ABSTRACT
Alfonso X, the Learned, compiled the Cantigas de Santa Maria 1 between 1257 and 1279. Of the 427 songs contained in this work, the majority are narrative in nature and relate miracles performed by the Virgin Mary. In his collection Alfonso includes the common stock of Marian miracles known throughout Western Europe, many of whose settings are found outside the kingdoms under Alfonso's governance. The King also includes, especially in the later sections of the book, many miracles of local interest dealing with sites in Spain and even miracles from which he had personally benefited. Considering that Alfonso's other literary enterprises—the Estoria de España, the Gran y general estoria, the Siete partidas, for example—were encyclopedic in scope, it should not be surprising that he planned his Marian collection to be all-encompassing, a compilation of all the miracle narratives and lyric songs which came into his purview.
