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For the purposes of the new edition, every poem has been assigned a unique short title. The original short titles, taken eclectically from a number of sources, are retained as alternative short titles.
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CSM Number : 125 | |||
Short name: | The Priest who Used Magic to Seduce a Maiden | Alternative: | Love Gained by Black Arts |
Incipit: | Muit’ é mayor o ben-fazer | ||
Refrain: | Muit’ é mayor o ben-fazer/ da Virgen Santa Maria/ que é do demo o poder/ nen d’ ome mao perfia. | ||
Summary of narrative | |||
Setting: | Auvergne | Protagonist(s): | a priest, a bishop named don Felix, and a young woman |
A priest praised the Virgin and always said her hours. He was the steward of the bishop of Auvergne. A beautiful young woman also lived there. She too served and praised the Virgin. She prayed to Holy Mary, asking her how she could protect herself from the devil. The Virgin counselled her to say the Ave Maria.rn The priest fell in love with the young woman and determined to win her.rnHe tried to seduce her, but she wouldn’t listen to him.rn Through sorcery, he summoned some devils and ordered them to put the young woman in his power that night. They harassed her, but accomplished nothing because the Virgin protected her.rn When they returned to the priest, he chided them and despatched them again. This time, they succeeded because they caused the woman to forget her prayer to the Virgin. On account of the devil, the woman fell ill. She went crazy and asked for the priest to be summoned. She was mad with love and insisted on marrying him. The next day the couple were married.rn Then the Virgin caused the priest to go to the church to say the hours, as he had been accustomed. While he was doing this, she appeared to him and berated him for consorting with devils. She commanded him to return at once to the priesthood.rnSimilarly, she appeared to the woman as she lay sleeping. She chided her also and told her to leave her husband and to enter a convent.rn When the maiden woke up she told her parents what had happened and asked them to put her in a convent. The priest told the bishop, a man named don Felix, that the devil had deceived him and that he wished to become a monk. The bishop placed them both in religious orders, according to the Virgin’s wishes.rn |
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Metrical data | |||
Stanza: | 16 16 16 15\' | Refrain: | 8 7\' 8 7\' |
No. of Stanzas: | 24 | ||
Rhyme scheme: | ABAB | cccb | Zejel: | |
MS locations: | |||
T125, E125, To97 | |||
Poncelet reference | |||
Antistes iuvenem nutrivit amore paterno; Praesulis (94) | |||
Keywords | |||
apparition, Ave Maria (saying of), bishop, conjuration, convent, devils, illness, incantation, lovesickness, magic spell, marriage, monastery, priest , wax | |||
Discography | |||
Click HERE for a list of recordings of this poem | |||
Miracle | Collection | ||
Love Gained by Black Arts | Pez |
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Love Gained by Black Arts | Thott (Copenhagen, Royal Library, MS Thott 128) |
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Love Gained by Black Arts | Gil de Zamora (Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, MS 9503) |
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Love Gained by Black Arts | BL Mariale 3 (London, BL, Additional MS 35112, ff. 21-80; 90-94) |
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Love Gained by Black Arts | Lisbon Mariale (Lisbon, B.N., MS Alcobacense 149) |
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Love Gained by Black Arts | William of Malmesbury |
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Love Gained by Black Arts | Adgar (London, BL, Egerton 612) |
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Love Gained by Black Arts | BL Mariale 2 (London, BL, Arundel 346, ff. 60-73) |
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Love Gained by Black Arts | Nigel of Canterbury (London, BL, MS Cotton Vespasian D.xix) |
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Love Gained by Black Arts | Bartholomew of Trent (University of Bologna, Codice 1794) |
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Love Gained by Black Arts | Jean Mielot, Miracles de Nostre Dame (Oxford, Bodleian, Douce MS 374) |
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Love Gained by Black Arts | Anglo-Norman Miracles of the Virgin (London, BL, Royal 20 B XIV, fols 102v-169) |
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BITAGAP ID | |||
3842 | |||
Bibliography | |||
La vida conventual feminina en la Edad Media castellana: poder, misticismo y prácticas devocionales en las Cantigas de Santa María Álvarez Díaz, Cristina | |||
Los clérigos, las ’cantigas’ y las ’Siete Partidas’ Cash, Annette Grant | |||
Sources of the Cantigas of Alfonso el Sabio [AC] Dexter, Elise Forsythe | |||
Il patto col diavolo nelle letterature medievali. Elementi per un’analisi narrativa D’Agostino, Alfonso | |||
The Practice of Necromancy as Depicted in CSM 125 Escobar, José | |||
Viejos, viejas y alcahuetas. Consideraciones acerca de la vejez en las Cantigas de Santa María Fidalgo, Elvira | |||
Las Cantigas de Santa Maria Filgueira Valverde, José | |||
Cincuenta leyendas por Gil de Zamora, combinadas con las Cantigas de Alfonso el Sabio Fita, Fidel | |||
Variantes de tres leyendas por Gil de Zamora Fita, Fidel | |||
O Livro dos Milagres da Bem-aventurada Virgem Maria Martins, Mário | |||
La literatura caballeresca en la obra de Alfonso X Montoya Martínez, Jesús | |||
Milagres Medievais numa colectânea mariana alcobacense. Edição crítica, tradução e estudo Nascimento, Aries Augusto, ed. | |||
Las Cantigas de Santa Maria del Rey Alfonso X, el Sabio y su notación musical Perales, Ramón | |||
The Virgin’s Cures for Lust Powell Jayne, Cnynthia | |||
De morte anime: Solomonic Magic in Alfonso X's Cantiga 125 Riva, Fernando | |||
Os afazeres do demónio nas Cantigas de Santa Maria de Afonso X Rodrigues, Maria Idalina Resina | |||
La pecadora penitente en el teatro español: Sus fuentes y evolución Sánchez Castañer y Mena, Francisco | |||
Recordings of Las [sic] Cantigas de Santa Maria Contained in the Facsimile Edition Published by Edilán (Madrid 1979) Tinnell, Roger D. |