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CSM Number : 136
Short name: The Gambling Woman who Threw a Stone at a Statue of the Virgin Alternative: Gambling woman throws stone at statue
Incipit: Poi-las figuras fazen dos santos renenbrança
Refrain: Poi-las figuras fazen dos santos renenbrança/ quenas cuida desonrrar mui fol é sen dultança.
Summary of narrative
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Setting: Foggia in Apulia Protagonist(s): a female gambler

A statue of the Virgin stood in front of a church in the city of Foggia in Apulia. It was made of marble and was very beautiful so the people had great reverence for it.

King Conrad, the son of the Emperor lived in that city and one day some of his company were playing dice in front of the statue.

A German woman who had lost was so enraged that she threw a stone at the face of the infant Christ.

The statue of the Virgin, however, intercepted the blow with its arm. The stone made a hole in the elbow that could be seen forever after.

When the King heard the news, he ordered the woman to be arrested and dragged through the streets.

He also had the statue completely repainted by a painter of the city and ordered it to be well guarded. Nevertheless, the arm was not restored, because God wanted it to remain as testimony.

Metrical data
Stanza: 13' 13' 13' 13' Refrain: 13' 13'
No. of Stanzas: 7
Rhyme scheme: AA | bbba Zejel: Yes
MS locations:
T136, E136
Poncelet reference
None
Keywords
elbow, emperor, execution, gambling, iconoclasts, image (of Virgin Mary), king, marble (statue), painter
Discography
Click HERE for a list of recordings of this poem
BITAGAP ID
3888
Bibliography
Cantigas de Santa Maria do rei don Alfonso
Alfonso X , o Sábio
The Oxford Book of Portuguese Verse
Bell, Aubrey F. G.
’Alea jacta est’: at the gaming table with Alfonso the Learned
Carpenter, Dwayne E.
Les traits d’acuité et de longueur dans le traitement musical de l’accent rhythmique des Cantigas de Santa María
Fernández de la Cuesta, Ismael
Las mujeres y los dados en la poesía de Alfonso X
Fidalgo Francisco, Elvira
Entre Ave y Eva: las mujeres de las Cantigas de Santa María. II. Las trabajadoras. III. Las Evas
Fidalgo, Elvira
Las Cantigas de Santa Maria
Filgueira Valverde, José
La sociedad medieval española reflejada en la obra de Alfonso el Sabio
González, Jr., Juan
Palabra e imagen. Dos cantigas de Santa María
Hernán-Gómez Prieto, Beatriz
Poesía juglaresca y juglares: aspectos de la historia literaria y cultural de España
Menéndez Pidal, Ramón
El valor de la ciudad como fuente documental en las Cantigas Historiadas de Alfonso X el Sabio: el caso de Foggia
Molina López, Laura
Viaje a Italia a través de las Cantigas Historiadas de Alfonso X el Sabio
Molina López, Laura
The Miracles Came in Two by Two: Paired Narratives in the Cantigas de Santa Maria
Parkinson, Stephen
Antologia da poesia portuguesa, vol. I: séculos XII-XVI
Pinheiro Torres, Alexandre
Alfonso X el Sabio y la pintura sobre tabla
Sánchez Cantón, Francisco Javier
Tres ensayos sobre el arte en las Cantigas de Santa Maria de Alfonso el Sabio
Sánchez Cantón, Francisco Javier
Recordings of Las [sic] Cantigas de Santa Maria Contained in the Facsimile Edition Published by Edilán (Madrid 1979)
Tinnell, Roger D.
’E dest’un mui gran miragre vos contarei que oy’: Oralidad y textualidad en las Cantigas de Santa Maria
Vaquero, Mercedes
’Virgo Antiludens’: Xogos de azar, blasfémia e castigo nas Cantigas de Santa María de Afonso X o Sabio
Ventura Ruiz, Joaquim