The Oxford Cantigas de Santa Maria database

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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 : 84
Short name:	The Woman who Committed Suicide	Alternative:	Wife who commited suicide is revived
Incipit:	O que en Santa Maria/ crever ben de coraçon
Refrain:	O que en Santa Maria/ crever ben de coraçon/ nunca receberá dano/ nen gran mal nen ocajon.
Summary of narrative
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Setting:	unspecified	Protagonist(s):	a knight and his wife
A knight was married to a young, beautiful woman whom he loved passionately. He was also devoted to the Virgin and had a door made in his house that led directly to a church. Every night, he got out of bed, made his way to the church, and prayed in front of a statue of the Virgin. His wife grew suspicious and asked him where he went at night. He told her not to trust him and assured her that he had always been faithful to her. One day when they were eating, she questioned him again. He jokingly told her that he loved another woman more than anything else. Hearing this, the wife stabbed herself in the breast and died. The knight placed her in their bed and ran to the church to pray. The Virgin appeared to him and promised to reward his faith by reviving his wife. The knight returned home and found his wife alive and well. He proclaimed the miracle and then he and his wife took holy orders.
Metrical data
Stanza:	15 15 15 15	Refrain:	15 15
No. of Stanzas:	14
Rhyme scheme:	AA \| bbba	Zejel:	Yes
MS locations:
T84, E84, To98
Poncelet reference
None
Keywords
image (of Virgin Mary), knight, noblewoman, resurrection, stabbing, suicide, wound
Discography
Click HERE for a list of recordings of this poem
BITAGAP ID
3801
Bibliography
La vida conventual feminina en la Edad Media castellana: poder, misticismo y prácticas devocionales en las Cantigas de Santa María Álvarez Díaz, Cristina
The Oxford Book of Portuguese Verse Bell, Aubrey F. G.
Sources of the Cantigas of Alfonso el Sabio [AC] Dexter, Elise Forsythe
Alfonso X el Sabio, un rey ’cantigueiro’ Llorens Cistero, José María
A Preliminary Bibliography of Medieval Galician-Portuguese Poetry in English Translation Longland, Jean R.
Fado: Origens líricas e motivação poética Mascarenhas Barreto, Augusto C. N. de Andrade de
Las Cantigas de Don Alonso el Sabio. Morayta de Sagrario, Miguel
Antologia da poesia portuguesa, vol. I: séculos XII-XVI Pinheiro Torres, Alexandre
Textos de literatura portuguesa. I: Afonso X, o Sábio Rodrigues Lapa, Manuel
Crestomatia arcaica Rodrigues Lapa, Manuel
When your Lover is the Virgin Mary: A New Approach to the Cantigas de Santa Maria of Alfonso X of Castile Scarborough, Connie L.
Clues to the authorship of the Cantigas de Santa Maria from the Toledo manuscript Snow, Joseph
Las Cantigas del Rey Sabio Valera, Juan