| Poems | MSS / layout | Miracles | Keywords | Poncelet | Bibliography | Search |
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.
Links to the miniatures of the Códice Rico are now live on the Miniature section of this page, as well as on the MSS pages for that manuscript. Links to the miniatures of the Florence MS are currently being added.
Links to Ms T display individual pages; links to Ms F open the document viewer which displays double page spreads (users have the option to select single pages in the viewer).
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.
Back to Home Page
| CSM Number : 154 | ||||
| Short name: | The Gambler who Fired an Arrow at the Heavens | |||
| Incipit: | Tan grand’ amor á a Virgen | |||
| Refrain: | Tan grand’ amor á a Virgen/ con Deus, seu Fill’, e juntança/ que porque y non dultemos/ a vezes faz demostrança. | |||
| Summary of narrative | ||||
| Setting: | Catalonia | Protagonist(s): | a gambler | |
|
A man was playing dice in front of a church dedicated to the Virgin in Catalonia. Because he was losing the game, he grew so angry that he seized a cross bow, loaded it, and shot an arrow into the sky. He claimed he would hit either God or his mother. When he had resumed the game, the arrow, covered in blood, landed in the middle of the board. Seeing the blood, the people thought that someone had been injured by a sword or lance. But then they recalled the gambler’s words and realised that the blood was from heaven. The gambler repented and joined a strict religious order. When he died, he was saved and pardoned through the Virgin. |
||||
| Metrical data | ||||
| Stanza: | 15' 15' 15' 15' | Refrain: | 15' 15' | |
| No. of Stanzas: | 8 | |||
| Rhyme scheme: | AA | bbba | Zejel: | Yes | |
| MS locations: | ||||
| T154, E154 | ||||
| Poncelet reference | ||||
| None | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| arrow, blasphemy, blood, crossbow, devils, dice, gambling, monastery, pardon | ||||
| Discography | ||||
| Click HERE for a list of recordings of this poem | ||||
| BITAGAP ID | ||||
| 3906 | ||||
| Bibliography | ||||
| ’Alea jacta est’: at the gaming table with Alfonso the Learned Carpenter, Dwayne E. | ||||
| Sources of the Cantigas of Alfonso el Sabio [AC] Dexter, Elise Forsythe | ||||
| Un cantar que cantassen os jograres (CSM 172, 33): Las formas de la ’performance’ en las Cantigas de Santa Maria Disalvo, Santiago and Germán Rossi | ||||
| La saeta en el cielo. Leyendas místicas de la Edad Media Garrido Merino, Edgardo | ||||
| A sátira na literatura medieval portuguesa (séculos XIII e XIV) Martins, Mário | ||||
| Poetas gallegos. Las mejores poesías Varela Jácome, Benito | ||||
| ’Virgo Antiludens’: Xogos de azar, blasfémia e castigo nas Cantigas de Santa María de Afonso X o Sabio Ventura Ruiz, Joaquim | ||||