maravillarien los homes d\u00e9l: la tercera que venga por merescimiento\n de santidad et de bondat que haya en s\u00ed aquel por quien Dios lo\n face: la quarta que aquel miraglo acaesca sobre cosa que sea \u00e1\n confirmamiento de la fe.\u201d[44]\n\nNext in extent after the group of miracles performed in answer to\n_direct appeal_ is that in which Santa Mar\u00eda comes to the aid of her\nfollowers _voluntarily_, owing, perhaps indirectly, to their prayers,\nbut if so this is not so stated and the dominating thought is not that\nthe act was in answer to prayer but rather it is to emphasize the\nkindness, care and eternal vigilance she ever has for those who have\ncommended themselves to her keeping.\n\nIn our study of this division we shall follow the same classification as\nwe did in the last, but shall cite examples only in cases where they\ndiffer materially in one particular or another from those mentioned\nabove. Altho the actual number of miracles is less, here divine aid is\nmanifested in an even greater variety of ways. These new elements will\nbe considered under additional appropriate headings beginning on page\n65. On the whole the general tone of the miracles is the same, and\nsometimes it seems as tho the poet merely forgot, or perhaps it was not\nconvenient for him, to work into his verse the statement that a given\ncase was one of direct answer to prayer. At other times, however, it\nseems that the prayer was answered in a manner entirely unlooked for, or\nagain that the miracle was performed without supplication whatever on\nthe part of the recipient.\n\nBeginning again with the group composed of the greatest of all miracles,\nthe restoration of life, it is noticed that here instead of being in\nresponse to a direct appeal on the part of some faithful servant, the\nmiracle seems to be performed as a reward, without the bereaved person\nhaving thought such a thing possible. The fact that the soul of the\nperson whose life is thus restored may be brought back from the regions\nof eternal happiness seems of minor importance. One of the most\nbeautiful of these miracles is said to have taken place in \u201cInglaterra.\u201d\nA widow had a young son who sang, as no one else could, the \u201cGaude Virgo\nMar\u00eda\u201d. A jealous Jew killed him and put his body in a cellar, thinking\nthat would be the end of it. The mother, not knowing what had become of\nher son, went thru the street calling \u201cWhere are you?\u201d As she passed the\nhouse of the Jew she was answered by her resurrected child singing more\nbeautifully than ever \u201cGaude Mar\u00eda\u201d. The Jew was put to death for his\ncrime (No. 6).\n\nThe new element of temporary restoration is found in No. 311. A pious\nman and his friend set out on a pilgrimage to Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de\nMonserrat. His friend does not seem to be very well confirmed in the\nfaith, and when, as they are passing thru Barcelona, a flash of\nlightning kills his devout companion, he curses the Virgin and taunts\nhis dead fellow pilgrim with the worthlessness of his devotion. The next\nday at the burial the dead man rises in his coffin and vindicates his\nfaith by saying that all is well now.\n\nThe Virgin plays an even more important part in the miracle (No. 323)\nwhich happened when Aben Yussef crossed the straits of Algeciras and\nmade damaging raids into the territory of Seville. A poor man\u2019s only son\ndied, and, as the Moors were already in sight, all the father could do\nwas to commend the body and his worldly possessions to the Blessed\nMother as he hastily fled before the enemy. When the land was recaptured\nthe old man, to his great astonishment, found his son alive and all his\npossessions safe. The boy told him that a lady had come to accompany\nhim and for some reason the Moors had respected her.\n\nVery close akin to these are those of life miraculously sustained when\naccording to all laws of nature death was inevitable, as was the case\n(No. 131) when Emperor Alexius of Constantinople, while on a tour of\ninspection, was imprisoned in a caving mine along with many workers. All\nwere killed except the emperor who was saved by a large rock which\nformed a protection for him. The empress and all at court gave him up\nfor lost and spent much time in Masses for his soul. At the end of one\nyear the Patriarch of the city dreamed the emperor was still alive and\nimmediately took workmen and had the mine opened. Thereupon they found\nthe emperor unharmed and learned that he had been fed and solaced by\nangels during the entire interval.\n\nEven more dramatic is the experience of a German and his son on a\npilgrimage to the shrine of Santiago, who while lodging in the house of\na heretic fall victims unawares to the old trick of having silver put in\nthe boy\u2019s bag in order to accuse him of theft. The boy is hanged, and\nthe heart-broken father, still faithful, continues on his way and\nfulfills his vow. On his return he is impelled to pass by the gallows.\nTo his surprise he finds his son still alive, having been sustained by\nthe Virgin for three months. Hastening to the bailiff, the father\nsecures the release of his boy and has the heretic duly burned (No.\n175).\n\nThere are no new elements presented in the various miracles in this\ngroup dealing with the curing of bodily ailments, beyond those already\nindicted on page 35. No 206 however describes the interesting spectacle\nof Pope Leo, very devout and austere, who became so much perturbed at\nbeing kissed on the hand by a beautiful woman at Mass that he could not\nforget the sensation nor concentrate on his work until he had his hand\ncut off. This did not give him peace because he was no longer qualified\nto say Mass. The Virgin, seeing his grief and having mercy on him,\ndescended from heaven and applied a marvelous ointment to the stump with\nthe result that the hand was restored.\n\nIn the methods by which the Blessed Mother prevents harm from befalling\nher devotees there is nothing new. The only difference being that here\nthe act is performed more as tho it were the reward for faithful service\nwhile previously it was in answer to prayer.\n\nAs is to be expected the idea of bargaining is almost entirely absent\nfrom this group. The bargain idea found its birth on the part of man and\nnot of the Deity. One legend only in the entire collection represents\nthe Virgin as taking the initiative in a bargain (No. 307). This is when\nshe appears to a virtuous man after an eruption of Mount Etna which had\ncaused great damage and had lasted forty days. She told him if he wanted\nthe eruption to cease to compose a hymn to her. This he did with the\ndesired effect.\n\nThe number of the unmoral, in fact in some cases distinctly immoral,\nmiracles here is greater than before. We must not forget, however, that,\nas mentioned above, often there was no very close connection between\nreligious observances and morals in Medieval Europe.\n\nOn one occasion (No. 24) we are told that a very wicked man, a robber\nand a gambler, died and was refused a Christian burial, but during his\nlife he had been devoted to the Virgin, so she appeared to the priest\nand demanded that his body be taken up and buried in sacred ground. When\nthey opened the grave they found a rose in the mouth of the corpse[45].\nNo. 11 is the story of a licentious monk who was drowned one night while\ncrossing a river on the way to visit his amour. The Devil appeared for\nhis soul but two angels contested his claim. He convinced them of his\nright and they were about to retire when the Virgin arrived, routed the\nDevil, and ordered the soul to return to the body in order that the monk\nmight repent and do penance. In this instance, it will be noted, the\nsoul is simply restored to the body and given another chance, while in\nNo. 24 above, the indication is that the soul of the evil doer is saved.\n\nThen there are five quite similar, Nos. 55, 58, 59, 94 and 285, tho the\nmoral lesson differs somewhat. In the first a young nun elopes with a\nmonk to Lisbon where when she finds herself about to become a mother she\nis cruelly deserted. Not knowing what else to do she returns penitent to\nthe convent. Angels attend her at the birth of the son during the night\nand no one suspects her. None had missed her during the absence because\nthe Virgin had taken her place and it is not until one day in her old\nage when her son, now a handsome young man, appears in the choir singing\n\u201cSalve Regina\u201d that all is discovered because the worthy nun recognizes\nhim publicly. No. 94 is apparently the same legend more fully developed.\nThe nun, the treasurer of the convent, falls in love with a knight and\non leaving the convent gives the keys into the keeping of the Virgin.\nShe and her husband live together happily for years, being blessed with\nmany children, and it is only in later years that she repents and\nreturns to the convent, confessing all. To her astonishment, she found\nthat the Virgin had taken her place during her absence and no one had\never known the difference. When it is learned that the Blessed Mother\nhad performed such an act of kindness, all burst into a hymn of praise\nto her. In No. 285 we have the same setting of a young nun falling in\nlove, this time with the nephew of the abbess, but the actions of the\nVirgin are quite different. On the first attempt to leave the convent\nSaint Mary stopped her. The next day she sent word to her lover that she\nhad failed to keep her appointment because she had been ill but promised\nto meet him the next night, which she did, and the two made their escape\nsuccessfully. They married and had children but even then she was not\nable to get away from the Holy Mother, who appeared to her in a dream\nand severely reprimanded her. This was too much. She at last told her\nhusband and in repentance they both decided to enter the monastic life.\nIn this legend the immoral element has disappeared, the Virgin no longer\nprotecting the guilty. No. 59 is still another story with the same\ntheme, but the punishment is still more severe. As the young girl was\nabout to depart she went to take leave of the Saint. At the parting her\nimage began to shed tears. The girl then drew near the crucifix, which,\nloosing one of its hands from the cross, struck her in the face, leaving\nthe mark of the nail as a stigma. In No. 58 the girl concerned was about\nto elope, but two dreams of Hell and of eternal punishment were\nsufficient to make the heroine send for her lover and tell him that\ntheir union would be impossible.\n\nOf the three instances in which the sacred breast or milk of the Virgin\nplay a part, all involve an answer to direct appeals. See page 45.\n\nWhile there is only one account of possessions being restored without\nrequest (No. 228, which contains no new elements) there are several\nwhich tell of rare materials, or of materials delayed by storms at sea,\netc., being miraculously supplied; or perhaps, as in the case of Emperor\nConstantine (No. 231), Santa Mar\u00eda would help in the erection of\nbuildings. The emperor had brought huge blocks of marble from Roumania\nfor the altar and columns of a church to be dedicated to her. When they\narrived they were so large no means could be found to hoist them into\nposition. At last she appeared to the architect and told him to do away\nwith all apparatus and use only three small boys to do the work. He did\nas he was bidden and they placed the blocks in position with ease.\n\nThese, however, do not give us as intimate a picture of the life of the\ncommon people as do other accounts, such as No. 273. In it we get a\nglimpse of the privations of the home life of the peasants and at the\nsame time an idea of their innate pride in their local church. At\nAyamonte there was a small and poor church erected to Santa Mar\u00eda but in\nspite of the poverty of its communicants the altar decorations were\nrich. So great were their privations that even the Host was scarce. At\nthe feast of the Virgen de Agosto some of the altar cloths needed\nmending and one of the devout men of the congregation offered to do it.\nHe had a needle but no thread, and no one could provide him with it.\nWhile before the altar considering what he should do, he glanced up and\nsaw two threads on his shoulder obviously supplied by the Saint. It is\nin such apparently incidental allusions as this--and the one, No. 211,\nwhere bees come into the church of their own accord and supply the wax\nfor the candles because the congregation could not furnish any--that we\ncan, from time to time, form an idea of how \u201cthe other half,\u201d which did\nnot consist of knights and nobles, really lived.\n\nFollowing the same order as in the first group we now come to those\naccounts in which the Virgin comes to the aid of the enemies of the\nfaith. Quite modern in tone is the story (No. 335) of a poor man who,\naltho entirely ignorant of Christianity and its teachings, gave even the\nlittle he had to the poor. The Holy Mother, knowing of his goodness,\nappeared to him as a poor woman with her child in her arms and asked him\nfor a morsel of bread. Fearing he had none he went, nevertheless, to see\nif he could not scrape out just a little more flour from the barrel.\nWhen he returned with the last of his flour made into bread for her, she\nhad gone. He made inquiry thruout the neighborhood describing her, and\nwas finally advised to go and inquire of the Christians. There he\nrecognized the Virgin and Child from her image and became a Christian.\nFrom the day she appeared to him the flour never failed in the bin.\n\nNot only was mercy extended to those good at heart and living model\nlives and to those who did not believe simply because of ignorance, but\nopportunities for proselyting were quickly taken advantage of. A certain\nJewess, (No. 89) dangerously ill at childbirth, was about to despair.\nNaturally she did not believe in the Virgin but she heard a mysterious\nvoice bidding her call on Santa Mar\u00eda, which she did. When those\nattending her heard this awful name they fled, calling her a heretic and\na renegade, but she was cured. The mother and child both became\nChristians.\n\nThe Blessed Mother, however, knew mankind and did not use the same\nmethod with every one. With some, more persuasion was necessary than\nwith others, and so when dealing with one hardened Jew, who had been\nrobbed and beaten by Christians and was still being kept on a diet of\nbread and water in the hope of extorting even more from him, it was not\nenough that she should merely appear to him and bid him forsake his\nreligion; she tells him that altho he is of the evil race she will show\nhim what his people have missed. With that she takes him from prison to\na high mountain where she shows him how the Jews are being tortured and\nthen to another from where he can see the Christians surrounded with\nangels, and thence to a monastery, where, taking the hint, he gladly\nbecomes a Christian (No. 85).[46]\n\nThe Christians themselves used rather persuasive methods of proselyting\nat times if we may trust the account of a Christian of Consuegra who\ndisputed much with a Moorish captive of his concerning the Virgin. When\nhe could not make the man believe by arguing he put him in prison, where\nhis efforts were supplemented by the intervention of supernatural\nbeings. The Devil tormented him for two nights and on the third the\nVirgin appeared to him and told him if he wished to be free from the\nDevil he would have to forsake the \u201cdog\u201d Mohammed. He told this vision\nto his master, was baptised, and from that time on was a faithful\nbeliever (No. 192).\n\nIn another (No. 205) we again find both human and divine persons\ninterested in the unbeliever, but this time it is physical safety they\nare concerned about. The miracle was witnessed by two nobles mentioned\nby name, Don Alfonso Tellez and Don Gonzalo Eanes, Maestre de Cala, and\ntheir followers. They were attacking a Moorish castle and had set fire\nto it. On one of the towers they saw a Moorish woman with her child who\nby her pose reminded them of the Virgin and Child. The sight filled them\nwith pity and inspired them to pray for the safety of the two. In answer\nthe flames respected them, while the tower fell gently to the ground,\nallowing them alone of all those in the castle to escape unharmed. The\nmother out of gratitude asked for baptism for herself and her child.\n\nAfter examining these classes, which coincide more or less with similar\nones of the first group, there still remain a number of other miracles\nwhich present entirely new elements. First we shall examine those in\nwhich Saint Mary aids her devotees in acts of worship or in restraining\nevil passions which prevent their undivided service.\n\nA person sincerely trying to do his religious duty could always count\nupon aid from heaven when his temptations were becoming too great for\nhim or when worldly cares caused him temporarily to neglect his regular\nworship. A very devout woman (No. 246) used to pray every Saturday\nevening at the shrine of Santa Mar\u00eda de M\u00e1rtires. Once she forgot, owing\nto household duties, until very late. On her arrival, altho the church\ndoors were already closed they opened of their own accord, after she had\nbegun her devotions before the portal. She entered and deposited her\ngift, and as she left the doors closed of themselves. Astonished, she\nreturned to the city where the closed gates of the wall opened without\nthe touch of a human hand. Just then a beautiful woman appeared and when\nthe peasant asked her who she was she acknowledged herself to be the\nVirgin. The poor wretch tried to kiss her feet, but as she did so the\nHoly One disappeared.\n\nAgain, we learn (No. 156) of a clerk who persisted in chanting Mass in\nhonor of the Virgin, thereby angering some heretics who cut out his\ntongue. Some time later the good man entered the church of Santa Mar\u00eda\nde Cunnegro while the congregation were singing vespers. As he attempted\nto join in the song a new tongue was given him.[47]\n\nOf the numerous legends having as the dominant theme the inability of\nthe person concerned to restrain his animal passions the best developed\nis the story of the clerk who was much given to women. One night while\nin the room with one he suddenly saw thru the window the lights of a\nchurch of the Virgin. Never having seen them there before he left to\ninvestigate, but finding nothing returned. This time the woman herself\nclosed the window fast but almost immediately a strong gust of wind blew\nit open, and again the church was seen. With this he recognized his\nerror, repented, and became a monk. A little later, when his former\nconduct was criticized and he was brought to account for it before the\nchurch council, the Virgin cleared him of all charges (No. 151).\n\nIt will be noted that often in the foregoing miracles, and often in\nthose that are to follow, the Virgin appears in dreams or visions, but\nthe feature of the vision has usually been only incidental. In all we\nhave only two examples (Nos. 261 and 288) of a true mystical vision\ngranted for the sake of the experience alone. One of these (No. 261)\nrecounts how a very devout woman was desirous of seeing a perfectly\nvirtuous man and woman. Communicating her desire to the priest, he told\nher to return home and to remain alone in fasting and prayer. This she\ndid and after nine days she saw a bright light followed by those who\nsaid they were saints. These in turn were followed by the Virgin and her\nSon. Upon seeing them she had no further desire to live and prayed to be\ntaken with them, which request was granted. When the priest was told of\nher death, and undertook to prepare her body for burial, he found it\ngiving off an odor more delicate and pleasing to the senses than the\nperfumes of the Orient.\n\nThe usual purpose of the vision is to give commands, or to strengthen\nthe weakhearted or discouraged.[48] There are one or two accounts,\nhowever, in which the vision itself is enlarged upon and the cure or\ncommand or lesson, as the case may be, sinks into minor importance. The\nscene is that of a deeply grieved mother sitting beside the bed of her\nvery religious son, a deaf mute, who was dying of a serious illness. His\nmother saw him suddenly rise up in his bed and begin to talk to some\nperson unseen and unheard by her. It was the Blessed Mother who had\nvisited him in a vision and healed him (No. 269).\n\nAt other times the vision seems to be a kind of clairvoyance thru which\nthe recipient sees what is happening at a distant place at that very\nmoment. In relating one of his own experiences Alfonso declares (No.\n345) that when D. Nu\u00f1o de Lara abandoned J\u00e9rez, in spite of the fact\nthat reenforcements had been sent him, the Moors entered, destroyed the\nchapel, and tried to burn the image of the Virgin but could not. At that\nparticular time both the king and the queen were taking their siesta at\nSeville and each dreamed of the Virgin and her Child fleeing from the\nburning chapel of J\u00e9rez. On awaking they learned of the disaster and\nhastened to retake the city, after which the royal couple, together with\ntheir children, restored the church.\n\nSimilar to this in so far as the character of the vision is concerned\ntho in an entirely different setting is No 15 in which Emperor Julian\nwas the victim. In this particular case we are presented with two\nversions of the legend--one in _Las Cantigas_, originally told\nsupposedly by an eye witness of the events as they happened at the tomb\nof the saint, and the other in the _Primera Cr\u00f3nica General_. In brief\nthey are as follow:\n\n (Version according to _Las Cantigas_, No. 15)\n\n Emperor Julian had to pass thru Caesarea, where, angered by San\n Basilio, he promised to return and destroy the city after the\n conquest of Persia. After much prayer and fasting by the entire\n city San Basilio had a vision in which he saw the Virgin appear and\n order San Mercurio, whose tomb and armor were in that church, to\n avenge her and her son of the evil emperor. Upon awaking an excited\n fellow priest hastened to report that the arms of San Mercurio had\n disappeared. San Basilio then called together the people to tell\n them the news and together they went to examine the tomb. To their\n surprise the arms were again in their place red with blood. While\n they were still gazing, astonished, at the bloody weapons, Libano\n de Sur rushed in and confirmed the news of the emperor\u2019s death.\n\n (Version in the _Primera Cr\u00f3nica General_, p. 201)\n\n Emperor Julian, on setting out to conquer Persia, promised to\n sacrifice to his gods if they would give him victory all the\n Christians, especially all the bishops, he should find. As he was\n returning victoriously from the East he was about to lose many of\n his host thru lack of water. Against the advice of his counselors\n he took as a guide one of the men of the country and,\n unaccompanied, went with him in search of water. Suddenly a strange\n knight appeared before the two, killed the emperor and instantly\n disappeared. As he expired the emperor took some of his blood in\n his hand and throwing it heavenward as tho throwing it in the face\n of someone cried out \u201cYa uenciste, Galileo, ya uenciste.\u201d (He\n always referred to Jesus as Galileo). The compilers add that some\n histories say the emperor was killed by one of the enemy knights\n but in reality it was San Mercurio, for in the church where his\n body lay it was noticed that his shield and sword disappeared that\n very day and hour and that they were back in place the next day\n stained with blood. Because of this it was known that the strange\n knight was none other than San Mercurio who had killed the great\n enemy of the faith.\n\nIn this last version the vision motif is entirely lacking.\n\nAt other times the vision takes on a kind of symbolic or mystic feature,\nits purpose being to strengthen the faith of the one concerned. One in\nwhich the acts of Saint Mary astonish us is that experienced by some\nnuns commissioned by a religious and devout king (probably Alfonso\nhimself altho he was too modest to say so) to pray for him. They saw the\nVirgin calling for the king on Easter morning, saying she would grant\nanything he asked if he would come. He entered the church and as he did\nso the image kneeled before him and kissed his hand. He immediately fell\non his face in humility. She, thru her image, bade him rise for, she\nsaid, \u201cYou have always honored me and my Son and when you die you will\ncome to us.\u201d After witnessing such magnanimous acts the vision passed\nand the nuns hastened to tell the king what they had seen. He was devout\nbefore, but this greatly increased his devotion (No. 295).\n\nThe line between experiences having the mystical element usually\nconsidered essential in visions proper, or in dream-visions, and those\nexperiences which some few persons undergo while in full control of all\ntheir faculties is so fine as to be at times almost undistinguishable.\nThe following (No. 365) has, indeed, all the marks of a vision but on\nthe other hand the friar manifests none of those emotions usually\nsupposed to accompany such cases. This clerk, contaminated with the\nAlbigensien heresy, did not believe in the immortality of the soul and\ntherefore was about to flee from the convent to a life of pleasure, when\nhe saw the Virgin descend from heaven with a host of angels and return\nwith the soul of a poor, humble, but believing man. This convinced him\nof his error and he passed the rest of his life in the convent full of\nholy hope.\n\nThe r\u00f4le of a saint who admonishes and warns is quite common for the\nBlessed Mother. She is indeed in many respects like a mother who\ncarefully watches over her children, ready to offer a word of comfort\nhere or one of criticism there. Just like a school boy who tires of his\ntask and is ready to flee before its completion was a friar of Burgos\nwho began a garment of prayers for the Virgin, but was persuaded by the\nDevil to leave the monastic life with his task half finished. She,\nhowever, appeared to him holding in her hand a dress far too short, and\ntold him to return and finish the work, adding that she wanted him, too,\nfor he was going to die within one year, but that she would come again\nbefore the final day. 364 days later she did return and he died on the\nday following (No. 274)[49].\n\nAnother picture, so very human and so child-like, is that of a doctor\nwho became a friar, but, not liking the poor food, complained\nconsiderably. To cure him of this the Virgin appeared with a dish of\ndelicious food and, treating the whole community as so many children,\ngave some to each one except the complaining clerk. He acknowledged and\naccepted the lesson (No. 88).\n\nVarious methods besides that of the vision are employed to warn the\ndelinquent. These can be best illustrated by giving a brief r\u00e9sum\u00e9 of\nthree miracles which need no comment.\n\nA gambler, losing heavily (No. 154) curses God and the Virgin and in\ndefiance of their power picks up a bow and shoots an arrow into the\nsky, shouting \u201cD\u2019aquesta uegada ou a Deus ou a sa Madre darei mui gran\nsaetada\u201d. Having thus given vent to his feelings he returns to play. A\nfew moments later the arrow, wet with blood, falls on the table around\nwhich they are seated. Thinking someone has been wounded, each hastily\nexamines himself. When each is found whole the true significance dawns\non them and they become terrified indeed. So great is the effect that\nthe blasphemer repents and enters an austere order--and, it is said,\ngained heaven.\n\nIn No. 196 a gentile[50] priest who hated everything connected with\nChristianity prepared a mold for an image which he expected would answer\nall his questions. When it came out it had a form quite different from\nwhat he had anticipated, so he asked his fellows what it was. They could\nnot help him. Finally some of his Christian acquaintances told him that\nit was the form of the Virgin, and to prove their assertion took him to\nthe church where he could see for himself. This experience convinced him\nof his error and he was converted.\n\nThe Bishop of Siena (No. 219) had several images made for the church,\nall in white. Among them was one of the Devil and one of Santa Mar\u00eda. As\nthis color did not make Satan look as vile as he really was the Virgin\nturned the figure black. The prelate, hearing of the change, thought it\nwas some trick and ordered the image washed and scraped, but without\nresult. It was black thru and thru. He then recognized his sin and\nprayed for forgiveness.\n\nThe hope of reward has ever been one of the strongest arguments offered\nby any religion. The Mohammedans, the greatest rivals of the Christians\nat that time, offered thru their faith attractive rewards in the next\nlife, as did Christianity also. But for the peasant and also for the man\nof the middle class as well as occasionally even for the noble, the\nfuture life was something afar off; reward in the present life was much\nmore attractive and it was this that the Virgin granted from time to\ntime to a chosen few. The first miracle recorded in the collection (No.\n2) is the old and even then well-known legend of the mantle the Virgin\ngave to San Ildefonso for his service and which at his death his\nsuccessor in office, Don Siagrio, dared to appropriate, dying as the\nresult of his sacrilege[51].\n\nUsually the favor was in return for some special service. In No. 141 it\nis an answer to the eternal desire to grow young and is bestowed upon a\ncertain very devout friar who always fell on his knees when he heard the\nname of the Virgin. When very old the abbot assigned two monks to\naccompany and care for him, but one day when left alone for a few\nmoments he fell and could not rise. He called on the Saint, who appeared\nand led him by the hand before her altar, where she told him to kiss it\nand become young. To his great surprise he found himself again a young\nman of about twenty years.\n\nNo. 63 is especially interesting, not only because of its contents but\nalso of its similarity to the story found in the second part of _La\nPrimera Cr\u00f3nica General_ (p. 426). A knight, the constant companion of\nthe Count D. Garc\u00eda in his campaigns against the Moors, was extremely\nconscientious in his devotions and always stayed until Mass was entirely\nover before leaving. One day, due to this, he was late in arriving on\nthe field of battle, tho no one had missed him. As he rode up the Count\nmet and embraced him and bade him have his wounds dressed,\ncongratulating him at the same time, saying that it had been his skill\nand valor that had saved the day. Shamefacedly the knight glanced at his\narmor and was surprised beyond words to see it full of holes and bloody.\nHe then realized that some divine messenger had taken his place; and all\nrejoiced in the miracle.[52]\n\nIn another instance (No. 105) the reward is the gift of healing, tho\nthis time it is not, as is so often the case, by means of a mantle. The\nBlessed Virgin appeared to a young girl early in life and told her if\nshe wished to gain heaven she must remain a virgin. The child promised,\nbut her parents married her against her will. She repelled her husband\nfor over a year until, beside himself, he wounded her with a knife.\nAbout this time the people of the community began to fall ill with\nleprosy. She too took the disease and, still suffering from her wound,\nwent to the altar of Santa Mar\u00eda. While there, asleep from exhaustion,\nshe was visited in a dream by the Holy Mother who appeared in her dream,\ncured her, and gave her the power of healing all lepers with her kiss.\n\nThere are also a few accounts of the faithful being taken to heaven when\nlife has become intolerable (Nos. 384, 56, etc.).\n\nJust as Santa Mar\u00eda, when answering prayer, is not limited in her power\nto curing bodily ills but may also protect from harm, so in bestowing\nrewards she does not confine her mercies to those who are suffering. In\nfact she much more frequently protects them from such harm. Naturally,\nmiracles of this type, all in return for faithful service, cover a large\nvariety of cases such as: the congregation miraculously saved from harm\nwhen a heavy beam fell during a sermon (No. 266), a pilgrim saved on\nfalling into the sea (No. 33), a wife saved from an angry husband\nbecause she spent too much time at devotions (No. 314), a boy freed\nafter capture by the Moors (No. 359), a clerk who lost his position\nbecause he could say only one Mass ordered reenstated (No. 32), and one\nthat reminds us of Coleridge\u2019s \u201cAncient Mariner,\u201d the story of a hermit\ncaptured by pirates after they had sacked the surrounding country and\nwere ready to sail away. They started with him on board but each night\nsome mysterious power brought their ships back to where they had been\nthe day before. At last the admiral decided to release the hermit, Count\nAbran of Germany, and in addition offered him great riches of which he\nselected only one glass to keep as a reminder of the favor he had\nreceived at divine hands (No. 95).\n\nQuite often Saint Mary protects her own from unjust punishment. A\nconfidential adviser of a certain lord was falsely accused by his\nenemies. Because of his devotion to Santa Mar\u00eda she caused the truth to\nbe brought out at the trial so that he was freed while his maligner was\nburned. She proves equal to the occasion when her followers are\nsubmitted to the ordeal of trial by fire[53]. A married woman\u2019s\nmother-in-law accused her before her husband of unfaithfulness. The wife\nand the Moor with whom she was accused and who had agreed to act as an\naccomplice of the mother-in-law were taken to the public square to be\nburned. The Moor perished immediately but the woman was unharmed, and\nfurthermore the Virgin was seen beside her in the fire (No. 186).\n\nThe motherly characteristic of Santa Mar\u00eda again comes to the front in\nNo. 47 when she rewards a good priest who has always been punctual in\nhis duties but gives way once and, yielding to temptation, becomes\nthoroly drunk. This she does by caring for him on his way home, when the\nDevil in the form of a bull, a frightful black man, and a lion torments\nhim. She protects him even to the point of striking the lion with a\nstick, then she tells him to go and sin no more.[54] At another time she\nrewards a faithful servant by keeping his wife from harm while he is\naway in the wars. During his absence a gallant courts her and sends her\na pair of shoes. She puts one on to try it and to her dismay is unable\nto remove it. In fact no one could do so until her husband returned,\nwhen he took it off with ease (No. 64).\n\nSanta Mar\u00eda is particular about vows that have been made to her and is\ncareful to see that they are conscientiously fulfilled. A woman (No.\n117) promised never to work on Saturday, that day being dedicated to the\nMother of Christ. When she forgot her vow she was stricken with\nparalysis. Another mother who forgot her vow made while praying that she\nmight have a child, was punished by having it die before reaching\nmaturity (No. 347).\n\nThe conception of \u201cThe Bride of Christ\u201d on taking the vows of a nun\nremains even to the present time. In the Middle Ages, when the cult of\nthe Virgin was at its zenith, the vow of celibacy on the part of men\nseems to have had a similar appeal with respect to consecration to the\nworship and love of the Virgin while she is constantly represented as\nbeing extremely jealous of those who have thus dedicated themselves to\nher. One young man made the vow either under the inspiration of the\nmoment or perhaps even partly in jest, but this did not make it any the\nless binding. As he was about to begin to play ball he removed the ring\nof his fianc\u00e9e from his finger for fear of damaging it, and as he\nhappened to be standing near an image of the Virgin he slipped it on its\nfinger saying as he did so that he would never love another woman. To\nhis surprise and great fear the image bent its finger so the ring could\nnot be removed. His friends advised a monastic life but he did not heed\nthem, shortly afterwards forgetting all about the incident and preparing\nto marry. But the Virgin appeared to him in two successive dreams and in\nher anger so disturbed the youth that he wandered aimlessly for a month\nand then entered a monastery (No. 42). She was a little more lenient at\ntimes with young nuns who violated their promise. In fact nearly all\nthose miracles termed unmoral are cases where the Blessed Mother out of\npity shielded these same girls from what was considered their just\npunishment.\n\nAs well as being jealous of those who have consecrated themselves to\nher, the Virgin guards with the greatest care her shrines, her own\nimages and those of her Son, her feast days, and the special customs,\netc., that grew up around her individual sanctuaries. She protected her\nchurch of Monsar\u00e1s (Portugal) from an avalanche (No. 113), and the one\nin Murcia from the political wiles of man by making it impossible to\nremove as much as one nail (No. 169). Later she saved this same church\nwhen even Alfonso X himself consented to its destruction, and still\nlater against the ravages of the Moors. During this period of constant\nwar she frequently had occasion to guard her images against the\nMohammedans (Nos. 99, 183, etc.), or against sacrilegious acts of\nsupposed Christians (Nos. 136, 293, etc.). This might be accomplished by\ncausing the images to remain intact amid general destruction of all\nother objects (No. 99), or to pass thru a severe fire unharmed (No. 39).\nThe occupation of the offenders might be brought to a standstill (No.\n183), the offender himself might be physically harmed (No. 293), or the\nimage might put up its arm to protect itself (No. 136). Santa Mar\u00eda de\nRibila would allow nothing but olive oil to be burned before her shrine\n(No. 304).\n\nNeither will she tolerate the making and maltreatment of effigies of her\nSon.[55] A heavenly voice at Mass warns the congregation, \u201cThe Jews who\nare killing my Son do not desire to be at peace with Him\u201d. The\nChristians rush to the Jewish quarter and find the Jews engaged in\nbeating and spitting upon an effigy of Jesus which they are preparing to\ncrucify. All the Jews perish on the rack for the deed (No. 12). In No.\n215 in a little town near Martos a Moor attempts to stab an image but\nwounds himself instead; stones it but it remains unharmed; puts it in\nthe fire for two days but it is not affected; ties a stone around its\nneck and then throws it in the river but it does not sink. The King of\nGranada then sends it to the king of Castile, who is at Segovia; he\nreceives it with great joy and orders it put in his chapel.[56]\n\nIt is necessary to approach the church of the Virgin with due humility\nand in a penitent state of mind. Wilful sinners can not force an entry\nuntil they have duly and earnestly repented (Nos. 98, 217, etc.),\nneither are Moors allowed to enter for unholy purposes, but are struck\nblind and paralyzed, etc. (No. 229). Acts of violence committed in the\nchurch are always fittingly punished with disease, paralysis, or death.\nSometimes such punishment is accompanied by significant acts by the\nimage of Mar\u00eda, sometimes not. In No. 164, because of the affront\noffered by the Infante D. Fernando in arresting a prior before the altar\non the charge of counterfeiting money, the image of the Virgin separated\nitself from that of the Son and lost its color. After the repentance of\nthe Infante the form of the mother went back to that of the Son but\nnever regained its color.\n\nNo. 38 has the added element, by no means uncommon, of the Devil or of\ndemons acting as the agents of God in killing the offenders. This time\nit was the Conde de Poitiers who with his men entered and desecrated the\nsanctuary, one going so far as to maltreat the image of the Virgin with\nthe Child in her arms by striking it, thereby breaking one of the arms.\nTo his surprise and horror, blood flowed freely from the wound. Demons\nkilled the guilty person, and hearing of it the Count vindicated himself\nby punishing all those implicated. So particular is the Virgin about the\nsacredness of her shrines that some pilgrims at Santa Mar\u00eda de Terena\nafter becoming engaged in a terrible fight among themselves during the\nnight, were awe-struck, on going out to collect the dead and wounded, to\nfind them all well and reconciled, altho their armor was battered and\nbroken. The Blessed Mother would not tolerate Christian blood shed by\nChristians in front of her church (No. 198).\n\nThose legends which have to do with the earthly life of the Mother of\nJesus are very rare, and when we do find them it almost startles us to\nthink she was ever considered as a person, human in all respects as they\nwere and living on this earth. We learn, however (No. 27), that in the\ntime of the apostles, the Christians had bought a synagogue intending to\nconvert it into a church. When the Jews hear of their intention they\nreclaim it and carry the matter before Caesar. The Christians go to\nMary, who is then living at Mount Sion and ask her advice. She tells\nthem not to fear, for she will help them at the trial. When the day\narrives the case is called in the church building. As Peter takes his\nplace beside the altar an image of Mary appears on the altar cloth. This\nis too much for the Jews, who refuse to carry the trial further.\nTradition has it that this was the first church dedicated to Santa\nMar\u00eda. Some time later Emperor Julian ordered the Jews to take away the\nimage of the Virgin, but it frowned on them in such a manner that they\nfeared to touch it.[57]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nMIRACLES PERFORMED BY IMAGES\n\n\nSince the image of the Virgin was intended to be a representation of the\nDivine Mother, it often, especially in the mind of the peasant,\nattracted to itself all her attributes. The result was that in a number\nof cases it was the image and not the Virgin that performed the deed.\nOften, also when the miracle was attributed to Santa Mar\u00eda it was not\nsimply to the saint, Mary the mother of Jesus, who lived in the distant\npast, far away in the Holy Land, nor to Mary, the most powerful of all\nthe saints in heaven, but it was to the very present, and very local\nsaint, Santa Mar\u00eda de Salas, or Santa Mar\u00eda del Puerto, as the case\nmight be. There is little doubt that in the mind of the common folk\nthere were as many different Saints Mary as there were shrines, and yet,\nat the same time, these all had a definite connection with the Mother of\nChrist in some mysterious way which the plain people did not trouble\nthemselves to explain. Just as the mystery of the Trinity did not\nperturb them nearly as much as it did the Anglo-Saxons of the North, so\nthis particular problem caused them little concern.\n\nAs might be expected, most of the miracles attributed to the image of\nthe Virgin are of the same nature as those performed by the saint\nherself. The image cures the diseased (No. 349), it bows over a man and\nthanks him for a hymn of praise he has composed (No. 202), saves a\nnaughty child from punishment (No. 303), protects a man\u2019s property from\nthreatened storm (No. 161), restores to health queen Beatriz, mother of\nAlfonso el Sabio, when the doctors had pronounced her illness incurable\n(No. 256), restrains a rich libertine knight of Catalonia from\ncommitting an immoral act in its presence (No. 312), protects a city\nfrom capture by the Moors even after the latter had learned from a\nprisoner that there were but fifteen men remaining to defend it (No.\n185), protects its altar from fire by removing a veil from its head and\nspreading it over the fire, thereby instantly extinguishing the flames\n(No. 332), and lastly even pours milk from its sacred breasts as a final\nargument to convince and convert a Moor (No. 44). The story of No. 321\ndiffers somewhat from this, reminding us of a similar cure attributed to\nthe Child Jesus while on the flight into Egypt.[58] A child was\nsuffering from a swelling in the neck and was pronounced incurable. A\nfriend advised that the patient be taken to the king, adding that all\nChristian kings had the power of healing. This was done, but the king\ntold them to take it before the image of the Virgin, wash the image in\npure water, and then give the child this water to drink for as many days\nas there are letters in the name _M-a-r-\u00ed-a_. On the fourth day the\nchild was healed. In two instances the power is extended a little\nfarther and in No. 123 a young friar on dying turned black and ugly. His\nbrethren took a candle from the altar and put it in his hand, which\ncaused his natural color to be restored. Later he returned and appearing\nto the two friars told them that the reason he became black at death was\nthat he saw Devils, but that the light of the Virgin drove them promptly\naway. In No. 209 Alfonso was very ill and when the doctors could not\ngive him relief he called for the unfinished manuscript[59] of _Las\nCantigas_ and by applying it to the affected part of his body he was\nhealed.\n\nBecause of the very high esteem in which the Virgin was held it is\ncommon to find instances in which a person swears by her or by her name\nor image, while she on her part is rightly conscientious in seeing that\nsuch oaths are not taken lightly. One young shepherd developed the habit\nof stealing and was finally caught, but cleared himself by swearing by\nGod _and the Virgin_ that he was innocent. A little later he was caught\nagain, and convicted. This time the Virgin allowed him to be hanged,\nbecause he had sworn by her falsely (No. 392). Another man (No. 239)\nperjured himself before her image by adjuring that he had never received\na certain article in trust. Even before leaving the church he was\novertaken by a severe illness which caused his death within three days.\nSo high and so sacred was this oath before the image of the Virgin held\nto be, that in one instance a wife, being accused of unfaithfulness by\nher jealous husband, offered to submit to the ordeal by fire to prove\nher innocence, but her husband demanded instead that she swear before\nthe altar of Nuestra Se\u00f1ora. Then he added that she could further clear\nherself by jumping from a high rock. She passed both tests safely and\nher husband, penitent, begged forgiveness on his knees (No. 341). In\nother cases the image of the Virgin _speaks_, as, for example, when\ncalled upon to bear witness in a difference between a Jew and a\nChristian over the payment of a debt (No. 25).\n\nThe very name of Mar\u00eda was one to conjure with.[60] Two miracles (Nos.\n194 and 254) are attributed to the power of the mere sound of the name;\nand once (No. 195) a girl is saved because her name is Mar\u00eda. In No. 194\na villainous host sends in pursuit of his departing guests some thugs to\nrob them, but the bandits, on hearing their intended victims call on the\nname of Santa Mar\u00eda for help, become powerless and speechless. In No.\n254, the image of the Virgin saves some monks who, while recuperating on\nthe banks of a river from the rigors of convent life, transgress the\nbounds of what is proper for men of their order. Seeing some devils in\nthe form of men, coming down the river in a boat, the monks, terrified,\ncall on the Virgin for aid. \u201cShe alone has saved you,\u201d shout the devils\nas they continue on their way. A girl (No. 195) who had been sold by her\nfather to a knight on his way to a tournament was saved from harm when\nshe told him her name was Mary and that that particular day was one\nespecially consecrated to the Saint\u2019s worship. On learning that, the\nknight sent her for safekeeping to an abbey, while he continued on his\njourney. At the tournament he was killed and buried in the open\nprairie.[61] The Virgin appeared to the girl and told her of his fate\ndemanding that she and the abbess go and give the man a worthy burial,\ntelling them they would be able easily to identify the body, for it\nwould have a rose in its mouth.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThere now remains a group of fifteen poems that do not seem to have any\nparticular purpose other than to produce an atmosphere of mystery; but\nthis very sentiment of the mystical played an important part in the\nreligious worship of the time. The very architecture of the churches\ntended to produce it, the processions, the ritual, all inspired the same\nfeeling. Herewith are summarized only four poems of this group, which\nwill give a sufficient idea of the emotions aroused by them.\n\nA young girl, a religious fanatic, died very early in life as the\nresult of self-imposed hardships. Her parents, suspecting poison,\nordered an autopsy, and on the heart of the dead girl was found an image\nof the Virgin (No. 188). In No. 361, Alfonso is said to have given a\nbeautiful image of the Virgin to the monastery of Las Huelgas de Burgos.\nOn Christmas night the strange idea of putting the image to bed occurred\nto the pious nuns. Almost immediately they saw it change color and turn\nfrom side to side. No. 79, of the codex of Toledo (a poem which does not\nappear in the codex of the Escorial), relates an incident that took\nplace weekly in the church at Constantinople. In this church was a\nbeautiful image of the Holy Mother, covered with a veil. Every Friday an\nangel descended from heaven to lift the veil, which remained suspended\nin the air until Saturday evening, (the day on which the faithful came\nto worship), when the angel would return and lower the veil again.\nCantiga No. 226 narrates a legend entirely foreign to Spanish thought\nand one which must have caused some surprise in its unwonted\nenvironment. The incident is said to have happened in \u201cGran Brita\u00f1a\u201d.\nThe account runs briefly as follows: A company of friars were in their\nconvent saying Mass on Easter morning, when the entire monastery was\nswallowed up by the earth--the ground closing above it and leaving no\ntrace whatever. For just a year the monks continued in this enforced\nseclusion, without lack of anything needful; they were even lighted by a\nmarvellous sun. On the next Easter morning all was restored to its\nformer natural state. It can be seen at a glance that this legend is\nentirely different from anything that has been mentioned in this\ncollection; and I have found no parallel to it in anything else of the\nperiod.\n\nIn closing this chapter attention should be called to two miracles which\nemphasize the great importance attached to confession.[62] No. 124 is\nthe story of a man condemned to be stoned because he had broken a law of\nthe Moors in whose land he was living. While undergoing this punishment,\nhe begged permission of the Virgin to make his confession; from that\nmoment his executioners could not harm him. Astonished that their\nmissiles suddenly ceased to have any effect they allowed him to confess,\nafter which he died praising the Blessed Mother. In No. 96 a sinner was\nunwilling to do penance, altho devoted to Santa Mar\u00eda. He was beheaded\nby robbers, without opportunity for confession. Four days later two\nfriars, on arriving at the spot, were surprised to hear the head plead\nfor the privilege of confession. They summoned a crowd; the head\nattached itself to the body, confessed, and then became separated again\nfrom the body.[63]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\n\u201cTHE DEVIL AND ALL HIS WORKS\u201d\n\n\nHis Satanic Majesty is and always has been one of the most interesting\nof personages. The tracing of his development from the beginning of\nreligion in the dim mythical past to his latest r\u00f4le as the prince of\nevil spirits and \u201ccontrols\u201d as depicted by Sir Conan Doyle, Sir Oliver\nLodge, and others of similar faith, is fascinating work. Satan as we\nfind him in the period with which we are concerned is far from being a\ndull and lifeless character. He is referred to as one who had been as\nholy and perfect as any, but who, because of his sin and treason, became\nthe lowest of all.[64] As such, having become the arch-enemy of God, it\nis his aim to drag down to Hell as many as possible. At the same time,\nthe nearer he comes to localities especially dedicated to his Enemy,\nGod, the more difficult it is for him to exercise his powers. In _Las\nSiete Partidas_ it is stated as a fact that the Devil cannot harm the\nsouls of those interred in holy ground as easily as of those buried\nelsewhere.[65] He is subject to conjuring[66] and can never face the\nVirgin. In fact, the mere sound of her name is often sufficient to drive\nhim away (No. 254). To our surprise he takes on one hellish attribute\nwhich we do not customarily connect with Spain of this period, but\nrather with the Orient. This is illustrated in _Las Cantigas_ No. 82,\nwhere it is related that a monk on his bed saw some devils in the form\nof swine approach, but they dared not touch him because of his holiness.\nShortly afterwards a black man appeared who said he was going to destroy\nthe monk, whereupon the latter, in desperation, appealed to the Virgin.\nAs she hastened to him the devils disappeared _in a cloud of smoke_.\n\nDemoniac possession is quite common and has only the well-known New\nTestament characteristics. The incidents as recorded could easily have\ntaken place in the time of Jesus in the Holy Land. But the humorous\nelement manifests itself at rare intervals even here, as we see in No.\n343 of _Las Cantigas_ where we find that a girl, possessed, is able, on\nseeing a person, to tell what his secret sin is and has a mania for\ndivulging this in public. Needless to say, she is soon shunned by all.\nEven the priest to whom she was first taken was mocked by her, the holy\nwater did not protect him, and he was not able to face her. However she\nwas finally cured before the altar at Rocamador.\n\nThe compilers of the _Primera Cr\u00f3nica General_[67] saw nothing in the\nvisions of Mohammed but demoniac possession.\n\nNot infrequently Satan resorts to taking on other forms than his own to\nattain his ends. One story (well known long before Alfonso\u2019s time) which\nfound its way into _Las Cantigas_ is that the Devil, taking on the form\nof an apostle, ordered a pilgrim to so mutilate himself, as penance for\nhis sin, that he died, after which Satan prepared to carry away his soul\nbut was prevented by Santiago (St. James) who rescued it.[68] At another\ntime, when he wished to take vengeance on a philanthropic Christian who\nhad established a hospital, he entered the corpse of a handsome young\nman, becoming the good man\u2019s servant, hoping thus to have an opportunity\nto assassinate him, but was prevented from doing so because his master\nprayed every day. At last, the bishop made a visit to the hospital and\nthe Devil, fearing to appear before him, pleaded illness. The kind\nprelate, solicitous for his welfare, requests to be allowed to see him.\nImmediately upon coming into his presence he notes his actions and,\nsuspecting something, conjures him in the name of God. The Devil\nconfesses and flees leaving the dead body of the young man at the feet\nof the bishop and philanthropist (No. 67). While thus taking on other\nforms he is at times distinctly mischievous, and we can see almost the\nsparkle of his eyes when, finding that the Virgin has made a certain\ninnocent man invisible in order that he may escape his foes who accuse\nhim falsely, Satan himself takes the form of this man and plays\npractical jokes with his pursuers (No. 213).\n\nThe familiar \u201cDevil Pact\u201d is to be found in its simplicity when a Jew\nsells his soul to the Devil, and later on repenting and praying most\nearnestly to the Virgin, finds that she hears his prayer and impels the\nDevil to return the contract.[69]\n\nThis simple, and even then conventional, plot does not seem to have\nsatisfied the demands of the time, since we find it occasionally\nintroduced with variations. One man (in No. 281) to gain his lost wealth\npromises the Devil he will deny God and the Church, but refuses to deny\na certain one of the saints, and that is the Virgin. Diabolus hesitates,\nbut remarks\n\n \u201c ... Pois negaste\n Deus, non mi \u00e1 ren que fazer\n de esa Madre non negares.\u201d\n\nTime passes and he prospers, until one day he is called upon to attend\nthe king on a public function during which, accidentally, the monarch\nenters a church. The knight refuses to accompany him, saying it is\nforbidden him to do so. With that the image of the Virgin beckons to\nhim, and upon being thus reassured he enters and confesses all. This act\nhas such an effect on the king that he adds a fortune to the visible\nprotection of Santa Mar\u00eda (No. 281). Another illustration is that of the\nman who barters his wife to the Devil, but the Blessed Mother does not\nallow the bargain to be carried out.[70]\n\nAside from the above-mentioned traits, that are to be found almost\nwherever the Devil himself is present, we notice a few others that are\nrare.\n\nThere is the threat of bottling the imps later mentioned on page 116.\n\nThe _Primera Cr\u00f3nica General_ contains a legend in which the devils\nappear almost like human beings holding a general conference. Antidio,\narchbishop of Vesentine, on crossing the bridge of the river of Duero,\nsees a group of devils in the field. Apparently without fear, the\narchbishop approaches to see what it is all about. As he draws near his\nattention is attracted by the report of one of the imps to the effect\nthat after seven years he has been successful in making the Pope sin.\nThe clergyman immediately demands as proof that the devil take him to\nthe Vatican on his back that he may verify the statement. This is done\nand the report found to be correct. After making the Pope do penance,\nthe archbishop, by conjuring in the name of God and Santa Cruz, now\nrequires the diminutive devil, whom he has kept waiting all this time,\nto carry him back to his diocese.[71]\n\nVery often the Devil appears as a servant of God--as a sort of scavenger\nwhose business it is to do the disagreeable work. The Vandal king,\nGunderico, after sacking Seville, attempts to enter the church by force\nto plunder it also. As he approaches the door he is met by the Devil and\nis killed for his sacrilege.[72] In _Las Cantigas_ No. 34 the Devil\nkills a Jew for robbing an image of the Virgin, while in No. 192 he so\ntorments an imprisoned Moor for two nights in succession that the Moor\nis glad to become a Christian.[73]\n\nHell, the abode of the Devil, is miserably slighted by the pen of\nAlfonso el Sabio. Numerous references are made to \u201cel fuego dell\ninferno\u201d; a little more graphic is\n\n \u201cD\u2019 esto direy un miragre\n que fezo a U\u00edrgen santa,\n Madre de Deus gror\u00efosa,\n que nos faz merc\u00e9e tanta,\n que nos d\u00e1 saud\u2019 e siso\n et \u00e4o demo quebranta\n _que nos quer \u00e4o inferno_\n _leuar, en que nos afume_.\u201d (No. 338.)\n\nBut no attempts are made to describe the familiar place.[74]\n\nAltho there can be no doubt that enchantment was known and practiced, as\nevidenced by the laws against it,[75] it is strange that there is but\none instance of it in the _Primera Cr\u00f3nica General_, and that, the\nstory of Simon Magus, the enchanter, is in the narration of the history\nof events in the time of Christ. In _Las Cantigas_, where we would\nnaturally look to find records of this nature, there are only such cases\nas the threat of the clerk to bottle the devils (No. 125), occasional\naccusations of the practice of enchantment (No. 8), or a reference to\nthe fact that medicine, enchantment, and prayers were all of no avail in\nthe attempt to cure a case of rabies until at last Santa Mar\u00eda de Terena\nwas approached (No. 319). The motif furnished by this practice was not\ndeveloped, nor did it become popular in literature, until the Books of\nChivalry.[76]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nDIVINATIONS--OMENS--AUGURIES\n\n\nThe love of the mysterious found its greatest development in Spain in\nthe study of divination, in omens and in auguries. In the practice of\nthis art Spain excelled all other countries of Europe in the Middle\nAges. Gaston Paris makes the following significant statement in speaking\nof the episode of the journey of the seven sons of Lara going to visit\ntheir uncle Ruy Vel\u00e1zquez, the quarrel and reconciliation:\n\n \u201cTout cet \u00e9pisode est fort beau et d\u2019un caract\u00e8re bien original; il\n n\u2019y a rien de pareil dans notre \u00e9pop\u00e9e; on sait au contraire le\n grand r\u00f4le que jouait, dans le haut moyen \u00e2ge espagnol, et surtout\n dans la vie des aventuriers qui faisaient la force et la terreur de\n la Castille, l\u2019 inspection du vol des oiseaux; le Cid lui-m\u00eame\n \u201cvivait \u00e0 augure.\u201d[77]\n\nThe Spanish at this time, in spite of the intermixtures of other races,\nwere essentially a Roman people and this was one of the characteristics\nof the old Roman civilization that had not been materially changed by\ntime or religion. It is true that such practices in all cases except by\nmeans of astrology, were forbidden by law,[78] but the fact that the law\nwas so full and explicit implies that divination and the study of omens\nand auguries not only existed but must have been quite common. Such\ncustoms are usually mentioned merely in passing, as in the miracle of\nthe Host mentioned on page 118 or in such statements as the one to the\neffect that king Herod died according to the prognostications of a Greek\naugur,[79] or the simple statement that a certain person foretold that\ncertain events would come to pass without giving any clue as to how this\ninformation was received[80]. Another indication that divining was quite\ncommon is that when Tiberius expelled from Rome all who practiced black\nmagic the chronicler considered the event of such minor importance that\nhe gives it only two lines:\n\n \u201c ... Echo de la\n cibdat de Roma todos los adeuinos et los encantadores;\u201d[81]\n\nUnder the law in _Las Siete Partidas_ treating of actions for which a\nperson might be legally dishonored, is the following entry:\n\n \u201c_Como maguer el astrologo diga alguna cosa de otro por\n raz\u00f3n de su arte, non le puede ser desmandado\n por deshonra._\n\nPierden los homes \u00e1 las vegadas algunas de sus cosas, et van \u00e1 los\nastr\u00f3logos a rogar que caten por su arte quales son aquellos que las\ntienen, et los astr\u00f3logos usando de su sabiduria dicen \u00f3 se\u00f1alan \u00e1\nalgunos que las han: et en tal caso como este decimos que los que asi\nse\u00f1alaren non pueden demandar que les fagan emienda desto asi como en\nmanera de deshonra: et esto es porque lo que ellos dicen, f\u00e1cenlo segunt\nsu arte, et non con entenci\u00f3n de los deshonrar. Pero como quier que non\npuedan demandar emienda dello como en manera de deshonra, con todo eso\nsi el adevino fuese baratador que faga muestra de saber lo que non sabe,\nbien lo pueden acusar que reciba la pena que mandan las leyes del t\u00edtulo\nde los adevinos et de los encantadores.\u201d[82]\n\nVery closely associated with the foregoing accounts, altho differing\nsomewhat in nature, are a large number of legends mentioning wonderful\nsigns that appear in the heavens or on the earth at certain significant\nmoments in the life of an individual or nation. These differ from omens\nand auguries because they are out-of-the-ordinary happenings, while with\nauguries and omens proper there is nothing whatever unusual in the event\nitself and all depends upon the interpretation. The wonderful signs\nusually require interpretation, but the person seeing them, even the\nuninitiated, knows immediately that they _have_ a meaning. When Octavius\nCaesar ascended the throne there appeared a rainbow around a clear sun,\nand again, three suns appeared that merged into one, signifying first,\nthat the Roman Empire, divided into three at the death of Caesar, would\nbecome one, and second, that Christ would show the world the mystery of\nthe Trinity[83]. More portentous still were the phenomena which appeared\nduring the consulship of Sextus Julius Caesar and Lucius Marcus, when\nmany signs, fire and noises occurred in the sky, blood flowed from bread\nas if it were meat when it was cut, real stones and earth were hailed\nupon the land, the earth opened and flames shot to the sky, a mountain\nof the color of gold descended from heaven and ascended again until it\ncovered the sun, tame animals became wild, etc.[84] Then, as we leave\nRoman history and come on down to the 7th century, a sign in the form of\na sword appeared in the sky and remained for 30 days, which \u201cdemostraua\nel sennorio que los moros auien de auer.\u201d[85]\n\nWhile usually quite distinct, the line between these marvelous signs,\nand omens and auguries proper, may at times become almost\nimperceptible; as, for instance, when queen Dido arrived in Africa she\nimmediately prepared to build a city, and as the workmen set about\ndigging the foundation for the walls they found the skull of a cow. This\nwas taken to the augurs and they declared it signified that any city\nbuilt there would always be one of toil and always under the power of\nothers. They moved to another place and again began to dig, this time\nfinding the skull of a horse, which, said the augurs, signified that a\ncity built in that place would always be one of pride and of\nwarriors.[86]\n\nIncidents of this kind might conveniently be placed in either class,\nbecause, altho the event itself does not startle one, it does not take a\nsoothsayer to tell a person of an imaginative turn of mind that a skull\nfound under such circumstances probably has a significance.\n\nThe foregoing have been but signs which _indicated_ the future, and no\nmatter how striking the _form_ an interpretation was necessary. But\nthere are a few cases recorded where a person is apparently given to see\ninto the future and somehow is permitted to know what is going to occur,\nwithout any medium whatsoever, and furthermore is impelled to speak out\nwhat he knows. We find that a Roman senator and his wife enter the\ntemple of Jupiter and as they do so a priest who has all the symptoms of\ndemoniac possession, cries out, \u201cAquest mugier trae en el uientre cosa\nque destruya de rayz aqueste grand templo et menuzara todos los dios que\nen el estan.\u201d[87] The event foretold did come to pass when the child\nreferred to became a friend of the emperor and thereby succeeded in\nhaving the temple destroyed. Then is added the significant statement\nthat this happened just 1000 years after Rome was founded.\n\nThe agent used to convey the message is usually a person, but it may be\nan animal. An ox tells his master of the future;[88] or even an idol in\na heathen temple imparts the knowledge that the temple will stand only\n\u201cfasta que parriesse uirgen\u201d[89].--The temple fell when Christ was\nborn.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nVISIONS\n\n\nThe two terms _dream_ and _vision_ seem to have been only vaguely\ndifferentiated in the period we are studying, just as even at the\npresent time they are often used almost synonymously. In _las Cantigas_\nwe find:\n\n \u201c ... et log\u2019 o meninno\n se fillou ben a _dormir_\n et ui\u00fa en _uijon \u00e1 Madre_\u201d (No. 53),\n\nand\n\n \u201cet _dormindo_, ui\u00f9 en _uijon_\n Santa Mar\u00eda con grand\u2019az\u201d (No. 68),\n\nbut in No. 336 the person certainly was not asleep, for:\n\n \u201cEl aquest ass\u00ed fazendo\n e con o demo luitando,\n _non estand\u2019 en un estado,_\n _mais caend\u2019e leuantando_,\n ui\u00fa en _uijon_ a Reynna\n dos c\u00ebos, et \u00e9l chorando\n lle disse....\u201d\n\nA similar confusion of the two words is characteristic of the other\nworks of Alfonso X.\n\nBecause they are thus synonymously employed it has not seemed desirable\nto treat the two separately. Also it must be remembered that in many\ninstances, especially in _Las Cantigas_, some simple statement is made\nsuch as \u201cThe Virgin appeared to him,\u201d with no indication whether it was\nin a dream or a vision, or whether, in the form of an ordinary human\nbeing she appeared to the person concerned while he was in full\npossession of his faculties. It is to be regretted that there is no\ndefinition of either \u201cdream\u201d or \u201cvision\u201d in _Las Siete Partidas_. The\nonly reference to dreams is one to the effect that in themselves they\nare not sufficient authority for the establishment of a church or an\naltar[90].\n\nVisions and significant dreams[91] may conveniently be divided into\nthree classes: (a) those which deal with what is to us the unknown fate\nof persons in whom we are interested; (b) those concerned with\ncontemporary events at which we ourselves are not present; and (c) those\nassociated with the future.\n\nIn the literature of Alfonso X, those pertaining to the first group deal\nexclusively with the fate of the soul in the other world. For instance,\nshortly after the death of king Dagobert of France a holy man had a\nvision in which he saw the devils contending for and almost successfully\ncarrying off to Hell the soul of the deceased king[92]. Many good men\ndesired this consummation, but Saint Denis, bishop of Paris, pleaded to\nGod for Dagobert\u2019s soul and the bishop\u2019s prayer was granted.[93]\n\nIn reading other passages we can almost imagine ourselves in the\npresence of a clairvoyant medium. Alfonso X dreams of the destruction of\nthe church of Jerez (No. 343), and in a similar manner the Emperor\nJustinian has a vision of the evil that Gilemer the Vandal is doing in\nAfrica[94]: while the Emperor Heraclius dreams of the misfortunes of his\ntroops in Africa.[95] All of these visions are contemporary with the\nevents involved.\n\nBy far the greater part of the visions and dreams have to do with the\nfuture of the individual to whom they are manifested; and of these\nvisions by far the greater number are symbolic. Occasionally the\nmessenger appears and gives a direct command, as San Fernando when he\nappeared to Maestro Jorge and bade him take a fine ring from the finger\nof a statue recently erected to the saint\u2019s memory by his son Alfonso X,\nand put it on the finger of the image of the Virgin[96]; or as when the\nsaints appeared to Taion who had gone on a seemingly hopeless task to\nRome to find the famous book _Moralia in Job_ and told him where it was\nto be found, even mentioning the exact position in the chest;[97] or\nagain, as when Aeneas, upon his landing on the shores of Africa, dreamed\nof his future meeting and love affair with Dido[98]. But it is the\nsymbolic vision that was the most popular.\n\nUsually this type of vision is quite simple in its elements, as when Our\nLord appeared to Emperor Marcian and showed him the broken bow of\nAttila. The emperor was at a loss to understand the real import of this,\nbut interpreted it as a favorable omen. Later he discovered that on the\nvery night of the vision Attila had married, and had died as a result of\nthe debauch that had accompanied the wedding.[99] This is an example of\nthe usual type, but at times such a vision is considerably elaborated,\ninvolving much symbolism and mysticism. One of the best introduces the\nEmperor Constantine. It is given here in the writer\u2019s words:\n\n \u201cEt (el emperador) morando y en una cibdat que auie nombre\n Bizancio, auinol assi una noche, que el yaziendo durmiendo en su\n lecho, uinol en uision quel parauan delante una muger uegezuela muy\n fea et much enatia et muerta; et diziel sant Siluestre:\n \u201cCostantino, faz oracion et ressuscitara esta muger\u201d. Et el oraua\n luego, et ressuscitaua la muger, et tornauasse sana et muy fermosa;\n et pagauasse Constantino della de buen amor et casto, et cubriela\n de su manto, et poniel su corona en la cabe\u00e7a, et todo quanto bien\n ell auie. E Elina su madre diziel: \u201cFijo, tuya sera aquesta, et\n numqua morra fasta la fin del mundo.\u201d\n\nOn awaking, the Emperor fails to recognize the meaning of the dream,\nuntil after seven days of fasting on his part, the Pope Sylvester.\n\n \u201capareciol otra uez et dizol: \u201cla uieia que tu uiste es Bizancio,\n esta cipdat en que estas, que uees que a ya los muros todos caydos\n de uegedat. Et por ende sube en el cauallo en que andeste en Roma\n en las aluas el dia que fuste bateado, quando andeste por todas las\n yglesias de los apostoles et de los martires pintandolas et\n afeytandolas con oro et con plata et con piedras preciosas; et\n leuaras en tu mano la tu senna que a nombre _labaro_, et soltaras\n las riendas al cauallo, et iras por o quier que te ell angel guiar,\n et leuaras por tierra rastrando la punta del labaro, de guisa que\n fagas sennal que parezca. Et por o aquella sennal fuere, mandaras\n fazer muros muy altos et muy fuertes; et esta cibdat que es uieia,\n tornar la as nueua, et poner las nombre del tuyo, et sera en ella\n muy loado el nombre del Nuestro Sennor Ihesu Cristo, et aura y\n muchas yglesias a onra de todos los santos, et regnaran en ella tus\n fijos et tus nietos et todos los que de ti uinieren\u201d.[100]\n\nThere is also quite a long account of the visions beheld by Mohammed\nwhile he was at Jerusalem, from which city he was permitted to ascend\nthru the seven heavens. The compilers preface the history of this\narch-enemy of the Christian faith with the statement that Mohammed\nsuffered from epilepsy, because of which he saw visions that he thought\nwere of God but in reality they were of the Devil.[101] The account ends\nalso with a reminder to the same effect[102].\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nVARIOUS MANIFESTATIONS\n\n\nWe now come to a group of miscellaneous elements which, altho some of\nthem were doubtless quite common in the daily life of the people, have\nfor one reason or another received comparatively slight attention at the\nhands of Alfonso. Some of these, as conjuring for instance, are usually\nnow considered as a part of black magic, but it will be noted in the\nfollowing paragraphs that it was freely practiced by the Church and in\nfact formed a part of the most sacred religious rites. In the discussion\nthat follows, these various subjects are taken up in alphabetical order.\n\n\nI.--CONJURING\n\nConjuring, says Alfonso in effect, is the art of using potent words in\nthe right manner. Then he illustrates the point with na\u00efve\nquaintness--as he does so often: \u201cThese words, just like a carpenter\u2019s\ntool, may serve for many different purposes, but it is necessary, if\nthey are to have the effect desired, that they be said by a person who\nknows how. The fact that they do have effect is seen from the results of\neveryday life.\u201d[103] The fourth rank of the clergy was held by the\nExorcist, and this title\n\n \u201cquier tanto decir en griego como conjurador, ca estos han poder a\n conjurar en el nombre de Dios \u00e1 los demonios que salgan de los\n homes et que non tornen \u00e1 ellos jamas: et por ende deben saber\n estas conjuraciones de cuer porque las sepan decir quando menester\n fuere: et esta \u00f3rden fizo primeramente el rey Soloman.\u201d[104]\n\nHow much this short passage taken from a law book tells us of the\ncurrent beliefs, and of the place held by conjuring! Note, however, that\nconjuring was limited, according to law, to dispossessing the Devil.\nThis practice, like baptism, was in the hands of the clergy and could\nonly be resorted to by the layman in cases of dire necessity.\nEnchantment and wizardry were strictly forbidden, and for the practice\nof such criminality a father was given the right to disinherit his\nson[105]. In thus combatting the Devil the sacred oil, or _crisma_, was\none of the most powerful instruments. In setting forth its power and\nsignificance, the law reads:\n\n \u201cet por ende la crisma es asi como posadero de Ieso Cristo, que\n toma aquella posada para \u00e9l, poniendo hi la su se\u00f1al de la cruz et\n la entrega de quanto hi falla, echando de hi al diablo et todo lo\n que hi tiene.\u201d[106]\n\nThe method by which the oil was to be prepared is expounded as follows:\n\n \u201c ... halo \u00e9l (obispo) de tomar, et ex\u00f4rcizarlo et bendecirlo desta\n guisa, deciendo que conjura \u00e1 Satan\u00e1s, et \u00e1 todos sus malos\n esp\u00edritus, et a toda manera de fantasma en el nombre del Padre, et\n del Fijo et del Esp\u00edritu santo que si est\u00e1 en aquel olio que se\n parta d\u00e9l ... etc.\u201d\n\nAfter having been thus carefully prepared,\n\n \u201cGrande es la virtud que ha en este olio ... Esta virtud es en tres\n maneras: La primera en la natura del olio, la segunda en las\n palabras que se dicen sobre \u00e9l, la tercera en las obras que se\n facen con \u00e9l.\u201d[107]\n\nNot only the _crisma_, but certain words (among them the following)\npossessed special virtue: \u201cAvemar\u00eda\u201d, because from the contents of that\nprayer one comes to understand the mystery of Jesus, moreover it\ncontains the words of salutation used by the angel to Mar\u00eda and these\nwords still greatly please her; \u201cPaternoster\u201d, because it reveals the\nFather and contains the seven petitions which Jesus taught His\ndisciples; and \u201cCredo in Deum\u201d, because it reveals the Holy Spirit and\ncontains all the faith and science of Christianity.[108]\n\nFrom these and similar regulations pertaining to the various sacraments,\nespecially baptism, perhaps we might not err seriously in supposing that\nthe practitioners of black magic received not a little of their\ninspiration from the Church itself, altho much against the will of the\nlatter. With such a number of laws, regulations, etc., it might at\nfirst seem a little surprising to find so few legends in which conjuring\nplays an important part, but probably this can be accounted for by the\nfact that it was so common a practice that it was scarcely esteemed\nworthy of mention. The most interesting story for our present\npurpose--and one which is illustrative of the group in general--is that\nof the great debate conducted in Rome in the year 320 between the\nChristians and the Jews. The latter, to prove the superiority of their\nGod, whispered His name in the ear of an angry bull, which promptly fell\ndead. The Christians went even further; they whispered the name of their\nGod in the ear of the _dead_ animal, which immediately returned to life\nand, quite gentle and meek, was led from the assembly.[109]\n\nIn _Las Cantigas_ conjuring is mentioned only in passing references, and\nalmost always it is the Devil who is conjured to leave a person (No.\n67). But in one instance we have the well known story of a man, this\ntime a monk, who has at his command the services of the Devil and when\nSatan cannot procure for him what he desires, because the person\nconcerned is under the special protection of Santa Mar\u00eda, the monk\nthreatens him and his host of imps in these words:\n\n \u201cIde fazer\n Com\u2019 eu a donzela aia\n log\u2019 esta noit\u2019 en meu poder;\n se non, _eu h\u00fca redoma_\n todos uos ensserrar\u00eda.\u201d (No. 125.)\n\n\nII.--GHOSTS\n\nThere is not a genuine clean-cut ghost in the entire period. In fact,\nsuch apparitions as we know them seem never to have flourished very\nvigorously in Spain. There are _fantasmas_, and _sombras_, etc., in\nabundance in a later period, but the ghost that appeals to present day\nobservers was entirely lacking. In the time of Alfonso X, the function\nof the ghost, which is usually that of issuing warnings from the other\nworld, was generally exercised by the saints or angels. In one case, it\nis true, a friar returns after his decease to explain to his two\nbrethren why his corpse turned black at death and was restored to its\nnatural color when a candle from the altar of the Virgin was placed in\nits hand (No. 123). But this is a very poor example; there is no element\nof fear recorded. The shade does not pass thru closed doors, weapons do\nnot pierce its body without effect, etc. Emperor Julian has a rather\nghostly experience when he is killed by the phantom knight,[110] but\nthis is in reality a returned saint and not a ghost, and besides he\nkills with a weapon--a most unorthodox piece of behavior for a ghost.\n\nThere is only one good ghost story in the entire lot, and this claims to\nbe no more than a narrative from Roman history, apparently told solely\nbecause it is in the old records. Emperor Caius Caligula was\nassassinated and his enemies half burned his body, then in haste\npartially buried it. Because of this his spirit could not rest in peace\nbut tormented the keepers of the garden where the body lay, and the\nguardians of the place where he had been killed, until the cremation was\nproperly performed and the ashes suitably buried. This has indeed the\nnecessary elements of a ghost story, but as indicated above, it seems to\nhave found its way into the literature purely by chance and makes no\nliterary impression on the period.[111]\n\n\nIII.--THE HOST\n\nThe sacrament of communion was intended especially to remove the\ntendency to do evil rather than good. This sacrament being the most\nfrequently observed of all and in many ways closely associated with\nExtreme Unction which may be described as the most potent, there grew up\naround the Host a number of legends. The Host, on account of its extreme\nsacredness, became one of the favorite points of attack for the\npractitioners of black magic, who seemed to have considered it as a most\npowerful charm. Four of the miracles[112] in _Las Cantigas_ were\nperformed to protect it from such an unholy use, altho in only one of\nthese, which is briefly as follows, does the black magician appear in\nperson:[113] a countryman wished to secure a large yield of honey with\nlittle effort, so he consulted a _sorteira_, who told him that next\ntime he went to communion he should not swallow the Host nor touch it\nwith his teeth but should take it and put it in one of the hives. Having\ndone so, he found later upon opening the hive, an image of the Virgin\nand Child. Frightened, he hastened to the priest, who ordered the marvel\ntaken in procession to the church. There, when it was blessed, it turned\nback again into the simple Host.\n\nThe Host is again transformed in No. 149. Here it is a devout priest who\ncannot bring himself to believe in transubstantiation. One day at Mass\nthe Host disappeared and the priest saw before him the Virgin and Child.\nHe asked the Virgin if she had the Host. \u201cYes, it is here,\u201d she said\nshowing him her Son. With that, upon explaining why it took the form of\nbread and wine, she disappeared. As she vanished the priest again saw\nthe bread and wine as it was previously, but he no longer doubted.\n\nAside from this type of story, illustrating the sacredness and\ninviolability of the Host, there are a number of cures of various kinds\npurporting to have been wrought in persons waiting before the altar at\nthe time of Mass.[114] The hours themselves at which Mass was celebrated\nwere symbolic. These were ordinarily the third hour, the hour in which\nthe Jews demanded the death of Jesus and in which He was scourged; the\nsixth hour, that of the crucifixion and the ascension; or the ninth\nhour. In cases of conflict with an hour of regular occupation, or other\nreason of necessity, private Mass might be said earlier or later up to\nthe ninth hour.[115] At Christmas a clergyman might recite three Masses\n(usually he was allowed to recite only one a day), and they were to be\nat the following hours: (1) at cock-crowing before dawn, signifying the\ntime when the people were still in darkness, (2) at dawn, signifying the\nsemi-light of the prophets, and (3) at the third hour, representing the\nfull light of the present dispensation.[116]\n\nThe ceremony of the Mass was one which the Devil could not venture to\nlook upon. In order to test whether a questionable peculiarity was of\nthe devil, the person affected by it was sometimes taken to Mass, as in\nthe case of a young girl who had been placed in a convent and\nconsecrated to the Church, but who developed a mania for fondling the\nChild of the Virgin Mary, without opposition on the part of the Holy\nMother. At last the community discovered the situation, and, duly\nshocked, appealed to the Pope. He did not know what to say, so he\ndecided to test the case at Mass. During the ceremony, at the girl\u2019s\nrequest, he had the image of the Virgin\u2019s Child placed in the girl\u2019s\narms. Upon receiving it she exclaimed, \u201cThis is my child and I want to\ngo with him.\u201d Saying which, she took the Host and expired, going to be\nwith Him in paradise (No. 251).[117]\n\n\nIV.--MYSTIC NUMBERS\n\nThe Spanish--as before intimated--are a highly imaginative race and\nincline to look for a mystical meaning or a symbol in everything. It was\nprobably due to this that the Catholic faith, with its elaborate\nceremonial, crowded with symbolism, was so fervently embraced by the\nnation as a whole. For them every event was fraught with an hidden\nmeaning. The enigma of the future, for example, had been written by the\nmysterious finger of God in the stars. There was a special mystery,\nagain, shrouding certain numbers, particularly three, seven, and nine.\nSince there were three clases of sins, venial, criminal, and mortal, the\npriest, in the ceremony of baptism, was to breathe three times in the\nface of the candidate, conjuring the Devil to leave the body; three\ntimes was he to conjure salt and put it in the mouth of the person; and\nthree times must he immerse the infant who was the recipient of the\nrite. Again there were nine orders of angels, nine also of the\nclergy--nine being the square of three.[118] But the greatest and most\nsignificant of all numbers was seven. There were seven things needed\nbefore a church was complete (_Partidas_, 1-10-14); seven privileges of\nthe prelates over the clergy (1-5-65); seven punishments for crime\n(7-31-4); seven virtues a king should possess (2-5-7 and 8). Each\nofficial must swear to seven things; there are twice seven, or\nfourteen, joints in the hand, and therefore twice seven articles of\nfaith, as the articles of faith have the same function in the divine\nhand as the joints in the human (1-3-3). There are seven notes in the\nmusical scale.[119] But to give a just idea of the true significance of\nthis number I can do no better than to quote from the Pr\u00f3logo of _Las\nSiete Partidas_, pages six and seven.\n\n POR QUALES RAZONES ESTE LIBRO ES DEPARTIDO EN SIETE PARTES\n\n Septenario es un cuento muy noble que loaron mucho los sabios\n antiguos, porque se fallan en \u00e9l muy muchas cosas et muy se\u00f1aladas\n que se departen por cuento de siete, asi como todas las criaturas\n que son departidas en siete maneras. Ca segunt dixo Aristotiles et\n los otros sabios, \u00f3 es criatura que non ha cuerpo ninguno, mas es\n espiritual como angel et alma; \u00f3 es cuerpo simple que non se\n engendra nin se corrompe por natura, et es celestial, asi como los\n cielos et las estrellas; \u00f3 ha cuerpo simple que se corrompe et se\n engendra por natura, como los elementos; \u00f3 ha cuerpo compuesto et\n alma de crecer, et de sentir et de razonar como home; \u00f3 ha cuerpo\n compuesto et alma de crecer et de sentir et non de razonar, asi\n como las otras animalias que no son homes; \u00f3 ha cuerpo compuesto de\n crecer, mas non de sentimiento nin de razon, asi como los \u00e1rboles\n et todas las otras plantas; \u00f3 ha cuerpo compuesto et non alma nin\n sentimiento, asi como los metales, et las piedras et las cosas\n minerales que se crian en la tierra. Otrosi todas las cosas\n naturales ban movimiento que se departe en siete maneras; ca o es\n asuso \u00f3 ayuso, \u00f3 delante \u00f3 atras, \u00f3 \u00e1 diestro \u00f3 \u00e1 siniestro, \u00f3 en\n derredor. Et en este mesmo cuento fallaron los sabios antiguos las\n siete estrellas mas nombradas, \u00e1 que llaman planetas, et de que\n tomaron cuento por los siete cielos en que estan por los sus\n nombres; et ordenaron por ellos los siete dias de la semana. Et los\n sabios departieron por este cuento de siete las partes de toda la\n tierra \u00e1 que llaman climas. Et por este mesmo cuento departieron\n los metales; et otrosi algunos hi hobo que por este cuento de siete\n partieron los saberes \u00e1 que llaman artes: eso mesme fecieron de la\n edad del home. Et aun por ese mesmo cuento demostr\u00f3 Dios \u00e1 los que\n eran sus amigos muchas de sus poridades por fecho et por semejanza,\n asi como \u00e1 Noe, \u00e1 quien mand\u00f3 facer el area en que se salvase del\n deluvio, et que le mand\u00f3 que de todas las cosas que fuesen buenas\n et limpias metiese en ella siete. Otrosi Jacob, que fue patriarca\n servi\u00f3 a su suegro siete a\u00f1os por Rach\u00eal, et porque le di\u00f3 a Lia\n servi\u00f3 otros siete por ella mesma, et esto fu\u00e9 por muy grant\n significanza. Et Josep, su fijo, que fue poderoso sobre toda la\n tierra de Egipto por el sue\u00f1o que solt\u00f3 al rey Faraon de los siete\n a\u00f1os de mengua et de los siete de abondo, segunt el sue\u00f1o que el\n Rey so\u00f1ara de las siete espigas et de las siete vacas: esto fue\n fecho de grant devocion. Otrosi \u00e1 Moysen quando le mand\u00f3 facer el\n tabern\u00e1culo en que feciesen oracion los fijos de Israel, le mand\u00f3\n que entre todas las otras cosas que se\u00f1aladamente posiese dentro de\n \u00e9l un candelero de oro fecho en manera de \u00e1rbol, en que habiese\n siete ramos, que fuese fecho por grant significanza. Et David, que\n fue otrosi rey de Israel, por gracia que le veno de nuestro se\u00f1or\n Ieso Cristo, fizo por Esp\u00edritu Santo el salterio, que es una de las\n mejores escripturas de santa Eglesia, et mostr\u00f3 en \u00e9l siete cosas,\n asi como profec\u00eda, et oracion, et loor, et bendicion, et\n reprehendimiento, et consejo et penitencia. Et despues de todo esto\n quando nuestro Se\u00f1or quiso facer tan grant mercer al mundo que\n de\u00f1\u00f3 prender came de la virgen santa Mar\u00eda por nos salvar, et que\n le podi\u00e9semos veer vesiblemente, et conoscer que era Dios et home,\n por este cuento, segun dixo el profeta, hobo \u00e9l en si siete dones\n de Espiritu Santo. Et otrosi por este cuento, segunt dixieron los\n santos, hobo santa Mar\u00eda siete placeres muy grandes del su fijo,\n que se cantan en santa eglesia. Et en este cuento mesmo nos di\u00f3\n nuestro se\u00f1or Ieso Cristo siete sacramentos, porque nos podi\u00e9semos\n salvar. Et otrosi en este mesmo cuento nos mostr\u00f3 \u00e9l mesmo la\n oracion del pater noster en que ha siete cosas en que le debemos\n pedir merced. Otrosi san Iohan evangelista, que fue pariente et\n amigo de nuestro se\u00f1or Iesu Cristo, fizo un libro, \u00e1 que llaman\n Apocalipse, de muy grandes poridades que le \u00e9l demostr\u00f3, et las\n mayores cosas que en \u00e9l escribi\u00f3 son todas partidas por este cuento\n de siete. Onde por todas estas razones que muestran muchos bienes\n que en este cuento son, partimos este nuestro libro en siete\n partes, et mostramos en la primera dellas de todas las cosas que\n pertenescen a la santa fe cat\u00f3lica.\n\nWhile one of the greatest of all mysteries was that connected with\ncertain numbers the idea did not stop here. Jerusalem was destroyed in\nthe same month Jesus was crucified.[120] The well known biblical mystery\ntraditions connected with the earthly life of Jesus are all faithfully\nnarrated.[121] Attila is supplied with a sword from Vulcan in a\nmysterious way.[122] Alejandro el Magno and his host, after traveling\nfor seven days in darkness in the Orient come to a river\n\n \u201cque habia las aguas caldas, et fallaron alli allend ese rio\n mugieres que moraban y muy fermosas, et vestian unas vestiduras muy\n espantosas, et andaban en caballos et traien en las manos armas\n doro, por que non habien fierro nin cobre de que las facer, nin\n habie varon maslo entre todas ellas.\n\n \u201cE Alexandre quisiera pasar el rio a ellas, mas non pudo por\n ninguna guisa por que era ancho et lleno de dragones et de otras\n bestias fieras muy grandes.\u201d[123]\n\nAfter leaving this place and journeying a little farther amid various\nadventures they again come upon another land of\n\n \u201cmugieres muy grandes de cuerpos et las barbas tan luenguas que les\n alcanzaban fasta en las tetas, et las cabezas planas; et vistien\n pielles, et eran muy buenas cazadoras et corredoras de mont, et\n pora correr mont en logares de canes, traien bestias fieras\n ense\u00f1adas pora ello, et ensa\u00f1aban se las ellas. E cuando entraron\n Alexandre et su huest en aquellas selvas o estas mugieres eran, et\n vieron ellos a ellas et ellas a ellos fuxieron ellas; et caballeros\n de Macedonia cuando las vieron foir cogieron empos ellas en sus\n caballos et alcanzaron den ya cuantas, et prisieron dellas et\n aduxieron las a Alexandre.\n\n \u201cAlexandre cuando las vi\u00f3 mand\u00f3 las preguntar por el lenguaje de\n India que dixiesen como vinien a morar a aquellas selvas o morada\n de homne del mondo non habie. Fablaron ellas et dixieron que\n vivieron de caza que facien con bestias fieras et non dal, et que\n moraban por ende siempre en las selvas. Et salieron daquellas\n selvas Alexandre et su huest a los campos grandes et anchos, et\n fallaron alli de cabo otros varones et mugieres; et las mugieres\n desnuyas todas; et habien todos los cuerpos vellosos de pelos como\n bestias. Et era costumbre daquellos homes et daquellas mugieres de\n morar en aquel rio et en la tierra et asi como fue viniendo la\n huest et llegando les aquellas mugieres somurguieron se ellas luego\n en el rio; et estudieron alli una pieza Alexandre et su huest por\n veer si saldrien et probar ellos ende mas. Et movieron dalli et\n fueron yendo adelant, et fallaron otras mugieres que habien dientes\n como de puercos monteses et los cabellos de las cabezas tan luengos\n que les daban por los tobiellos, et el otro cuerpo que lo habien\n todo velloso de pelos como el estrucio et el camello, et en los\n lomiellos que habien como vaca que las colgaban alli ayuso; et el\n estado dellas de luengo era de doce pies.\u201d[124]\n\n\nV.--RELICS\n\nRelics, which played an exceedingly important part in the life of the\nmedieval Church, might consist of anything which formerly belonged to a\nsaint or to Jesus, or anything which might serve as evidence in\nestablishing a miracle. Every altar, upon being consecrated, should have\nsome relics placed within it,[125] and these usually were of\nmiracle-working power themselves. At Chartres there was a certain dress\nthat had belonged to the Virgin, on which it was the custom to place\ncloth which was made up into garments for warriors, because it was\nbelieved that after being thus treated garments made from it would be\ninvulnerable. In fact a knight wearing one of these was attacked while\nunarmed, and altho his enemies thought they had pierced him thru and\nthru he was in reality unharmed (No. 148). The bones of St. Thomas,\ntogether with a letter purporting to have been written by Jesus, were so\npowerful that when placed over the gate of Edessa no enemy could enter\nwithout first making peace with the city.[126] Very interesting is the\ncase of the humble woman who went to confession and after doing penance\nasked for a written certificate of pardon, which after some hesitation\nwas given. Misfortune overtook her and she was forced to beg. In one\ncity she came upon a moneychanger and asked the loan of a small sum but\nhe would not let her have it without security. The only security she\ncould offer was this certificate of pardon. The moneychanger laughed at\nthe idea, but finally promised to let her have the equivalent of its\nweight in gold, and putting it on his scales was astonished to find that\nall his gold would not balance it. This convinced him, and becoming\nconverted he told the woman to take whatever amount she needed. (No.\n305).\n\nSuch relics not only had the power to work miracles but were themselves\ndivinely protected. One man, a peasant, laughed at the idea that a\ncertain shoe on the altar in the church had ever belonged to the\nVirgin, because, he said, a shoe as old as that would not be in so good\na state of preservation. To cure him of such flagrant unbelief she\nafflicted him in the mouth in such a manner that he could be cured only\nupon the application of the shoe in question (No. 61). At another time\nsome priests, by the exhibition of relics, were collecting money to\nrebuild a church. In the course of their travels they entered a ship\nwith some merchantmen. After a short while they were attacked by\npirates, and in the face of danger the merchants, to secure immunity,\noffered gifts of money for the building of the church. When the danger\nwas safely passed they repented of their extravagance and took back\ntheir donations, buying wool for their own use with the money. Shortly\nafterward a stroke of lightning set fire to their purchases, thus\navenging both God and the Virgin (No. 35).\n\nNaturally, some relics were more powerful and more sacred than others,\nand they varied in these respects according to the importance of the\nsaint to whom they belonged; and seemingly were protected in a like\nmeasure. When Alfonso el Sabio left Seville for Castile he ordered the\nrelics of the Virgin, along with those of the other saints, to be\ncarefully put away, but when he returned ten years later he found only\nthose of the Virgin in perfect condition; those of the other saints had\ndecayed (No. 257).\n\n\n\n\nCONCLUSION\n\n\nAfter the foregoing investigation the fact is impressed on us more\nvividly than ever that the Spain of the Middle Ages was truly the mother\nof the Spain of today. Hers were a people with a lively imagination, but\nthis was dominated by the two elements which have always been most\nmarked in her history--religion and realism. And wherever these two\nelements enter into the development of the supernatural in the mind of\nman, the Spanish contribution has to be taken seriously into the\naccount.\n\nIt is impossible, as stated previously, to affirm which of the medieval\ntraditions are Spanish and which are not. The most that we can hope to\ndo is to note what type of legend appealed to this people; of all the\nhost of supernatural stories common through the Europe of the Middle\nAges, to determine what classes or types found their way into Spain and\nthere were welcomed, being repeated from generation to generation\n(becoming thus a part of the national tradition); and what kind or kinds\nwere rejected because they did not have this appeal.\n\nIn Spain the beliefs and superstitions we have been passing in review,\nhaving as their starting point the actual observation of objective\nnature and of human nature, were amazingly multifarious. The study in\nparticular of omens and of auguries, based on the real experiences of\nlife, made a peculiar appeal to the Spaniards, as is witnessed by the\nabundance of material concerning such found at every turn in the early\nliterature. Contrasted with this is the notable lack of the fantastic\nand purely imaginary, so popular among the nations of the north, as well\nas among the Mohammedans.\n\nThe effect of this realistic spirit on the religion of the people, the\nother dominating element of their national life, must also be noted. The\nunreal ghost has given place to the more naturalistic saint or angel,\nfor their religion permitted no denial of the existence of these two\norders of beings. Moreover, soothsayers, diviners, and other similar\ncharacters were recognized by the Church as a real force, as is\nevidenced by the Church\u2019s constant warfare against them. And the Devil!\nWhat good medieval Christian,--above all, what Spaniard,--could refuse\nto believe in him?\n\nTo summarize: We are impressed first by the commanding prominence\naccorded to the personalities of the saints, especially Saint Mary, then\nof Santiago (St. James) and the others; next, of the predominating\nimportance of the r\u00f4le of the Child Jesus, with the relegation to a\ncomparatively unimportant place of the adult Saviour; and finally of the\nenemies of God, headed by Diabolus. The works and influences of all the\nabove are manifested in dreams and visions, miracles and portents, in\nalmost every conceivable form, conjuring, fortune-telling, etc. The\nritual of the church service, especially of the sacraments, becomes\nintertwined and adorned with what many faithful churchmen of the present\ntime would doubtless be willing to class as downright superstitions.\nOmens and the like, because of their realistic appeal, continue in spite\nof the constant opposition of the Church.\n\nIn contrast to this, however, we find no unquestionable ghosts. The\n\u201cmagic ring\u201d, moreover, is entirely lacking, as is nearly all that type\nof Arabian magic. King Oberon, with his fairy band, has not yet made his\nappearance, and the sage Merlin is only alluded to occasionally by the\nlearned. Subterranean cities still remain limited to their northern\nabode. The well-known _mal de ojo_ is absent, and enchantment is little\nheard of. The Werewolf, mentioned, it is said, by Pomponius Mela,\nHerodotus, and Ovid, is entirely neglected and omitted either thru\nsimple ignorance of it or because it does not conform to their realistic\nthought. The search for the elixir of life is only faintly hinted at in\nthe restoration of youth to the aged priest who seeks help from the\nVirgin (No. 141). The myth of supernatural prolongation of life is to be\nfound only in its primitive stages, in such legends as that of Mar\u00eda\nEgipciaca and in some of the miracles contained in _Las Cantigas_, and\nyet we are told that,\n\n \u201cThe first appearance of the Wandering Jew _in England_ is in the\n chronicles of Roger of Wendover, who reports the legend as being\n told at the monastery of St. Albans by an Armenian bishop, in 1228,\n but to hearers _already familiar with it_.\u201d[127]\n\nArabian influence does appear, however, quite frequently, especially in\ncertain types of visions such as those in which a person is transported\nfrom one point to another to witness various scenes; as well also as in\nthose in which the subject sleeps many years while experiencing the joys\nof Paradise. French religious traditions dealing with various shrines\nwere common property. Many of the miracles related in _Las Cantigas_ are\nsaid to have been performed in France, especially at Soissons.\n\nThe general impression gained from the study is that we are standing at\nthe beginning of a new period; that soon there is going to unfold before\nus a magnificent spectacle, so far as the supernatural is concerned, in\nwhich these elements, whose beginnings we can even now discern, will\npresent themselves in all their fullness, but at the same time those\nwhich have already reached their culmination will survive, and, being\nthe product of the real life and soul of the nation, will still be the\ndetermining factors in shaping its beliefs and practices, as it\ncontinues its course among the hosts of outside influences it is soon to\nencounter.\n\nAs we close the study we can not, if we would, resist the pervasive\ncharm cast over us by the simplicity of the primitive age with its\nchildlike faith. From time to time the canvas has been reversed, the\ncustomary medieval picture has been changed, the sound of the bugle, the\nglitter of burnished arms, the noise of battle, have now receded into\nthe background, and altho we are still faintly conscious of them we\nbecome almost unaware of their presence. In the foreground have arisen,\nwe scarcely know how or whence, the common people, with their sheep and\ntheir goats, their games of chance and their wine, their joys and their\nsorrows, their loves and their hates, their marriages, births,\ndeaths--all these--along with their interesting superstitions and ardent\ndevotion to their local saints, as well as their fidelity to their lord,\nwho moves about among them as their guardian and protector.\n\n\n\n\nCLASSIFICATION OF THE MIRACLES IN _LAS CANTIGAS_\n\n\nI\n\nA.--DIRECT ANSWER TO PRAYER BY THE VIRGIN\n\n _a._ Life restored or sustained. 14, 26, 43, 45, 76, 84, 111, 115,\n 118, 122, 124, 133, 167, 168, 171, 178, 182, 197, 204, 224, 237,\n 241, 334, 347, 378, 381, 389. (See p. 32-34 for discussion of\n group.)\n\n _b._ Bodily ailments cured. 37, 47, 53, 69, 77, 81, 86, 89, 91, 92,\n 93, 101, 105, 114, 117, 126, 127, 134, 141, 146, 157, 163, 166,\n 173, 174, 177, 179, 189, 191, 199, 201, 206, 209, 218, 221, 223,\n 224, 234, 235, 244, 256, 263, 265, 268, 269, 275, 278, 279, 282,\n 283, 289, 293, 298, 308, 314, 315, 316, 319, 322, 327, 333, 337,\n 338, 343, 346, 357, 362, 363, 364, 367, 368, 372, 375, 385, 389,\n 391, 393. (See p. 35-38.)\n\n _c._ Physical harm prevented. 7, 13, 15, 17, 22, 25, 28, 35, 36,\n 49, 51, 55, 57, 64, 74, 78, 82, 83, 86, 94, 97, 102, 106, 107, 121,\n 125, 135, 138, 142, 144, 151, 158, 165, 172, 181, 184, 185, 186,\n 193, 194, 195, 213, 227, 233, 235, 236, 242, 245, 249, 251, 252,\n 254, 255, 264, 266, 271, 286, 287, 291, 301, 303, 313, 325, 339,\n 341, 354, 371, 383. (See p. 38-40.)\n\n _d._ Miracles in which bargaining occurs. 31, 43, 44, 97, 106, 112,\n 118, 121, 129, 166, 167, 172, 176, 178, 197, 268, 271, 291, 347,\n 352, 366, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 382, 385, 389. (See p. 40-43.)\n\n _e._ Unmoral miracles. 3, 7, 13, 17, 55, 94, 111, 214, 255, 291.\n (See p. 43-45.)\n\n _f._ Miracles in which sacred breasts or milk occur. 54, 93, 138.\n (See p. 45-46.)\n\n _g._ Possessions restored or saved or things supplied. 23, 44, 48,\n 62, 73, 112, 143, 147, 159, 172, 178, 187, 202, 212, 231, 232, 243,\n 323, 326, 348, 352, 354, 366, 369, 376, 382, 386, 398. (See p.\n 46-49.)\n\n _h._ Those of other faiths protected. 89, 107, 167, 181. (See p.\n 49.)\n\n _i._ Threats or the appeal to reputation avail much. 23, 76, 233,\n 247. (See p. 49-51.)\n\n\nB.--MIRACLES VOLUNTARILY PERFORMED\n\n _a._ Life restored or sustained. 6, 11, 21, 96, 131, 175, 311, 323,\n 355. (See p. 55-58.)\n\n _b._ Physical ailments cured. 33, 41, 156, 228, 259, 262, 276, 279,\n 324, 331. (See p. 58.)\n\n _c._ Physical harm prevented. 4, 64, 67, 109, 113, 119, 161, 164,\n 192, 198, 205, 216, 222, 225, 251, 266, 302, 305, 317, 344, 359,\n 399. (See p. 58.)\n\n _d._ Miracles in which bargaining occurs. 307. (See p. 58.)\n\n _e._ Unmoral miracles. 11, 119, 281. (See p. 58.)\n\n _f._ Miracles in which sacred breasts or milk occur. (See p. 61.)\n\n _g._ Possessions restored or saved or things supplied. 2, 52, 116,\n 145, 203, 211, 228, 258, 328, 351, 356, 358, 379. (See p. 61-62.)\n\n _h._ Those of other faiths protected. 85, 205, 379. (See p. 62-65.)\n\n _i._ Aid in worship or in restraining evil passions. 137, 151, 152,\n 156, 207, 227, 246, 266, 273, 336. (See p. 65-66.)\n\n _j._ Miracles in which visions occur. 2, 16, 24, 32, 53, 58, 65,\n 66, 68, 69, 71, 75, 79, 85, 87, 88, 105, 119, 125, 131, 132, 135,\n 138, 145, 149, 152, 158, 176, 192, 195, 261, 262, 263, 269, 274,\n 284, 285, 288, 292, 295, 296, 299, 307, 309, 336, 345, 348, 359,\n 365, 368, 372, 384, 399. (See p. 66-70.)\n\n _k._ Warnings and admonitions (not in visions). 47, 88, 154, 196,\n 274. (See p. 70-73.)\n\n _l._ Rewards 2, 4, 5, 8, 18, 56, 63, 66, 87, 95, 124, 141, 155,\n 251, 253, 281, 335, 353, 384. (See p. 73-77.)\n\n _m._ Violation of vows or acts of sacrilege punished. 42, 57, 59,\n 108, 117, 132, 163, 285, 347, 392. (See p. 77-78.)\n\n _n._ Objects or places of worship protected. 2, 9, 12, 19, 27, 34,\n 38, 46, 51, 59, 61, 123, 136, 139, 148, 161, 162, 164, 183, 183,\n 198, 208, 215, 217, 229, 238, 239, 244, 248, 257, 262, 276, 277,\n 283, 286, 289, 293, 294, 297, 302, 304, 314, 316, 317, 318, 327,\n 329, 332, 345. (See p. 78-81.)\n\n _o._ Virgin acts as advocate. 14, 45. (See p. 81-82.)\n\n\nII\n\n Miracles performed by image, name, or relics or Virgin. 9, 27, 34,\n 38, 46, 51, 59, 61, 123, 139, 148, 161, 162, 164, 183, 185, 194,\n 202, 209, 254, 256, 264, 272, 294, 303, 306, 321, 332, 353, 361.\n (See p. 83-87.)\n\n\nIII\n\n Miracles of mystery. 8, 29, 56, 103, 153, 162, 184, 188, 219, 226,\n 305, 313, 315, 342, 361. (See p. 87-89.)\n\n\n\n\nBIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n\nPUBLISHED WORKS OF ALFONSO X, EL SABIO\n\n_Alfonso X, el Sabio, Antolog\u00eda de sus obras_, by ANTONIO G. SOLALINDE,\nMadrid, 1922, 275 pp. (A second volume is in preparation.)\n\n_Cantigas de Santa Mar\u00eda de Don Alfonso el Sabio_, ed. Real Academia\nEspa\u00f1ola (Preface by the Marquis of Valmar), Madrid, 1889, 2 vols.\n\n_El libro de Ajedrez_, das Spanische Schachzabelbuch des k\u00f6nigs Alfons\ndes weisen vorn jahre 1283; illustrierte handschrift im besitze der\nk\u00f6nigl. Bibliothek des Eskorial vollst\u00e4ndige nachbildung der handschrift\nin 194 lichtdrucktafeln, Leipzig, 1913. (Introduction by John G. White.)\n\n_Los libros del Saber de Astronom\u00eda_, ed. M. Rico y Sinobas, Madrid,\n1863-1867, 5 vols.\n\n_El lapidario_, ed. J. Fern\u00e1ndez Monta\u00f1a, Madrid, 1881, XX pp., 76, 14\nnumb. 1., 76 pp.\n\n_Op\u00fasculos legales del Rey Don Alfonso el Sabio_, ed. Real Academia de\nla Historia, Madrid, 1836, 2 vols.\n\n_Primera Cr\u00f3nica General_, ed. of R. Men\u00e9ndez Pidal in _Nueva Biblioteca\nde Autores Espa\u00f1oles_, vol. 5, Madrid, 1906, 4+1+ 776 pp.\n\n_Las Siete Partidas_, glosadas por Gregorio L\u00f3pez. There are numerous\neditions of this work. Some of the editions available in the United\nStates are: Salamanca, 1576, 3 vols. + 1 vol. index; Madrid, 1611;\nValencia, 1767; Madrid, 1829-1831, 3 vols. + 1 vol. index (The title\npage of this edition reads, \u201cLas Siete Partidas del sabio rey Don\nAlfonso _XI_, etc.\u201d)\n\n_Las Siete Partidas del Rey Don Alfonso el Sabio_, ed. Real Academia de\nla Historia, Madrid, 1807, 3 vols.\n\n_Las Siete Partidas del Rey Don Alfonso el Sabio._ Pandectas\nhispano-mejicanas, o sea, c\u00f3digo general comprensivo de las leyes\ngenerales, \u00fatiles y vivas de las Siete Partidas, ed. Juan Rodr\u00edguez de\nSan Miguel, M\u00e9jico, 1839-1840, 3 vols.\n\n_Las Siete Partidas del Rey Don Alfonso el Sabio_, la primera partida,\ntextkritische untersuchung einer unver\u00f6ffentlichten handschrift des\nvierzehnten jahrhundrets, by Whilhelm Friedmann, Leipzig, 1911.\n\n_Las Siete Partidas, and other writings, extracts from_, in _Warner\u2019s\nLibrary of the world\u2019s best literature_, vol. 1, pp. 383-388.\n\n_Tabule Alfonsi hispaniarum regis_ & L. Gaurici artium doctoris egregij\ntheoremata ... In calce huius libri seorsum annexe sunt tabule Elisabeth\nregine nuper castigate & in ordinem redacte per L. Gauricum ...\nVenetiis, 1524, 123 f. + 1.\n\n_Tabulae Alphonsinae perpetuae motuum coelestium denuo restitutae et\nillustr. a Franc. Garcia Ventanas._ Traduntur praecepta de fest.\nmobilib. sec. correct. Gregorianam, et tabulae constr. ad meridian.\nToletanum con alg. grab. En 4. Matriti, 1641. Perg. 8 + 126 hh.\n\n\nWORKS TREATING OF ALFONSO EL SABIO\n\n_Books_\n\n_Alfonso el Sabio, como rey y conquistador de la provincia de C\u00e1diz._\nMemoria in\u00e9dita, C\u00e1diz, 1892.\n\nPEDRO AGUADO BLEYE, _Santa Maria de Salas en el siglo XIII; estudio\nsobre las Cantigas de Alfonso X, el Sabio_, Bilbao, 1916, 98 pp.\n\nTHEOPHILO BRAGA, _Cancionero Portuguez da Vaticana_, Lisbon, 1878, 112 +\n236 pp.\n\nARNOLD BUSSON, _Die doppelwahl des Jahres 1257 ... etc._ M\u00fcnster, 1866,\n6 + 137 pp.\n\nEMILIO CASTELAR Y RIPOLLI, _Alfonso el Sabio, Rey de Castilla. Novela\nhist\u00f3rica original_, Madrid, 1853, 16 + 407 + 3 pp.\n\nMANUEL COLMIERO, _Cortes de los antiguos reinos de Le\u00f3n y de Castilla_,\nMadrid, 1883-1884, 2 vols.\n\n--_Reyes cristianos desde Alonso VI hasta Alfonso XI_, Madrid, 1894, 4\nvols.\n\nEMILIO COTARELO Y MORI, _Estudios de la historia literaria de Espa\u00f1a_,\nMadrid, 1901. See pp. 1-31. Also review in _Romania_, 1898, vol. 27, p.\n525, by A. MOREL-FATIO.\n\n--_Documentos de la \u00e9poca de Alfonso el Sabio_, Madrid, 1851, 2 vols.\n\nPEDRO G\u00d3MEZ DE LA SERNA, _Sobre el reinado de Don Alfonso el Sabio_.\n(Speech read upon being received into the Real Academia de la Historia.)\nMadrid, 1857, 72 pp.\n\nGASPAR IB\u00c1\u00d1EZ DE SEGOVIA PERALTA Y MENDOZA, marqu\u00e9s de Mond\u00e9jar,\n_Memorias hist\u00f3ricas del Rey Don Alfonso el Sabio i observaciones a su\nChr\u00f3nica_, Madrid, 1777, 687 pp., Fol.\n\nA. G. F. KOLDITZ, _De Alphonso X., Castillae Legionisque rege, cognomine\nsapientis indigno_, Serveste, 1757.\n\nR. MEN\u00c9NDEZ PIDAL, _L\u2019\u00c9pop\u00e9e Castillane \u00e0 travers la litt\u00e9rature\nespagnole_, Paris, 1910, 26-306 pp.\n\n--_Estudios Literarios_, Madrid, 1920, 345 pp.\n\n--_Cr\u00f3nicas generates de Espa\u00f1a_, 3rd. ed., Madrid, 9 + 1 + 238 pp.\n\nFRANCISCO MART\u00cdNEZ MARINA, _Ensayo hist\u00f3rico-critico sobre la antigua\nlegislaci\u00f3n y principalis cuerpos legates de los reinos de Le\u00f3n y\nCastilla, especialmente sobre el c\u00f3digo de don Alfonso el Sabio,\nconocido por el nombre de Las Siete Partidas_. 1st. ed., Madrid, 1808, 2\n+ 450 pp.; 2nd. ed., Madrid, 1834, 2 vols.; 3rd. ed., Madrid, 1845, 21 +\n23 + 574 pp.\n\nANDR\u00c9S MART\u00cdNEZ SALAZAR, _Fragmento de un nuevo c\u00f3dice gallego de las\nPartidas_, La Coru\u00f1a, 1910.\n\nGAYETANE PUCH Y PORTOLES, _Historia de las Siete Partidas de Alfonso X_,\nMadrid, 1829, 32 pp.\n\nANTONIO G. SOLALINDE, _Alfonso X el Sabio, antolog\u00eda de sus obras_,\nMadrid, 1922, 275 pp. (Second volume is in preparation.)\n\nDIEGO SU\u00c1REZ, _Don Alfonso X--sus ideas pol\u00edticas y sociales_, (Speech\ndelivered upon receiving the degree of Doctor en Filosof\u00eda y Letras.)\nMadrid, 1861, 28 pp.\n\nLEOPOLDO AUGUSTO DE CUETO, Marqu\u00e9s de Valmar, _Estudio hist\u00f3rico-critico\ny fil\u00f3logico sobre las Cantigas del rey Don Alfonso el Sabio_. 2nd. ed.,\nMadrid, 1897, 22 + 1 + 400 pp. (This is the _Introduction_ to the\nAcademy edition of 1889 of Las Cantiagas, published in a separate\nvolume.)\n\nJOS\u00c9 DE VARGAS Y PONCE, _Elogio del Rey Alfonso el Sabio_, Madrid, 1782,\n76 pp.\n\n\n_Magazine Articles_\n\n_Alfonso X of Spain and the code of 1256_, in _American Journal of\nEducation_, 1877, vol. 27, p. 157-164.\n\nPEDRO D\u2019AZEREDO, _Duas traduc\u00f5es Portuguesas do sec. XIV; um fragmento\nda vers\u00e3o das Partidas de Castilla_, in _Revista Lusitana_, 1913, vol.\n16, p. 101-111.\n\nMICHAEL BARRINGTON, _The Lapidario_, etc., in _The Connoisseur_, London,\n1906, vol. 14, p. 31-36.\n\nRODOLFO BEER, _Los cinco libros que compil\u00f3 Bernardo de Brihuega por\norden del rey Don Alfonso el Sabio_, in _Bolet\u00edn de la Real Academia de\nla Historia_, 1887, vol. 2, p. 363-369.\n\nA. F. G. BELL, _The \u201cCantigas de Santa Mar\u00eda\u201d of Alfonso X_, in _Modern\nLanguage Review_, 1915, vol. 10, p. 338-348.\n\nSAMUEL BERGER, _Les Bibles Castellanes_, in _Romania_, 1889, vol. 28, p.\n360-408 and 508-542.\n\nMARY E. BLAKE, _Alfonso X and the Birth of Spanish Literature_, in\n_Catholic World_, 1893, p. 518-530.\n\nANTONIO BALLESTEROS Y BERETTA, _Un detalle curioso de la biograf\u00eda de\nAlfonso X el Sabio_, in _Bolet\u00edn de la Real Academia de la Historia_,\n1918, vol. 73, p. 408-419.\n\n--_Alfonso X de Castilla y la corona de Alemania_, in _Revista de\nArchivos, bibliotecas y museos_, 1916, vol. 34, p. 1-23 and 187-219;\n1916, vol. 35, p. 223-242; 1918, vol. 39, p. 142-162; 1919, vol. 40, p.\n467-490.\n\nHENRY COLLET and LUIS VILLALBA, _Contribution a l\u2019\u00e9tude des \u201cCantigas\u201d\nd\u2019Alphonse le Savant_, in _Bulletin Hispanique_, 1911, vol. 13, p.\n270-290. (A musical study of some of the Cantigas.)\n\nG. DAUMET, _Les testements d\u2019Alphonse X le Savant, roi de Castille_, in\n_Bibliotheque de l\u2019\u00c9cole des Chartes_, 1906, vol. 67, p. 71-99.\n\nADOLF FANTA, _Ein Bericht \u00fcber die Auspr\u00fcche des K\u00f6nigs Alfons auf den\ndeutschen Thron_, in _Mitteilungen des Instituts fur Osterreichische\nGeschichtsforschung_, 1885, vol. 6, p. 94-104.\n\nFIDEL FITA, _Biograf\u00edas de San Fernando y de Alfonso el Sabio por Gil de\nZamora_, in _Boletin de la Real Academia de la Historia_, 1884, vol. 5,\np. 308-328.\n\n--_La Cantiga XLIX del rey Don Alfonso el Sabio--Fuentes hist\u00f3ricas_, in\n_Bolet\u00edn de la Real Academia de la Historia_, 1889, vol. 15, p. 179-191.\n\n--_Cincuenta leyendas por Gil de Zamora combinadas con \u201cLas Cantigas\u201d de\nAlfonso el Sabio_, in _Bolet\u00edn de la Real Academia de la Historia_,\n1885, vol. 7, p. 54-144.\n\n--_San Dunst\u00e1n, Arzobispo de Cantorbery, en una cantiga del rey Don\nAlfonso el Sabio_, in _Bolet\u00edn de la Real Academia de la Historia_,\n1888, vol. 12, p. 244-248.\n\n--_El libro del Cerratense_, in _Bolet\u00edn de la Real Academia de la\nHistoria_, 1888, vol. 13, p. 226-237.\n\nR. FOULCH\u00c8-DELBOSC, _Les \u201cCastigos e Documentos\u201d_, in _Revue\nHispanique_, 1906, vol. 15, p. 340-371.\n\nPAUL GROUSSAC, _Le Livre des \u201cCastigos e Documentos\u201d_, in _Revue\nHispanique_, 1906, vol. 15, p. 212-239.\n\nFRIEDRICH HANSSEN, _Estudios ortogr\u00e1ficos sobre la Astronomia del rey\nDon Alfonso X_, in _Anales de la Universidad de Chili_, 1895, vol. 91,\np. 281-312.\n\n--_Los endecas\u00edlabos de Alfonso X_, in _Bulletin Hispanique_, 1913, vol.\n15, p. 248-299.\n\nC. DE LOLLIS, _Cantigas de amor e de maldizer di Alfonso el Sabio_, in\n_Studi di filologia romanza_, 1887, vol. 2, p. 31-66.\n\nJOS\u00c9 RAM\u00d3N DE LUANCO Y RIEGO, _Clavis sapientae Alphonsi regis\nCastillae_ (In _Homenaje a Men\u00e9ndez y Pelayo_), Madrid, 1899, vol. 1, p.\n61-67.\n\nPEDRO DE MADRAZO, _Sobre la edici\u00f3n fotocromolitogr\u00e1fica del c\u00f3dice del\nLapidario de Alfonso X_, in _Bolet\u00edn de la Real Academia de la\nHistoria_, 1877, vol. I, p. 471-475.\n\nF. F. MANN, _Eine altfranz\u00f6siche prosaversion des Lapidarus Marbod\u2019s_ in\n_Romanische Forschungen_, 1886, vol. 2, p. 363-374.\n\nJ. J. NU\u00d1ES, _A review of Fragmento de un nuevo c\u00f3digo gallego de las\nPartidas_, in _Revista Lusitana_, 1911, vol. 14, p. 312-316.\n\nJUAN RU\u00cdZ DE OBREG\u00d3N Y RETORTILLO, _Alfonso X el emplazado--una\nleyenda_, in _Revista de archivos, bibliotecas y museos_, 1916, vol. 32,\np. 420-449.\n\nL. SERRANO, _El ayo de Alfonso \u201cel sabio\u201d_, in _Bolet\u00edn de la Real\nAcademia Espa\u00f1ola_, 1920, vol. 7, p. 571-602.\n\nANTONIO G. SOLALINDE, _Intervenci\u00f3n de Alfonso X. en la redacci\u00f3n de sus\nobras_, in _Revista de Filolog\u00eda Espa\u00f1ola_, 1915, vol. 2, p. 283-288.\n\n--_El c\u00f3dice florentino de las \u201cCantigas\u201d_, in _Revista de Filolog\u00eda\nEspa\u00f1ola_, 1918, vol. 5, p. 142-179.\n\nO. T. TALLGREN, _Observationes sur les manuscrits de l\u2019Astronomie\nd\u2019Alphonse X, etc._, in _Neuphilologische Mitteilungen_, 1908, p.\n110-114.\n\nF. VALLS Y TABERNIR, _Relations familiars i politiques entre Jaume el\nconqueridor i Anfos el Savi_, in _Bulletin Hispanique_, 1919, vol. 21,\np. 9-52.\n\nMARY WARD, _Alfonso the Wise, King of Castille_, in _Macmillan\u2019s\nMagazine_, 1872, vol. 26, p. 126-136, and in _Living Age_, 1872, vol.\n26, p. 51-59.\n\nPAUL SCHEFFER-BOICHORST, _Zur Geschichte Alfons\u2019 X, von Castilien_, in\n_Mitteilungen des Instituts fur Osterreichische Geschichtsforschung_,\n1888, vol. 9, p. 226-248.\n\n\nA FEW GENERAL STUDIES\n\nNILS ABERG, _La civilisation n\u00e9olothique dans la p\u00e9ninsule ib\u00e8reque_,\nParis, 1921, 14 + 204 pp.\n\nMIGUEL ASIN-PALACIO, _Escatolog\u00eda Musulmana en la \u201cDivina Comedia\u201d_,\nMadrid, 1919, 403 pp.\n\nPIERRE AUBRY, _Trouv\u00e8res et Troubadours_, 2nd. ed., Paris, 1910, 2 p.\n1., 223 (1) pp.\n\nV. BALAGUER, _Los Trovadores_, 2nd. ed., Madrid, 1882, 4 vol. in 2.\n\nANTONIO BALLESTEROS Y BERETTA, _Sevilla en el siglo XIII_, Madrid, 1913,\n338 + 255 pp.\n\nThe Bible--King James\u2019 Version.\n\nJOAQU\u00cdN COSTA, _La Poes\u00eda popular espa\u00f1ola y mitolog\u00eda y literatura\ncelto-hispana_, Madrid, 1881, 8 + 489 pp.\n\nGEORGES DOTTIN, _La langue gauloise_, Paris, 1920, 17 + 364 pp.\n\nREINHART, P. DOZY, _Histoire des Musulmans d\u2019Espagne jusqu\u2019\u00e0 la conqu\u00eate\nde l\u2019Andalousie par les Almoravides_, Leyde, 1861, 4 vols.\n\n--_Recherches sur l\u2019histoire et la litt\u00e9rature de l\u2019Espagne pendant la\nmoyen \u00e2ge_, 3rd. ed., Leyde, 1881, 2 vols.\n\nFRANCISCO GUILL\u00c9N ROBLES, _Leyendas Moriscas_, Madrid, 1885-1886, 3\nvols.\n\nJAMES HASTINGS, _Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics_, Edinburgh and New\nYork, 1908-1922, 12 vols.\n\nC. JULIAN, _Histoire de la Gaule_, Paris, 1908-1920, 6 vols.\n\nE. H. KLOTSCHE, _The Supernatural in the Tragedies of Euripides_,\nLincoln, Neb., 1918, 106 pp.\n\nJOHN A. MACCULLOCH, _The Religion of the Ancient Celts_, Edinburg, 1911,\n15 + 399 pp.\n\nFRANCISCO MART\u00cdNEZ-MARINA, _Teor\u00eda de las cortes o grandes juntas\nnacionales de los reinos de Le\u00f3n y Castilla_, Madrid, 1813, 3 vols.\n\nHUBERT MATTHEY, _Essai sur le merveilleux dans la litt\u00e9rature fran\u00e7aise\ndepuis 1800_, Paris, 1915, 318 pp.\n\nR. MEN\u00c9NDEZ PIDAL, _La leyenda de los Infantes de Lara_, Madrid, 1896,\n16 + 448 pp.\n\n--_Discursos le\u00eddos ante la Real Academia_, Madrid, May 21, 1916.\n\nM. MEN\u00c9NDEZ Y PELAYO, _Historia de los heterodoxos espa\u00f1oles_, Madrid,\n2nd. ed., 1911-1918, 3 vols.\n\nALLEN MENZIE, _History of Religion_, New York, 1913, 17 + 440 pp.\n\nMANUEL MILA Y FONTANALS, _De los trovadores en Espa\u00f1a, estudio de poes\u00eda\ny lingua provenzal_, Barcelona, 1889, 32 + 542 pp.\n\nALONSO N\u00da\u00d1EZ DE CASTRO, _Vida de San Fernando el tercero, rey de\nCastilla y Le\u00f3n_, Madrid, 1787, 8 + 513 + 9 pp.\n\nJUAN DE PINEDA, _Memorial de la Excelente Santidad del Sr. Rey San\nFernando III_, Sevilla, 1627, 20 + 196, pp. numbered irregularly.\n\nGASTON PARIS, _La L\u00e9gende des Infants de Lara_, Paris, 1898, 28 pp.\n(Extract from _Journal des savants_, mai et juin, 1898.)\n\n\u00c9DOUARD PHILIPON, _Les Ib\u00e8res_, Paris, 1909, 24 + 344 pp.\n\nJOS\u00c9 AMADOR DE LOS R\u00cdOS, _Historia cr\u00edtica de la literatura espa\u00f1ola_,\nMadrid, 1861-1865, 7 vols.\n\nDOROTHY SCARBOROUGH, _The Supernatural in Modern English Fiction_, New\nYork, 1917, 7 + 329 pp.\n\nMARIANO SORIANO FUERTES Y PIQUERAS, _Historia de la m\u00fasica espa\u00f1ola\ndesde la venida de los fenicios hasta el a\u00f1o 1850_, Madrid, 1855-1859, 4\nvols.\n\nSAMUEL M. WAXMAN, _Chapters on Magic in Spanish literature_, New York,\nand Paris, 1916, 139 pp.\n\nC. E. WHITMORE, _The Supernatural in Tragedy_, Cambridge, 1915, 8 + 370\npp.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX OF PROPER NAMES\n\n\nBecause of the preceding classified list of miracles including the\nindication of the pages treating of each class, it has been deemed\nnecessary to include in the index only the proper names cited in the\nwork and the titles of those works from which examples of the\nsupernatural have been drawn. The reader is referred to the Bibliography\n(page 139-146) for works of the authors cited. Whenever various names of\nan individual, or different forms of the same name are used, only the\nbest known or the most popular form will be given in the index, but the\npages indicated are those on which any of the variations appear. For\nexample, all references to Saint Mary will be found under \u201cVirgin, The.\u201d\n\nAbderrahman II, 12\n\nAben Yussef, 56\n\nAbran of Germany, Count, 75\n\nAchela, 44n\n\nAd\u00e1n, 91n\n\nAeneas, 110\n\nAfrica, 21, 66n, 105, 109, 110\n\nAgosto, 49, 62\n\nAlbans, St., 131\n\nAlbeza, 37\n\nAlcocer, 17\n\nAlejandro el Magno, 124, 125, 126\n\nAlemany, Jos\u00e9, 25n\n\nAlexius, Emperor, 57\n\nAlexander IV, Pope, 18\n\nAlfonso III, of Portugal, 17\n\nAlfonso VIII, 16\n\nAlfonso IX, 16\n\nAlfonso X, el Sabio, 5, 13, _15-26_,\n 27, 29, 30, 30n, 31n, 34, 35, 44,\n 45, 53, 67, 79, 84, 85, 88, 93, 96,\n 96n, 97n, 107, 109, 113, 117, 128\n\nAlgeciras, 56\n\nAmad\u00eds de Gaula, 33n\n\nAndaluc\u00eda, 17\n\nAnn, Saint, Novena of, 9\n\nAntidio, 95\n\nArcalaus, 33n\n\n_Arcipreste de Hita_, El, 95\n\nAristotle, 54, 122\n\nArras, 71n\n\nAsin Palacios, Miguel, 64n, 96n, 109n, 112n\n\nAssisi, St. Francis of, 9\n\nAtocha, 36\n\nAttila, 110, 124\n\nAyamonte, 62\n\n\nBarcelona, 56\n\nBasilio, San, 68\n\nBeatriz, Do\u00f1a, 17\n\nBeatrice, Queen, 84\n\nBerceo, 59n, 77n, 93n, 97n\n\nBernat Descoll, 16\n\nBizancio, 110, 111\n\nBondoudar, 40\n\nBurgos, 16, 46, 71, 88\n\n\nC\u00e1diz, 22\n\nCaesar, 81\n\nCaesar, Octavius, 103\n\nCaesar, Sextus Julius, 104\n\nCaesarea, 68\n\nCaligula, Emperor Caius, 117\n\nCanaan, 48\n\n_Cantigas, Las_, 23, 27, 28, 30, 31n, 32, 68,\n 85, 85n, 92, 93, 93n, 96, 97, 107, 108, 108n,\n 116, 116n, 118, 131, 132\n\n_Cantigas de amor et de maldecir_, 27\n\nCastile, 16, 20, 79, 99, 128\n\nCastrog\u00e9riz, 39\n\nCatalonia, 16, 84\n\nChartres, 126\n\nCid, the, 96, 126n\n\nCirot, G., 25n\n\nColeridge, Samuel Taylor, 74\n\n_Conquista del Ultramar, La Gran_, 40n\n\nConstantine, Emperor, 61, 110, 111\n\nConstantinople, 57\n\nConsuegra, 64\n\n_Cr\u00f3nica General, La_, 22, _24_, 27, 40n,\n 66n, 68, 74, 74n, 80, 93,\n 95, 96n, 97, 100n, 104n, 105n, 106n,\n 109n, 111n, 112n, 116n, 126n\n\nCueto, Leopoldo Augusto de, Marqu\u00e9s de Valmar, 23\n\nCunnegro, 66\n\n\nDagobert, 109\n\nDavid, 123\n\nDenis, Saint, 109\n\nDevil, The, 39, 59, 64, 71,\n 72, 77, 77n, 80, 85, 89n,\n _91-97_, 112, 114, 116, 120, 121, 130\n\nDido, 105, 110\n\nDomingo, Santo, 33\n\nDomingo, Don, 47\n\nDoyle, Sir Conan, 91\n\nDuero, 95\n\n\nEanes, D. Gonzalo, 64\n\nEdessa, 126\n\nEgypt, 40, 84, 123\n\nElina, 111\n\nEnrique, Infante D., 19\n\nEscorial, The, 88\n\nEtna, Mount, 58\n\nEurope, 5, 13, 32, 44, 58, 96n, 99, 129\n\nEzequias, 54n\n\n\nFara\u00f3n, 123\n\nFelipe, Infante Don, 19\n\nFern\u00e1n Gonzales, 74n\n\nFernando III, 16, 24, 34, 109\n\nFernando IV, 16\n\nFernando de la Cerda, 20\n\nFernando, Infante Don, 80\n\nFrance, 18, 20, 109, 132\n\n\nGalileo, 69\n\nGarc\u00eda, Fern\u00e1ndez, 16\n\nGarc\u00eda, Count Don, 74\n\nGermany, 10\n\nGilemer, 109\n\nGod, 9, 29, 31, 31n, 32, 37, 50, 54n, 71,\n 72, 80, 91, 93, 96, 102n, 109, 112, 114,\n 115, 116, 121, 123, 124, 128, 130\n\nGranada, 20, 22, 79\n\nGranada, Emir of, 20\n\n_Gran Estoria_, 22, _24_, 26\n\n\u201cGran Brita\u00f1a\u201d, 56, 88\n\nGregory X, 18\n\nGuill\u00e9n Robles, Francisco, 37n, 109n, 112n\n\nGunderico, 96\n\nGuzm\u00e1n, Do\u00f1a Mayor Guill\u00e9n de, 17\n\n\nHastings, James, 76\n\nHell, 61, 64n, 91, 96, 109\n\nHeraclius, Emperor, 109\n\nHerodotus, 131\n\nHerod, King, 51, 100\n\nHoly Land, The, 83, 92\n\nHoly Spirit, The, 115, 123, 124\n\nHost, The, 62, 89n, _118-120_\n\nHudson River, The, 9\n\nHuelgas, Las, 34\n\n\nIca, 40\n\nIndia, 125\n\nIldefonso, San, 73\n\nIsrael, 123\n\nItaly, 18, 96n\n\n\nJacob, 123\n\nJaime, el Conquistador, 17, 20\n\nJa\u00e9n, 21\n\nJ\u00e9rez, 68, 109\n\nJ\u00e9rez de la Frontera, 22\n\nJerusalem, 48, 51, 111, 124\n\nJesus, 29, 31, 31n, 32, 45, 48, 49,\n 50, 51, 54n, 63, 64, 67, 79, 81,\n 83, 84, 92, 97, 103, 106, 111, 112,\n 114, 115, 119, 120, 123, 124, 127, 130\n\nJordanes, 10\n\nJorge, Maestro, 109\n\nJosef, 123\n\nJuan, San, 124\n\nJulian, Emperor, 68, 69, 81, 117\n\nJustinian, Emperor, 109\n\nJupiter, temple of, 105\n\n\n_Lapidario, El_, 23, _24_, 28\n\nLara, sons of, 99\n\nLebrija, 22\n\nLeo, Pope, 58\n\nLia, 123\n\n_Libro de Alejandro, El_, 96n, 97n, 126n\n\n_Libro de Ajedrez, El_, 23, _25_\n\n_Libros del Saber de Astronomia, Los_, 22, _23_, 28\n\nLisbon, 59\n\nLodge, Sir Oliver, 91\n\n\nMacCulloch, J. A., 17\n\nMacedonia, 125\n\nMadrid, 36\n\nManuel, Infante Don, 41\n\nMarcian, Emperor, 110\n\nMarcus, Lucius, 104\n\n_Mar\u00eda Egipciaca_, 131\n\nMariana, 15\n\nMarquina, 15\n\nMarseilles, 38\n\nM\u00e1rtires, 65\n\nMartos, 79\n\nMayor Arias, Do\u00f1a, 16\n\nMedina Sidonis, 22\n\nMela, Pomponius, 131\n\nMen\u00e9ndez Pidal, J., 104n\n\nMen\u00e9ndez Pidal, R., 22, 24\n\nMen\u00e9ndez y Pelayo, 12n\n\nMenzie, Allan, 40n\n\nMercurio, San, 68, 69\n\nMerlin, 131\n\n_Milagros de Nuestra Se\u00f1ora, Los_, 59n, 77n, 93n, 97n\n\nMildmay, Mrs. S., 11n\n\nMahommed, 64, 111\n\nMond\u00e9jar, Marqu\u00e9s de, 16\n\nMonsaras, 78\n\nMonserrat, 56\n\nMontana, Jos\u00e9 T., 25\n\n_Moralia in Job_, 110\n\nMoses, 24, 123\n\nMurcia, 17, 78\n\nMussafia, 30n\n\n\nNavarre, 17\n\nNavarre, King of, 20\n\nNavas, Conde de las, 117n\n\nNiebla, 22\n\nNu\u00f1o de Lara, 19, 68\n\n\nOberon, King, 131\n\nOn\u00eds, Federico de, 6\n\nOro, San Juan Boco de, 45\n\nOvid, 131\n\n\nParis, 109\n\nParis, Gaston, 99\n\nPascual de Gayangos, 25n\n\nPaschal II, Pope, 13\n\nPedro III, of Arag\u00f3n, 21\n\nPedro IV, 16\n\nPena Cova, 39\n\nPersia, 68, 69\n\nPeter, Saint, 32, 81\n\nPhilipon, \u00c9., 11\n\nPoitiers, Conde de, 80\n\nPortugal, King of, 19\n\nPuerto, 41, 47, 83\n\n\nRachel, 123\n\nRecafredo, 12\n\n_Reyes Magos, Los Tres_, 84n\n\nRibera, J., 23\n\nRibila, 79\n\nRichard of Cornwall, 18\n\nRico y Sinobas, Manuel, 24\n\nR\u00edos, Jos\u00e9 Amador de los, 10\n\nRocamador, 43, 93\n\nRodrig\u00e1\u00f1ez, Hippolito, 25\n\nRome, 21, 100, 106, 110, 111, 116\n\nRoman Empire, The Holy, 18, 20, 103\n\nRoumania, 61\n\nRudolph of Hapsburg, 18\n\nRuy Vel\u00e1zquez, 99\n\n\nSancho, Infante Don, 20, 21\n\nSanta Cruz, 95\n\nSantiago, 57, 93, 130\n\nSalas, 36, 42, 49, 83\n\nSaussonna, 44\n\nScarborough, Dorothy, 8, 131n\n\nScythia, 10\n\nSelfa, Antonio, 25\n\n_Septenario, El_, 22\n\nSeville, 17, 21, 56, 96, 128\n\nSegovia, 80\n\nSiagro, Don, 73\n\nSiena, Bishop of, 72\n\n_Siete Partidas, Las_, 16, 21, 22, 23,\n 28, 53, 76n, 79n, 87n, 89n, 91, 91n,\n 92n, 100, 108, 108n, 114n, 115n, 120n,\n 121, 121n, 122, 126n\n\nSion, Mount, 81\n\nSoissons, 40, 132\n\nSolomon, 114\n\nSolalinde, Antonio G., 6, 16, 24, 25n, 26n, 30n, 31n, 125n, 126n\n\nSpain, 9, 11, 12, 13, 22, 24, 25, 27, 45, 92, 96n, 99, 117, 129\n\nSur, Libano de, 69\n\nSylvester, Pope, 110, 111\n\n\n_Tablas, Alfons\u00edes ... Las_, 22\n\nTaion, 110\n\nT\u00e9llez, D. Alfonso, 64\n\nTemperley, H., 11n\n\nTerena, 43, 81, 97\n\nThomas, Saint, 127\n\nTiberius, 100\n\nToledo, Codex of, 88\n\nToledo, 16, 35, 47\n\nTodd, Henry Alfred, 6\n\nTortosa de Ultramar, 40\n\n\nVatican, The, 95\n\nVesentina, 95\n\nVirgin, The, 23, _27-89_, 92,\n 94, 95, 96, 108, 110, 119,\n 120, 124, 127, 128, 130, 131\n\nVirgin, Cult of, 31\n\nViolante of Arag\u00f3n, Do\u00f1a, 17\n\nViolante, Queen, 21\n\nVistula, 10\n\nVulcan, 124\n\n\nWandering Jew, The, 131\n\nWaxman, S. W., 97n\n\nWendover, Roger of, 131\n\nWeeks, Raymond, 6\n\nWerewolf, The, 131\n\nWhite, J. G., 25\n\nWhitmore, C. E., 118n\n\nWilliam of Holland, 18\n\n\nZaragoza, 41\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n PAGE\n\nPREFACE 5\n\nINTRODUCTORY 7\n\nCHAPTER I. ALFONSO EL SABIO AS KING AND\nSCHOLAR 15\n\nCHAPTER II. MIRACLES PERFORMED BY THE\nVIRGIN IN RESPONSE TO PRAYER 27\n\nCHAPTER III. MIRACLES PERFORMED VOLUNTARILY\nBY THE VIRGIN 53\n\nCHAPTER IV. MIRACLES PERFORMED BY IMAGES 83\n\nCHAPTER V. \u201cTHE DEVIL AND ALL HIS WORKS\u201d 91\n\nCHAPTER VI. DIVINATIONS--OMENS--AUGURIES 99\n\nCHAPTER VII. VISIONS 107\n\nCHAPTER VIII. VARIOUS MANIFESTATIONS 113\n\nCONCLUSION 129\n\nCLASSIFICATION OF THE MIRACLES OF \u201cLAS CANTIGAS\u201d 135\n\nBIBLIOGRAPHY 139\n\nINDEX OF PROPER NAMES 147\n\n\n\n\nPUBLICACIONES DEL\nINSTITUTO DE LAS ESPA\u00d1AS\n\n\n\n\nLIBROS DE ENSE\u00d1ANZA\n\n\n La Ense\u00f1anza de Lenguas Modernas en los Estados Unidos.\n\n Por LAWRENCE A. WILKINS. 160 p\u00e1ginas. R\u00fastica $1.25.\n\nEn este libro aparece la serie de conferencias que el autor di\u00f3 en el\nCentro de Estudios Hist\u00f3ricos de Madrid y en el Instituto de Idiomas de\nValencia en el a\u00f1o de 1921. A manera de pr\u00f3logo van las palabras\npronunciadas por el sabio fil\u00f3logo espa\u00f1ol don Ram\u00f3n Men\u00e9ndez Pidal al\ninaugurar estas conferencias. El m\u00e9todo general, los m\u00e9todos especiales\ndetalladamente descritos, la preparaci\u00f3n para el profesorado, el\nmovimiento hispanista en los Estados Unidos, las relaciones entre este\npa\u00eds y los pueblos hispanos, son los temas principales tratados en este\nlibro. Por su exposici\u00f3n clara y sistem\u00e1tica y por su sana doctrina\npedag\u00f3gica, esta obra se hace indispensable a todos los maestros de\nidiomas, de cualquier pa\u00eds.\n\n\n Cervantes. Cartilla Escolar.\n\n Biograf\u00eda y selecci\u00f3n por M. ROMERA-NAVARRO. Vocabulario por J.\n MERCADO. 16 p\u00e1ginas. R\u00fastica $.05.\n\nDedicado a los estudiantes de espa\u00f1ol de las escuelas de este pa\u00eds, fu\u00e9\nescrito este folleto a prop\u00f3sito de la Fiesta de la Lengua que celebra\nel Instituto el 23 de abril de todos los a\u00f1os en honor de Cervantes.\nContiene una breve exposici\u00f3n de la vida y la obra de Cervantes y dos\ntrozos refundidos del Quijote, uno de ellos la celebrada aventura de los\nmolinos de viento. Al fin va un vocabulario espa\u00f1ol-ingl\u00e9s, compuesto\ncon el prop\u00f3sito de ayudar a los estudiantes de habla inglesa.\n\n\n Nuestro Futuro Diputado\n\n Por SAMUEL A. WOFSY. 64 p\u00e1ginas. R\u00fastica $0.50.\n\nPoquisimas son las piezas dram\u00e1ticas en espa\u00f1ol que puedan ser\nrepresentadas por los Clubs de las escuelas y universidades de este\npa\u00eds. Las que existen o son muy largas o no son apropiadas. Este vac\u00edo\nlo llena en parte la farsa en tres actos, con vocabulario\nespa\u00f1ol-ingl\u00e9s, del Sr. Wofsy, profesor de espa\u00f1ol de la Universidad de\nWisconsin. Hay en ella bastante acci\u00f3n, ambiente netamente espa\u00f1ol y\nsituaciones c\u00f3micas. Estas cualidades solamente hacen de ella una pieza\ninteresante e instructiva para todos los dedicados al estudio de la\nlengua espa\u00f1ola.\n\n\nESTUDIOS\n\n The Romantic Dramas of Garc\u00eda Guti\u00e9rrez.\n\n By NICHOLSON B. ADAMS, PH. D. 149 pages. Paper $1.00.\n\nGarcia Gutierrez is one of the most important figures in the Spanish\nRomantic movement, and in poetic power he surpassed his contemporaries.\nThis study gives an insight into the plays of this famous Spanish\ndramatist. The sketch of his life, which opens the book, paves the way\nfor the reader to reach an understanding of the man who wrote _El\nTrovador_. The book itself, as well as the chronological list of the\nplays of Garc\u00eda Guti\u00e9rrez appended to it and the list of works either\npartially or exclusively devoted to him, will be of valuable assistance\nto all persons interested in the literary history of Spain.\n\n\n Mart\u00edn Fierro: An Epic of the Argentine.\n\n By HENRY A. HOLMES, PH. D. 192 pages. Paper $1.00.\n\nPeculiar colonial conditions in Argentina created in the isolation of\nthe pampa a striking type of horsemen: cowboys, trackers, Indian\nfighters, etc. These men, called _gauchos_, were in many respects like\nour western cowboys, but their unique traits call for such a sympathetic\nstudy as is made in this book. The work takes its title from that of the\nmost celebrated Argentine cowboy poem, whose hero, Mart\u00edn Fierro, sings\nof _gauchos_, Indians, and the pampa, in truly epic vein.\n\n\n En Prensa: Jacinto Benavente.\n\n Estudio literario por FEDERICO DE ON\u00cdS.\n\n\nLITERATURA\n\n Desolaci\u00f3n. Poemas.\n\n Por GABRIELA MISTRAL. 248 p\u00e1ginas. R\u00fastica $1.50. Tela $2.25.\n\nLa fama de poetisa de Gabriela Mistral est\u00e1 ya tan bien cimentada en\ntodos los pa\u00edses de habla espa\u00f1ola, que su nombre en un libro bastara\npara despertar el inter\u00e9s de todos los amantes de las letras hisp\u00e1nicas\nde nuestros d\u00edas. Esta edici\u00f3n ha sido dedicada a la autora por los\nmaestros de espa\u00f1ol de este pa\u00eds, en testimonio de admiraci\u00f3n y afecto.\nEsta es la primera vez que la autora ha dado su consentimiento para que\nse publiquen en un libro, as\u00ed sus poes\u00edas in\u00e9ditas como todas las que ya\nhan visto la luz en diferentes revistas. El INSTITUTO se enorgullece de\nprestar tal valioso servicio a la literatura hisp\u00e1nica moderna con la\npublication de la obra completa, verso y prosa, de esta genial poetisa\nchilena.\n\n\n Del Camino. Poes\u00edas.\n\n Por JULIO MERCADO. 120 p\u00e1ginas. R\u00fastica $1.00.\n\nLas Poesias que componen este libro, el cual nos presenta la obra\ncompleta del poeta, no s\u00f3lo dar\u00e1n solaz a quienes las leyeren, sino\nllevaran igualmente al coraz\u00f3n y la mente de los lectores el\nconvencimiento de que se trata de un poeta de fuerza, con personalidad\npropia. He aqu\u00ed lo que dice el conocido critico don Federico de On\u00eds,\nprologuista de la obra: \u201cLa poes\u00eda de Mercado pertenece a ese modo de\npoes\u00eda que siente y piensa al mismo tiempo, y que en la moderna\nliteratura espa\u00f1ola alcanza sus m\u00e1s altos ejemplos en Antonio Machado y\nMiguel de Unamuno.\u201d\n\n\nCONFERENCES\n\n Lo que se puede aprender en Espa\u00f1a.\n\n Por JOAQU\u00cdN ORTEGA. 8 p\u00e1ginas. R\u00fastica $.15.\n\nEl autor describe, dentro de un peque\u00f1o marco, todo lo que los\nangloamericanos pueden aprender en Espa\u00f1a en presencia de las reliquias\nde la tradici\u00f3n hisp\u00e1nica, bajo el encanto de las viejas ciudades\nespa\u00f1olas y en contacto con toda clase de gente, inclusivo una simple\nvendedora de naranjas. No s\u00f3lo es interesante e instructiva esta\nconferencia para los angloamericanos, sino tambi\u00e9n lo es para todas las\npersonas de habla espa\u00f1ola, quienes hallar\u00e1n satisfacci\u00f3n y solaz en la\namena lectura de este folleto encaminado a recordar las virtudes de la\nraza.\n\n\nOTRAS PUBLICACIONES\n\n Memoria\n\n Del curso 1920-1921. (_En espa\u00f1ol y en ingl\u00e9s_)\n\nEn ella podr\u00e1 informarse el lector de los fines y organizaci\u00f3n del\nINSTITUTO y de la labor realizada en el primer a\u00f1o de su existencia. Se\nenv\u00eda gratuitamente a quienes la solicitaren. Dirigirse al _Secretario\nGeneral del_ INSTITUTO DE LAS ESPA\u00d1AS, 419 West 117th Street. New York,\nN. Y.\n\n * * * * *\n\n[Illustration]\n\nTHE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION\n\nINSTITUTO DE LAS ESPA\u00d1AS EN LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS\n\n\nCenter for the study of Spanish, Portuguese and Hispano-American\nculture, founded by the Institute of International Education, the\nAmerican Association of Teachers of Spanish, the Junta para Ampliaci\u00f3n\nde Estudios of the Spanish Ministry of Public Instruction, the Oficina\nde Relaciones Culturales Espa\u00f1olas of the Spanish Ministry of State, and\nseveral Spanish and American universities.\n\n\nSome of the aims of the Instituto are the following:\n\n To maintain a bureau of information concerning educational\n opportunities in Spain, Spanish America and the United States.\n\n To encourage an interchange of professors and students between the\n institutions of these countries.\n\n To encourage the study of Spanish and Portuguese in the schools and\n colleges of the United States.\n\n To receive and entertain distinguished Hispanic visitors.\n\n To arrange lectures by eminent Hispanists from abroad and by those\n of our own country.\n\n To hold literary and musical _veladas_ which will afford an\n opportunity for meeting and conversing with people of Spanish\n speech.\n\n To organize an affiliation of Spanish Clubs in schools and\n colleges.\n\n To establish a select circulating library of Spanish and Portuguese\n books and also a collection of slides illustrative of the life and\n art of the Hispanic nations.\n\n To publish books, articles, etc., on subjects connected with the\n purposes of the Instituto.\n\n To celebrate on the 23rd of April each year the \u201cFiesta de la\n Lengua Espa\u00f1ola,\u201d and to award the medal of the Instituto for\n excellence in Spanish.\n\n * * * * *\n\nAnyone interested in Hispanic culture may become an active member of the\nInstituto by paying an annual fee of $5.00. Active members receive the\npublications made during the term of their membership. They may also\npurchase former publications at a discount of 25%.\n\nInquiries or remittances should be addressed to the General Secretary,\nInstituto de las Espa\u00f1as, 419 West 117th St., New York, N. Y., U. S. A.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] Columbia University Press, 1917.\n\n[2] See p. 53.\n\n[3] It has not been deemed necessary (since this is not a study of the\nsources but rather of the material itself) to begin with a more remote\nperiod. The purposes of this r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is to give the reader a general\nidea of the people and their immediate environment. For studies on the\nearlier invasion see the appended Bibliography.\n\n[4] R. Men\u00e9ndez Pidal _L\u2019Epop\u00e9e Castillane \u00e0 travers la litt\u00e9rature\nespagnole_. Paris, Colin, 1910, p. 15.\n\n[5] Amador de los R\u00edos, _Historia Cr\u00edtica de la literatura espa\u00f1ola_,\nMadrid, 1865, Vol. 2, p. 193.\n\n[6] _The Religion of the Ancient Celts_, Edinburgh, 1911, p. 246.\n\n[7] _Les Ib\u00e8res_, Paris, 1909, p. 202.\n\n[8] Among the many interesting magazine articles on a recent widely\ndiscussed phase of this phenomenon in the World War are _Phantom Armies\nSeen in France_ by Mrs. S. Mildmay, _North American_, 202: 207-12,\nAugust, 1915, and _On the Supernatural Element in History with Two\nExamples from the Present Day_, by Mr. H. Temperley, _Contemporary\nReview_, 110: 188-98, August, 1916.\n\n[9] Men\u00e9ndez y Pelayo, _Historia de los heterodoxos espa\u00f1oles_, Madrid,\n1911-18, Vol. 2, Chap. 2.\n\n[10] _Chronicon_ of Sebastian, No. 27.\n\n[11] Amador de los R\u00edos, _Historia cr\u00edtica de la literatura espa\u00f1ola_,\nVol. 3, p. 233.\n\n[12] Antonio G. Solalinde, _Antolog\u00eda de Alfonso X, el Sabio_, p. 21.\n\n[13] The following brief r\u00e9sum\u00e9 of the life of Alfonso X is based for\nthe most part on the Marqu\u00e9s de Mond\u00e9jar\u2019s _Memorias hist\u00f3ricas del Rei\nD. Alfonso, el Sabio, i observaciones a su chr\u00f3nica_, Madrid, 1845, and\nthe introduction to Sr. Solalinde\u2019s _Antolog\u00eda de Alfonso X, el Sabio_.\n\n[14] _Las Siete Partidas_--Partida II, T\u00edtulo XV, Ley II. Hereafter\nreferences to this work will be expressed thus: _Partidas_ 2-15-2.\n\n[15] _Estudios Literarios_, Madrid, 1920, p. 184-185.\n\n[16] For a discussion of the date of the translation of this work\ninto Spanish see the following editions of _Calila y Dimna_; Pascual\nde Gayangos, in _Biblioteca de Autores Espa\u00f1oles_, Vol. 51, Madrid,\n1860; Jos\u00e9 Alemany, Madrid, 1915; and Antonio G. Solalinde, Madrid,\n1917. In Bulletin Hispanique. Vol. 24, page 167-171 is to be found an\ninteresting review by G. Cirot of the last named work.\n\n[17] Antonio G. Solalinde, _Interventi\u00f3n de Alfonso X en la redacci\u00f3n\nde sus obras, Revista de Filolog\u00eda Espa\u00f1ola_, 1915, Vol. 2, p. 286.\n\n[18] _Partidas_, 1-1-9.\n\n[19] _Partidas_ 1-4-123 and 124 which is given in full on p. 53-54.\n\n[20] See p. 66. The miracle of the restoration of the tongue, and notes.\n\n[21] See p. 80. The bleeding image, and notes.\n\n[22] Sr. Antonio G. Solalinde, in speaking of this, says: Seg\u00fan los\ndatos de Mussafia, existen 64 milagros, de los m\u00e1s difundidos en el\nmundo cristiano, en las 100 primeras cantigas, 17 en las 100 cantigas\nsiguientes, 11 en el tercer centenar y 2 en el cuarto. Seguramente se\npodr\u00eda rectificar en detalle esta estad\u00edstica, pero ello exigir\u00eda un\nestudio minucioso de las fuentes de las cantigas y de la historicidad\nde sus asuntos, tarea que s\u00f3lo en parte se realiz\u00f3 en la edici\u00f3n\nmonumental. Creo que el pensamiento de Mussafia estar\u00eda mejor expresado\nsi dijera que aquellos asuntos universales abundan principalmente en la\nprimera edici\u00f3n de la obra, o sea en el ms. TOL (Ms. de la Biblioteca\nNacional de Madrid, N\u00fam. 10069, procedente de la catedral de Toledo)\ncuyas cantigas se reparten, como hemos visto, casi exclusivamente\nen los dos primeros centenares de la edici\u00f3n definitiva, E (Ms.\nescurialense j. b. 2). Los continuadores de la obra primitiva tuvieron\nque recurrir a los milagros acaecidos en Espa\u00f1a, y aun a los que tienen\npor protagonistas a Alfonso X y otros personajes de la corte, sin que\nfalten tampoco en las nuevas colecciones asuntos universales m\u00e1s o\nmenos difundidos en la literatura marial, ni milagros sin indicaci\u00f3n de\nlugar, y que tanto pueden ser espa\u00f1oles como extranjeros. _El c\u00f3dice\nflorentino de las \u201cCantigas\u201d_, _Revista de Filolog\u00eda Espa\u00f1ola_, Vol. 5,\n1918, p. 175-176.\n\n[23] _Las Cantigas_ No. 361. Hereafter the number, written thus (No.\n361), will be inserted in the body of the text. As mentioned above,\n_Las Cantigas_ are written in the Gallego-Portugu\u00e9s dialect, the\nfavorite of the lyric poets of the time, and not in Castillian as are\nthe prose works of Alfonso.\n\n[24] I have found 23 which relate miracles experienced by the king\nhimself or some of his kinsmen or friends: Nos. 122, 142, 209, 215,\n221, 235, 243, 256, 257, 279, 292, 324, 328, 345, 348, 358, 366, 367,\n376, 377, 379, 382, 386. Aside from these are a few others as Nos. 295,\n349, 354, 375, etc., in which apparently the king is Alfonso himself\ntho this is not specifically stated.\n\n[25] For a discussion of the probable method of composition of Las\nCantigas see Antonio G. Solalinde, _El c\u00f3dice florentino de las\n\u201cCantigas\u201d y su relaci\u00f3n con los dem\u00e1s manuscritos, Revista de\nFilolog\u00eda Espa\u00f1ola_, Vol. 5, 1918, p. 169 ff.\n\n[26] References to Deus, seu Fillo, are constantly recurring but only\nin No. 75, 71, 309, and 353 have I found references to Deus Padre.\n\n[27] This collection consists of 402 _Cantigas_ under the heading of\n\u201cLas Cantigas de Santa Mar\u00eda\u201d every tenth one of which is a \u201ccantiga\nde loor\u201d and does not narrate a miracle. No. 1 also is a \u201ccantiga de\nloor\u201d. No. 279 does not narrate a miracle but is a song of thanks.\nNos. 373, 387, 388, 394, 395, 396, 397, are repetitions of previous\ncantigas. Nos. 401 and 403 are not miracles. This leaves a total of\n351 in this group. Neither are there any to be found in the two groups\nentitled \u201cCantigas de las fiestas de Santa Mar\u00eda\u201d and \u201cCantigas de las\nfiestas de Nuestro Se\u00f1or Jesucristo.\u201d The group of five miscellaneous\ncantigas not found in the _c\u00f3dice escurialense_ contains two miracles\nmaking a total of 353.\n\n[28] The mysterious ceremony performed here is quite similar to the\nincantations used when Amad\u00eds was being brought out from under the\nspell of the enchanter Arcalaus by the strange and almost fairy-like\ndamsels. Cf. _Amad\u00eds de Gaula_, in _Biblioteca de Autores Espa\u00f1oles_,\nVol. 40, p. 50, Madrid, 1880.\n\n[29] As is so often the case with the writers of the Middle Ages, we\ncannot always take our poet too literally, for in this poem he says:\n\u201cD\u2019esto direi un miragre _que ui_\u201d and only a few stanzas later in\ndescribing the acts of the mother he says: \u201c_A todos da capela fez\nsayr_\u201d. But doubtless since he was so closely related to the mother\nconcerned he did not consider \u201c_que u\u00ed_\u201d too strong a statement\nespecially when it fitted the meter and the rhyme.\n\n[30] Nos. 37, 53, 81, 91, 93, 105, and 134.\n\n[31] Nos. 223, 275, 319, 372, 393. Note that the miracles narrating\ncures of leprosy are all (with the exception of No. 259 not mentioned\nin the above note because the cure was not in response to prayer to the\nVirgin) in the first half of the collection, while the cures of rabies\nare all in the latter half.\n\n[32] Francisco Guill\u00e9n Robles, in _Leyendas Moriscas_, Madrid, 1885-6.\nVol. 1, p. 181 ff. cites this as a legend of eastern origin.\n\n[33] Nos. 83, 106, 158, 176, 227, 291, 301, 325, 359, 363.\n\n[34] This motif of the appearance of the heavenly host is well\ndeveloped in the second part of the _Primera Cr\u00f3nica General_ in the\naccount of the battle with Abenhut, in which Alfonso himself took part,\np. 727 and also in the later work, _La Gran Conquista del Ultramar_, p.\n321, _Biblioteca de Autores Espa\u00f1oles_, Vol. 44, Madrid, 1880, which\nbelongs to the period of Alfonso\u2019s successor.\n\n[35] See Allan Menzie, _History of Religion_, New York, 1913, p. 66 ff.\n\n[36] Nos. 43, 44, 118, 166, 167, 176, 177, 178, 232, 247, 298, 333,\n352, 357, 366, 375, 376, 382, 385.\n\n[37] Nos. 171, 172, 197, 398, etc.\n\n[38] In Nos. 272 and 162 are found similar instances of the mysterious\nmovement of objects, only here it is an image of the Virgin that\nchanges its location.\n\n[39] This spider motif is the dominant feature in Nos. 222 and 225. In\nthe former the Capell\u00e1n of La Se\u00f1ora de Achela was saying mass when\njust as he raised the sacred cup to his lips he saw a big spider fall\ninto the wine. He hesitated for a moment not knowing what to do for\nunder no circumstances can the ceremony of Mass be interrupted. Only a\nmoment did he pause, then trusting in the Virgin he drank it, spider\nand all. The prioress learning of it ordered him to be bled. As the\nsurgeon\u2019s lance pierced the arm not blood but the spider, alive, came\nout and the clergyman was unharmed. No. 225, probably simply a variant,\ndiffers in that after drinking it the spider moved about between the\nskin and the flesh while the poor man implored relief thru divine aid.\nFinally, one day while in the sun the spider passed from the back and\nbreast to his arm and after much of scratching came out under the nail.\n\n[40] See p. 40.\n\n[41] The Italics are mine.\n\n[42] The Italics are mine.\n\n[43] 1-4-124.\n\n[44] A still fuller definition is as follows: 1-4-123.\n\n\u201cNatura es fecho de Dios, et \u00e9l es el se\u00f1or et el facedor della: onde\ntodo lo que puede ser fecho por natura f\u00e1celo Dios, et demas otras\ncosas \u00e1 que non comple el poder della. Ca nature non puede dexar nin\ndesviarse de obrar segunt la \u00f3rden cierta quel puso Dios porque obrase\nasi como facer noche et dia, et frio et calentura: otrosi que los\ntiempos non recudan \u00e1 sus sazones segun el movemiento cierto del cielo\net de las estrellas en quien puso Dios poder de ordenar la natura,\nnin puede facer otrosi que lo pesado non decenda, et lo liviano non\nsuba. Et desto dixo Arist\u00f3tiles que la natura non se face a obrar en\ncontrario: et esto tanto quiera decir como que siempre guarda una\nmanera et una \u00f3rden cierta por que obra. Otrosi non puede facer algo de\nnada, mas todo lo que se face por ella conviene que se faga de alguna\ncosa, asi como un elemento dotro \u00f3 de todos los quatro elementos, de\nque se engendran todas las cosas naturales et compuestas; mas Dios face\ntodo esto, et puede facer demas contra este ordenamiento, asi como\nfacer que el sol que nace al oriente et va \u00e1 occidente, que se torna\n\u00e1 oriente por aquella mesma carrera ante que se ponga, segunt fizo\npor ruego de Ezequias quando torn\u00f3 el sol quince grados atras. Et aun\npuede facer eclipse estando el sol et la luna en oposici\u00f3n, as\u00ed como\nfue el dia de la pasion de Iesu Cristo: et puede facer del muerto vivo,\net del que nunca vi\u00f3 que vea, asi como quando resucit\u00f3 a L\u00e1zaro et\nfizo ver al que naci\u00f3 ciego. Otrosi puede facer las cosas de nimigaja\n(_sic_) asi como fizo el mundo et los \u00e1ngeles, et los cielos et las\nestrellas, que non fueron fechos de elementos nin de otra materia,\net face cada d\u00eda las almas de entendimiento que son en los homes. Et\neste poder es apartadamiente de Dios; et quando obra por \u00e9l \u00e1 lo que\nd\u00edcenle miraglo, porque quando acaesce es cosa maravillosa a las gentes\net esto es porque los homes caten todav\u00eda los fechos de natura. Et por\nonde quando alguna cosa se face contra ella maravillanse onde viene,\nmayormiente quando acaesce pocas veces; ca estonces han de maravillarse\ncomo de cosa nueva et extra\u00f1a. Et desto fabl\u00f3 el Sabio con razon et\ndixo, miraglo es cosa que vemos, mas non sabemos onde viene: et esto se\nentiende quanto al pueble comunalmiente: mas los sabios et entendudos\nbien entienden que la cosa que non puede facer natura nin artificio de\nhome, del poder de Dios viene solamente et non de otri.\u201d\n\n[45] This legend of flowers being found in the mouth of the dead was\nquite common in the Middle Ages as was also that of the body of a dead\nperson giving off delightful odors. This miracle is quite similar to\nthat to be found en Berceo\u2019s _Milagros de Nuestra Se\u00f1ora_ No. 3.\n\n[46] It is interesting to compare this journey with the discussion of\nSr. Asin of the various legends of journeys to Hell and also maritime\njourneys of the early Middle Ages. _Escatolog\u00eda musulmana en la \u201cDivina\nComedia\u201d_, p. 229 ff.\n\n[47] This is very similar to the account in the _Primera Cr\u00f3nica\nGeneral_, p. 252 column b, line 42. (Hereafter such references will be\nindicated in the usual manner thus: _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, p. 252 b 42.)\nHere, however, the scene is in Africa and, after losing his tongue, the\nbishop could sing and preach louder and more clearly than ever before.\nThe heretics who ridiculed him were, in this instance, the ones who\nlost the power of speech.\n\n[48] See table on p. 136 for numbers.\n\n[49] A candle with healing power is mentioned in No. 259. St. Mary\nappeared to two men just before a duel and told them to go to her\nchurch at Arras. There she appeared to them again and inspired them\nwith the spirit of forgiveness. She also gave them a taper that would\ncure leprosy. A bishop hearing of this wonderful instrument, took it\nand because of that contracted the disease; they, with the aid of the\ncandle cured him, discovering that only in their hands did it have any\neffect.\n\n[50] This peculiar use of the term \u201cgentile\u201d meaning \u201cnon-Christian\u201d is\nquite common in the literature of the period.\n\n[51] There is some similarity between this one and No. 259 summarized\non p. 71, note 7.\n\n[52] In the _Cr\u00f3nica_ the knight is the son of Fern\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez and the\nVirgin sends \u201cun \u00e1ngel\u201d. Otherwise the story is the same tho told in\ngreater detail.\n\n[53] According to the laws the only ordeal allowed was that of combat\nand that was only encouraged between knights (_Partidas_ 7-6-1). In\nspeaking of ordeals in general the law reads: _Partidas_ 3-14-8.\n\nEt hay otra que se face por fama, \u00f3 por leyes \u00f3 por derechos que las\npartes muestran en juicio para averiguar et veneer sus pleytos asi\ncomo delante mostraremos: et aun acostumbraron antiguamente et _\u00fasanlo\nhoy en d\u00eda_, otra manera de prueba, asi como por lid de caballeros \u00f3\nde peones que se face en razon de riepto \u00f3 de otra manera: et como\nquier que en algunas tierras hayan (_sic_) esto por costumbre, pero\nlos sabios antiguos que ficieron las leyes non lo tuvieron por derecha\nprueba: et esto por dos razones; la una porque muchas vegadas acaesce\nque en tales lides pierde la verdat et vence la mentira: la otra porque\naquel que ha voluntad de se aventurar \u00e1 esta prueba semeja que quiere\ntentar a Dios Nuestro Se\u00f1or, que es cosa que \u00e9l defendi\u00f3 por su palabra\nall\u00ed do dixo: ve a riedro satanas, non tentar\u00e1s a Dios tu se\u00f1or.--(The\nItalics are mine).\n\nSee also \u201cOrdeal\u201d in Hastings _Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics_,\nVol. IX, page 508.\n\n[54] In Berceo\u2019s _Miraglos de Nuestra Se\u00f1ora_ No. 20, we find the same\nlegend, but here the Devil takes the form of a bull, _a dog_ and a\nlion. The Virgin takes the priest home and puts him to bed and then\nbids him go to confession next morning and do penance.\n\n[55] According to the law it was forbidden to make effigies while\ntrying to produce or break the spell of love. _Partidas_ 7-23-2.\n\n[56] The conception of wounding an image is developed further in the\n_Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral_. p. 258 a 52, where a Jew for spite enters a church\nand wounds the image with his knife and then, hiding it under his\nmantle, makes his way home, where he further mutilates it. When he\nreaches home he finds the mantle wet with blood but he does not notice\nthat it has dripped on the ground, thus leaving his traces. When the\nChristians meet at the church they miss the image and trace it by its\nblood. When the Jew is found, due punishment is meted out to him.\n\n[57] Compare this with the story of Jesus walking through the midst\nof the crowd that had gathered to throw him over the precipice (Luke\n4:28-30).\n\n[58] Los Tres Reyes Magos.\n\n[59] Probably that containing the first one hnndred _Cantigas_. See p.\n30, note 4.\n\n[60] For a further study of conjuring, and the power of the names of\nthe Deity see p. 113 ff.\n\n[61] According to _Las Siete Partidas_, it was prohibited to bury in\nholy ground those who died in tournaments, for the Church forbade such\npastimes. _Partidas_, 1-13-10.\n\n[62] Physicians were forbidden to give medicine until after confession\nunder penalty of excommunication, because illness, it was claimed, was\noften due to sin. _Partidas_, 1-4-83.\n\n[63] In these three chapters, as stated above, I have summarized only\na sufficient number of the miracles of this collection to illustrate\nthe various types of supernatural phenomena presented. Some of the\nincidents, altho closely connected with Saint Mary, better illustrate\nsome other phase of this study (such as the character of the Devil, the\npower of the Host, conjuring, etc.), and when this is the case they\nhave been used in their appropriate place.\n\n[64] Et quanto en s\u00edse todas las criaturas fizo buenas, mas cayeron\nalgunas dellas en yerro; las unas por si mesmas, asi como el diablo se\nperdi\u00f3 por su orgullo et por su soberbia, et los otros por consejo de\notri, asi como Adan, etc. _Partidas_, 1-3.--Introduction p. 38.\n\n[65] \u201cCerca de las eglesias tovieron por bien los santos padres que\nfuesen las sepolturas de los cristianos, et esto por quatro razones:\n... la quarta porque los diablos non han poder de se allegar tanto \u00e1\nlos cuarpos de los muertos que son soterrados en los cementerios como \u00e1\nlos que yacen de fuera:\u201d _Partidas_ 1-13-2.\n\n[66] See conjuring, p. 113.\n\n[67] p. 266. For a further discussion see \u201cVisions\u201d, p. 107.\n\n[68] _Las Cantigas_ No. 26, See also Berceo\u2019s _Miraglos de Nuestra\nSe\u00f1ora_, VIII.\n\n[69] _Las Cantigas_, No. 3. Berceo: _Los Miraglos de Nuestra Se\u00f1ora_,\nNo. 24, varies from this slightly.\n\n[70] _Idem_ No. 216. Very interesting for its details is the devil-pact\nstory in _El Arcipreste de Hita_, 1454 ff.\n\n[71] p. 206.\n\n[72] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, p. 212.\n\n[73] See p. 63.\n\n[74] In _El Libro de Alejandro_ is a vivid description, 2180 ff. which\nwas doubtless known by Alfonso. See also Sr. Miguel As\u00edn Palacios\u2019\n_La Escatolog\u00eda Musulmana en La Divina Comedia_, Madrid, 1919, for a\ndiscussion of the Mohammedan legends of Inferno and their influence on\nEurope in general and Spain and Italy in particular.\n\n[75] See the laws cited under p. 101.\n\n[76] The best example of enchantment in Castillian prior to Alfonso is\nBerceo\u2019s _Miraglos de Nuestra Se\u00f1ora_, XXIV, _Biblioteca de Autores\nEspa\u00f1oles_, Vol. 57. Madrid, 1883. In _El Libro de Alejandro_ are to\nbe found enchanted fountains, 1331 ff., enchanted armor, 615 ff.,\nenchanted persons, 678 ff., and the magic knot no one can untie, 787\nff. See Samuel M. Waxman, _Chapters in Spanish Magic_, New York, 1916,\nfor a study of this subject in the period immediately following Alfonso.\n\n[77] La l\u00e9gende des infants de Lara, Paris, 1898, p. 5-6. (Extract from\n_Journal des savants_, mai et juin, 1898.)\n\n[78] See note 6, p. 101.\n\n[79] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._ 120 b 30.\n\n[80] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, p. 115 a 39 ff.\n\n[81] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, p. 111 a 51-53.\n\n[82] _Partidas_, 7-9-17. The very interesting T\u00edtulo _De los adevinos\net de los encantadores_ is as follows:\n\nTITULO XXIII\n\n_De los Agoreros, et de los Sorteros, et de los otros Adevinos, et de\nlos Hechiceros et de los Truhanes._\n\nAdevinar las cosas que son por venir cobdician los homes naturalmente\net porque algunos dellos prueban esto en manera que yerran ellos et\nmeten \u00e1 otros muchos en yerro, por ende pues que en el t\u00edtulo ante\ndeste fablamos de los alcahuetes que facen errar \u00e1 los homes et \u00e1 las\nmugeres en muchas maneras, queremos aqui decir otrosi destos que son\nmuy da\u00f1osos \u00e1 la tierra: et mostraremos qu\u00e9 quiere decir adevinanza: et\nqu\u00e1ntas maneras son della: et qui\u00e9n puede acusar a los facedores della:\net ante qui\u00e9n: et qu\u00e9 pena merescen los que se trabajan a obrar della\ncomo non deben.\n\nLEY I\n\n_Qu\u00e9 quiere decir Adevinanza, et qu\u00e1ntas maneres son della._\n\nAdevinanza tanto quiere decir como querer tomar poder de Dios para\nsaber las cosas que son por venir. Et son dos maneras de adevinanza:\nla primera es la que se face por arte de astronom\u00eda, que es una de\nlas siete artes liberales: et esta segunt el fuero de las leyes non\nes defendida de usar \u00e1 los que son ende maestros et la entienden\nverdaderamente, porque los juicios et los asmamientos que se dan por\nesta arte, son catados por el curso natural de los planetas et de las\notras estrellas, et tomados de los libros de Tolomeo et de los otros\nsabidores que se trabajaron desta esciencia: mas los otros [sic] que\nnon son ende sabidores, non deben obrar por ella, como quier que se\npuedan trabajar de aprenderla estudiando en los libros de los sabios.\nLa segunda manera de adevinanza es de los agoreros, et de los sorteros\net de los fechiceros que catan en aguero de aves, \u00f3 de estornudos \u00f3 de\npalabras, a que llaman proverbio, \u00f3 echan suertes, \u00f3 catan en agua, \u00f3\nen cristal, \u00f3 en espejo, \u00f3 en espada \u00f3 en otra cosa luciente, \u00f3 facen\nfechizos de metal \u00f3 de otra cosa qualquier, o adevinan en cabeza de\nhome muerto, \u00f3 de bestia, \u00f3 de perro, \u00f3 en palma de ni\u00f1o \u00f3 de muger\nv\u00edrgen. Et estos truhanes atales et todos los otros semejantes dellos\nporque son homes da\u00f1osos et enga\u00f1adores, et nacen de sus fechos muy\ngrandes da\u00f1os et malos \u00e1 la tierra, defendemos que ninguno dellos non\nmore en nuestro se\u00f1orio nin use hi destas cosas: et otrosi que ninguno\nnon sea osado de acogerlos en sus casas nin de encobrirlos.\n\nLEY II\n\n_De los que escantan (encantan?) los Esp\u00edritus Malos \u00f3 facen im\u00e1gines \u00f3\notros fechizos, \u00f3 dan yerbas para enamoramiento de los homes et de las\nmugeres._\n\nNigromancia dicen en Latin \u00e1 un saber estra\u00f1o que es para escantar\nlos esp\u00edritus malos. Et porque de los homes que se trabajan \u00e1 facer\nesto viene muy grant da\u00f1o \u00e1 la tierra et se\u00f1aladamente \u00e1 los que los\ncreen et les demandan alguna cosa en esa raz\u00f3n, acaesci\u00e9ndoles muchas\nocasiones por el espanto que reciben andando de noche buscando estas\ncosas atales en los lugares extra\u00f1os, de manera que algunos dellos\nmueren, \u00f3 fincan locos o demuniados; por ende defendemos que ninguno\nnon sea osado de trabajarse de usar tal nemiga como esta, porque es\ncosa que pesa \u00e1 Dios et viene ende muy grant da\u00f1o a los homes. Otrosi\ndefendemos que ninguno non sea osado de facer im\u00e1gines de cera, nin\nde metal nin de otros fechizos malos para enamorar los homes con las\nmugeres, nin para partir el amor que algunos hobiesen entre s\u00ed. Et aun\ndefendemos que ninguno non sea osado de dar yerbas nin brebage \u00e1 home\n\u00f3 \u00e1 muger por razon de enamoramiento, porque acaesce a las vegadas que\ndestos brebages atales vienen a muerte los que los toman, \u00f3 han muy\ngrandes enfermedades de que fincan ocacionados para siempre.\n\nLEY III\n\n_Qui\u00e9n puede acusar \u00e1 los Truhanes, et \u00e1 los Baratadores sobredichos et\nqu\u00e9 pena merescen._\n\nAcusar pueda cada uno del pueblo delante del judgador \u00e1 los agoreros,\net \u00e1 los sorteros et \u00e1 los otros baratadores de que fablamos en\nlas leyes deste t\u00edtulo. Et si les fuere probado por testigos o\npor conoscencia dellos mesmos que facen \u00f3 obran contra nuestro\ndefendimiento algunos de los yerros sobredichos, deben morir por ende:\net los que los encubieren en sus casas \u00e1 sabiendas, deben seer echados\nde la tierra para siempre. Pero los que ficiensen encantamientos \u00f3\notras cosas con buena entenci\u00f3n, asi como para sacas demonios de los\ncuerpos de los homes o para deslegar a los que fuesen marido et muger\nque non pudiesen convenir en uno, o para desatar nube que echase\ngranizo \u00f3 niebla porque non corrompiese los frutos de la tierra, \u00f3 para\nlangosta \u00f3 pulgon que da\u00f1a el pan \u00f3 las vi\u00f1as, \u00f3 por alguna otra cosa\nprovechosa semejante destas non debe haber pena, ante decimos que deben\nrescebir gualardon por ello.\n\n[83] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, p. 97 b 26 ff.\n\n[84] _Idem_, p. 55 a 4 ff.\n\n[85] _Idem_, p. 274 b 22 ff. On page 307 b 4 is to be found Alfonso\u2019s\nversion of the legend of the last king of the Goths which is as\nfollows: After opening the palace and finding the ark \u201cel rey mando la\nabrir, et non fallaron en ella sinon un panno en que estauan escriptas\nletras ladinas que dizien assi: que quando aquellas cerraduras\nfuessen crebantadas et ell arca et el palacio fuessen abiertos et\nlo que y yazie fuesse uisto, que yentes de tal manera como en aquel\npanno estauan pintadas que entrarien en Espanna et la conqueririen et\nserien ende sennores. El rei quando aquello oyo, pesol mucho por que\nel palacio fiziera abrir, e fizo cerrar ell arca et el palacio assi\ncomo estauan de primero. En aquel palacio estauan pintados omnes de\ncaras et de parescer et de manera et de uestido assi como agora andan\nlos alaraues, e tenien sus cabecas cubiertas de tocas, et seyen en\ncauallos, et los uestidos dellos eran de muchos colores, e tenian en\nlas manos espadas et ballestas et sennas alcadas. E el rey et los altos\nomnes fueron mucho espandados por aquellas pinturas que uiran.\u201d\n\nFor a detailed study of this legend see Juan Men\u00e9ndez Pidal, _Leyendas\ndel \u00faltimo rey godo_.\n\n[86] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, p. 35 b 49 ff.\n\n[87] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, p. 164 a 13 ff.\n\n[88] _Idem_, p. 98 a 8 ff.\n\n[89] _Idem_, p. 107 a 40.\n\n[90] _Partidas_, 1-10-10 and reads as follows:\n\n\u201c_Que non deben facer eglesia nin altar por sue\u00f1o nin por antoianza de\nninguno._\n\nDescubren o facen algunos homes enga\u00f1osamente altares por los campos\no por las villas, diciendo que ha en aquellos lugares reliquias de\nalgunos santos asacando que facen miraglos; et por esta razon mueven\nlas gentes de muchas partes que vengan alli como en romeria por llevar\nalgo dellos: otros hi ha que por sue\u00f1os o por vanas antoianzas que les\naparescen facen altares et las descubren en los lugares sobredichos:\n... el obispo debe amonestar las gentes que non vayan a aquellos\nlugares en romeria, fueras ende si fallasen hi ciertamente cuerpo \u00f3\nreliquias de algunt santo que hobiese hi fecho su morada, o fuese hi\nmartrizado.\u201d\n\n[91] Repetition will not be made here of what already has been said as\nthe characteristics of the visions in _Las Cantigas_, Cf. pages 66 ff.\n\n[92] As\u00edn, in _La Escatalogia Musulmana_, p. 287 ff., and Guill\u00e9n\nRobles in _Leyendas Moriscas_, Pr\u00f3logo, Vol. I, discuss this type of\nlegends and their origins.\n\n[93] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, p. 276.\n\n[94] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, p. 253 b 24.\n\n[95] _Idem_, p. 270 a 1.\n\n[96] _Las Cantigas_ No. 292.\n\n[97] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, p. 279 b 1.\n\n[98] _Idem_, p. 38 b 11.\n\n[99] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, p. 237 b 29.\n\n[100] _Idem_, p. 195 a 16.\n\n[101] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, p. 266-274.\n\n[102] As\u00edn, in _Escatalogia Musulmana_, has made a careful study of\nthis and similar visions. See also the _Pr\u00f3logo_ to Guill\u00e9n Robles\u2019,\n_Leyendas Moriscas_, p. 66 ff.\n\n[103] A summary of _Partidas_, 1-4-16.\n\n[104] _Idem_, 1-6-11.\n\n[105] _Idem_, 6-7-4.\n\n[106] _Idem_, p. 1-4-49.\n\n[107] _Partidas_, 1-4-38 and 39.\n\n[108] _Idem_, 1-4-71.\n\n[109] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, 189 ff. In _Las Cantigas_ No. 144 the scene\nof the miracle is a bull ring. For a history of the bullfight in Spain\nsee Conde de las Navas, _Historia de las corridas de toros_.\n\n[110] See p. 68.\n\n[111] For the study of the ghost in the drama see C. E. Whitmore, _The\nSupernatural in Tragedy_, Cambridge. Harvard University Press, 1915.\n\n[112] Nos. 104, 128, 208, and 238.\n\n[113] That is in No. 128.\n\n[114] Nos. 12, 128, 133, 145, 149, 179, 211, 228, 234, 251, 293, 311,\n322.\n\n[115] _Partidas_, 1-4-104.\n\n[116] _Partidas_, 1-4-105.\n\n[117] This same motif of wishing to join the Child Jesus in heaven is\nbeautifully enlarged upon in No. 139. A Flemish woman takes her child\nwith her to ask guidance of the Virgin. On arriving before the shrine\nthe little fellow, who has been eating bread on the way, offers his\nbread to the Child Jesus, saying, \u201cDo you want some?\u201d In answer to the\ninvitation the Christ Child replies \u201cTomorrow you will eat with me in\nheaven.\u201d No. 353 has many points of resemblance.\n\n[118] _Partidas_, 1-6. Intro, p. 250.\n\n[119] Antonio G. Solalinde, _General Estoria_ in _Antologia de Alfonso\nX, el Sabio_, p. 201-202.\n\n[120] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._, p. 136-b-21.\n\n[121] _Idem_, p. 108 ff.\n\n[122] _Idem_, p. 235 a 3 ff.\n\n[123] Solalinde, _Antologia de Alfonso X, el Sabio_, p. 262.\n\n[124] Solalinde, _Antologia de Alfonso X, el Sabio_, p. 264-65. In\nthe _Libro de Alejandro_ we find the mysterious bird continually\nbeing burned in its nest only to be revived again when half consumed,\nline 2311, as well as the hen that ceases to lay the golden eggs when\nAlejandro is born, because they would be no longer needed to pay\ntribute, line 130. There are also the two \u201cgrifos\u201d which carry him thru\nthe air all over Asia, Africa, and Europe (lines 2333 ff.).\n\nIn the second part of the _Primera Cr\u00f3nica General_ the body of the\nCid, now _seven_ years dead, is said to draw its sword a palm\u2019s breadth\nwhen affronted by a Jew and never could the sword be forced back into\nits scabbard (p. 642 b 26).\n\n[125] _Partidas_, 1-10-12, \u201cEt non deben consagrar altar ninguno,\nfueras ende el que fuere de piedra, _et quando lo consagren deben meter\nen \u00e9l algunas reliquias_\u201d. (Italics are mine.)\n\n[126] _Prim. Cr\u00f3n. Gral._ 161 b 30 ff.\n\n[127] Dorothy Scarborough, _The Supernatural in Modern English\nFiction_, p. 175. The Italics in the quotation are mine.","title":"The supernatural in early Spanish literature, studied in the works of the court of Alfonso X, el Sabio","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":40016}