Alfonso X and the Cantigas De Santa Maria: A Poetic Biography

The Medieval Mediterranean #16

by Joseph F. O'Callaghan

In the Cantigas de Santa Maria , a collection of more than four hundred poems written in the language of medieval Galicia in praise of the Virgin Mary, Alfonso X, el Sabio, king of Castile-Leon, has left us a kind of poetic biography. Declaring himself Mary's troubadour, he appeals to her as his advocate and consoler as he recounts specific events in his life and that of his kingdom. As he tells us about his family, his war against the Muslims of Granada and Morocco, the treachery of the nobility, his frequent illnesses, and his fear of hellfire and damnation, he reveals much about his personality and his spirituality.
This volume explicates the historical circumstances surrounding the events described in the cantigas. The Cantigas de Santa Maria is a royal biography unique in thirteenth-century Europe.

251 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1998

About the author

Joseph F. O'Callaghan is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at Fordham University, where he has taught since 1954. He earned his bachelor's degree from La Salle College, his MA at Marquette University, and his Ph.D. from Fordham.