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CSM Number : 341
Short name: The Woman who Survived an Ordeal Alternative: Knight's wife survives trial by ordeal
Incipit: Com’ á gran pesar a Virgen
Refrain: Com’ á gran pesar a Virgen/ dos que gran pecado fazen/ outrossi en salvar punna/ os que en torto non jazen.
Summary of narrative
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Setting: Puy Protagonist(s): a knight and his wife

A knight had a wife whom he suspected of cheating on him. He was convinced of this, grew jealous, and mistreated her.

When the woman asked him why he treated her so unkindly, he said he had heard that she had done him a great injustice.

She denied the false accusation and said that she was willing to prove her innocence through an ordeal. He asked to swear on the altar of the Virgin of Puy and to jump off a high cliff.

She went to Puy and swore at the altar [lacuna]. Then she petitioned the Virgin and threw herself fearlessly from the cliff.

The rocky ground was made smooth and the woman landed without injury. Her husband, trusting her, wept and begged for forgiveness.

She pardoned him and praised the Virgin. The miracle was recorded in a great book containing many others.

Metrical data
Stanza: 15' 15' 15' 15' Refrain: 15' 15'
No. of Stanzas: 16
Rhyme scheme: AA | bbba Zejel: Yes
MS locations:
E341
Poncelet reference
None
Keywords
fall (from cliff), false accusation, jealousy, knight, mass, oath, ordeal, pardon
Discography
Click HERE for a list of recordings of this poem
BITAGAP ID
4094
Bibliography
Entre Ave y Eva: las mujeres de las Cantigas de Santa María. I. Madres y mujeres casadas
Fidalgo, Elvira
Alfonso X, miracle collector
Parkinson, Stephen