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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 : 292
Short name: Master Jorge and the King’s Ring
Incipit: Muito demostra a Virgen
Refrain: Muito demostra a Virgen/ a Sennor esperital/ sa lealdad’ a aquele/ que acha sempre leal.
Summary of narrative
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Setting: Seville Protagonist(s): Master Jorge

King don Fernando loved the Virgin Mary and she gave him success in every endeavour. Whenever he conquered a city from the Moors, he placed a statue of the Virgin in the portico of the mosque. King Fernando won the city of Seville from Mohammed.

When King Fernando died, his son, King Alfonso X, had a costly tomb constructed for him. It showed him holding the sword with which he had struck Mohammed a fatal blow. Alfonso X had his mother’s body brought to Seville from Burgos and also placed in a fine monument. Both tombs were adorned with sculptures of the monarchs. The bodies of the King and Queen were found intact; God would not allow them to decompose. King Alfonso X had a gold ring placed on the finger of the statue of King don Fernando.

One night, King don Fernando appeared in a vision to Master Jorge, the man who had made the ring. He told him that he wanted him to give it to the Virgin. He also asked him to place his effigy in a kneeling position.

Master Jorge went to the church and summoned the treasurer who opened the golden doors.

The treasurer noticed that the ring was missing from the finger of King don Fernando’s statue. Master Jorge told him about his dream. The treasurer, [having recovered the ring], gave it to Master Jorge.

They both reported the miracle to the king and the archbishop, and praised King don Fernando.

Metrical data
Stanza: 15 15 15 15 Refrain: 15 15
No. of Stanzas: 21
Rhyme scheme: AA | bbba Zejel: Yes
MS locations:
F10, E292
Poncelet reference
None
Keywords
apparition, archbishop, bishop, burial, conquest, convent, craftsman, dream, effigy, gold, goldsmith, heaven, image (of Virgin Mary), images (other), king, Muhammad, mosque, Muslims/Moors, ring, river, Saint Denis, Saint Mark, Saint Matthew, soul, tomb, treasurer, vision, warfare, crystal, finger
Discography
Click HERE for a list of recordings of this poem
BITAGAP ID
4043
Bibliography
O códice florentino de Cantigas de Affonso, o Sábio
Aita, Nella
La notación mensural de la música monódica de la corte española del siglo XIII ofrece soluciones nuevas, hasta hoy totalmente desconocidas, para la interpretación estético-rítmica de las melodías de los trovadores
Anglés, Higinio
Cantigas del Rey Sabio
Anon
As festas do tempo nos cancioneiros galego-portugueses, lección inaugural do Curso Académico do ano 1978
Filgueira Valverde, José
The thaumaturgy of regal piety: Alfonso X and the Cantigas de Santa Maria
Lappin, Anthony
La literatura caballeresca en la obra de Alfonso X
Montoya Martínez, Jesús
Annales eclesiásticos y seculares de la muy noble y muy leal ciudad de Sevilla
Ortiz de Zúñiga, Diego
Alfonso X, el Sabio. Biografía
Pérez Algar, Félix
Alfonso X of Castile: Patron of Literature and Learning
Procter, Evelyn S.
Tres ensayos sobre el arte en las Cantigas de Santa Maria de Alfonso el Sabio
Sánchez Cantón, Francisco Javier