Poems MSS / layout Miracles Keywords Poncelet Bibliography Search

View poem data

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.
For new critical texts of the poems, return to the listing page and click on the poem number, or go to the archive of texts .
For epigraphs and layout information click on the appropriate manuscript location.
For information on Latin and vernacular sources of miracle stories follow the links to Miracles and collections. Follow the links to the appropriate pages of Todd McComb and Pierre Roberge's online discography, to the BITAGAP archive, and to linked entries in the Bibliography.
Home Page

Back to list
CSM Number : 132
Short name: The Clerk of Pisa
Incipit: Quen leixar Santa Maria
Refrain: Quen leixar Santa Maria/ por outra, fará  folia.
Summary of narrative
View Options: (Narrative Miniature Narrative & Miniature Miniature & Caption Narrative, Miniature & Both Captions )
Setting: Pisa Protagonist(s): a priest

There was a priest in Pisa who was both handsome and rich, but was so humble that he always wore a hair shirt.

He said the hours of the Virgin and, praying in front of her statue, promised to guard his virginity.

His parents died and he inherited their vineyards and orchards. His relatives urged him to get married, and pressured him to choose a bride from among the wealthiest and most beautiful women in the land.

He finally consented and his wedding day arrived. As the guests assembled, the priest remembered that he had neglected to say his prayers. He went into the church to pray and was overcome by fatigue. As he lay sleeping, he had a vision. The Virgin came with a heavenly host and reproached him for spurning her and taking another lover.

The priest got up and ordered the wedding banquet to be served, but he ate little because he was troubled about lying to the Virgin. When the priest lay down with his new bride he found that he was impotent, although he desired her very much.

He renounced his wealth and lived in poverty, guided by the Virgin.

Metrical data
Stanza: 7' 7' 7' 7' 7' 7' 7' Refrain: 7' 7'
No. of Stanzas: 20
Rhyme scheme: AA | bcbcbca Zejel: Yes
MS locations:
T132, E132, To77
Poncelet reference
Apud Pisam erat quidam canonicus S. Cassiani (109)
Keywords
apparition, bequest, canonical hours, chastity, hair shirt, impotence, marriage, poverty, priest , vow
Discography
Click HERE for a list of recordings of this poem
Miracle Collection
Clerk of Pisa Pez
Clerk of Pisa Thott
(Copenhagen, Royal Library, MS Thott 128)
Clerk of Pisa Phillips
(Chicago, University of Chicago, Phillipps MS 25142)
Clerk of Pisa Gil de Zamora
(Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, MS 9503)
The Clerk of Pisa BL Mariale 3
(London, BL, Additional MS 35112, ff. 21-80; 90-94)
The Clerk of Pisa Lisbon Mariale
(Lisbon, B.N., MS Alcobacense 149)
Clerk of Pisa Legenda Aurea (Voragine)
The Clerk of Pisa Gonzalo de Berceo
Clerk of Pisa Madrid Mariale
(Madrid, B.N., MS 110)
Clerk of Pisa Gautier de Coinci
Clerk of Pisa William of Malmesbury
Clerk of Pisa BL Mariale 2
(London, BL, Arundel 346, ff. 60-73)
Clerk of Pisa Bartholomew of Trent
(University of Bologna, Codice 1794)
Clerk of Pisa Jean Mielot, Miracles de Nostre Dame
(Oxford, Bodleian, Douce MS 374)
Clerk of Pisa Anglo-Norman Miracles of the Virgin
(London, BL, Royal 20 B XIV, fols 102v-169)
The Clerk of Pisa BL Mariale 1
(Cotton Cleopatra C.x., ff. 101-144v)
BITAGAP ID
3864
Bibliography
Nobleza del Andaluzia
Argote de Molina, Gonzalo
Un recull de miracles de Santa Maria, procedent de Ripoll, i les Cantigues d’Alfons el Savi
Baraut i Obiols, Cebrià
Paleografía española
Burriel, Fr. Andrés Marcos (= Esteban de Terreros)
Historical Anthology of Music
Davison, A. T., and Willi Apel
Sources of the Cantigas of Alfonso el Sabio [AC]
Dexter, Elise Forsythe
La cultura monástica en las Cantigas de Santa María de Alfonso X: pervivencia, adopción y reelaboración
Disalvo, Santiago
Alfonso X, compositor
Ferreira, Manuel pedro
Parodia e contrafactum: en torno das cantigas de Afonso X, o Sábio
Ferreira, Manuel Pedro
Entre Ave y Eva: las mujeres de las Cantigas de Santa María. I. Madres y mujeres casadas
Fidalgo, Elvira
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
El arte mayor de Juan de Mena
Hanssen, Friedrich
Poesia galaico-portuguesa: Antologia del segle XII al XIX
Llompart, Josep M., ed.
O Livro dos Milagres da Bem-aventurada Virgem Maria
Martins, Mário
Osservazioni sulle Cantigas di Alfonso X e sui Miracles di Gautier de Coincy
Marullo, Teresa
Antología de Alfonso el Sabio
Peña, Margarita
The Virgin’s Cures for Lust
Powell Jayne, Cnynthia
Relaciones entre los Milagros de Nuestra Señora y las Cantigas de Santa María
Scarborough, Connie L.
Alfonso X, el Sabio. Antología
Solalinde, Antonio G.
Paleografía española
Terreros y Pandó, Esteban, & A. M. Burriel