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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 : 305 | |||
| Short name: | The Certificate of Absolution | Alternative: | Woman given certificate of absolution |
| Incipit: | Senpre devemos na Virgen/ a tẽer os corações | ||
| Refrain: | Senpre devemos na Virgen/ a tẽer os corações/ ca per ela guaannamos/ de Deus mui grandes perdões. | ||
| Summary of narrative | |||
| Setting: | unspecified | Protagonist(s): | a poor woman |
|
A poor woman confessed her sins to a friar. He absolved her and instructed her to fast on the Virgin’s feast days and to hear sermons.rnShe begged him to put it all in writing in a charter. He did so and she took the document everywhere she went as proof that she had been pardoned. The woman was so poor that she was forced to wander and beg for food. One day, in a city, she encountered a moneylender and she asked him to give her something. He explained that he would not grant her a loan unless she had something to give as security. The woman offered the document and he read it. He said that he would give her as much money as the document weighed. He said he wouldn’t risk any more and didn’t care for vagrants and harlots. Placing her trust in the Virgin, she agreed to have it weighed and he placed the letter on the scale. It was so heavy that no matter how many coins the moneylender placed in the balance, they could not match its weight. The moneychanger tore his beard with rage and fetched a larger scale. Even two purses of gold and silver coins could not outweigh that charter. When the moneychanger saw this, he asked the woman to permit him to stop weighing. He promised that he would give her enough money to live on. Everyone advised her to accept his offer. She did so, and they all praised the Virgin for the miracle, weeping and kneeling with reverence. |
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| Metrical data | |||
| Stanza: | 15' 15' 15' 15' | Refrain: | 15' 15' |
| No. of Stanzas: | 15 | ||
| Rhyme scheme: | AA | bbba | Zejel: | Yes |
| MS locations: | |||
| F35, E305 | |||
| Poncelet reference | |||
| None | |||
| Keywords | |||
| balance, beggars, certificate, coins , confession (see also repentance), gold, Jews, moneychanger, Muslims/Moors, prostitute, security (for loan), silver | |||
| Discography | |||
| Click HERE for a list of recordings of this poem | |||
| BITAGAP ID | |||
| 4060 | |||
| Bibliography | |||
| Heretics and Infidels: the Cantigas de Santa María as Ideological Instrument of Cultural Codfication Bollo Panadero, María Dolores | |||
| Entre Ave y Eva: las mujeres de las Cantigas de Santa María. II. Las trabajadoras. III. Las Evas Fidalgo, Elvira | |||
| El planto en la historia y en la literatura gallega Filgueira Valverde, José | |||
| La pecadora penitente en el teatro español: Sus fuentes y evolución Sánchez Castañer y Mena, Francisco | |||
| Os judeus na Espanha do século XIII, segundo as Cantigas de Santa Maria de Alfonso X o Sábio Teensma, B. N. | |||