Cantigas (‘Songs’) of Alfonso X, the Learned

The Cantigas are composed of four tomes: the Códice toledano was originally held at the Seat of Toledo before it entered the collection of Madrid’s National Library in 1869; the Códice princeps (or Códice de los músicos), along with the Códice rico, is in preservation in the Real Biblioteca de El Escorial; and lastly, the Códice de Florencia is in the collection of the National Library of Florence, Italy.

The Cantigas de Santa María was one of the great works sponsored by King Alfonso X, the Learned[1]. Throughout this series of accounts of the miracles performed by the Virgin, the figure of the Virgin Mary is the principal character. Indeed, at the time, the cult of the Virgin was vibrant throughout the European continent. The poems dedicated to Mary are monadic songs illustrated on a single sheet of parchment, each one divided into six, eight or twelve different scenes. The Cantigas are not inspired by any particular model as no single work of this nature existed in Europe. Partial models, however, provided examples for certain scenes; although the ensemble was created ex professo (for this particular occasion), which explains the great importance of this work.

Its iconography is extremely varied and includes depictions of typical everyday scenes of the period. Contained within each drawing is a relevant inscription but which may or may not have relevance to the words of the song. Many ‘type figures’ recur in the Cantigas and are unique to this work; this is the case of the scenes that begin and end by a representation of a figure kneeling in front of the image of the Virgin. Most often it is that of a king depicted as a benefactor. Complex architectural scenes are also represented, a shrine, for instance, with the Virgin and Child. The models used in this case are the Burgos and León sculptures, which were present throughout Castille.

 With their subtle colours, these representations of figures comprise a short canon, and the figures’ rounded faces recall a figurative style borrowed from the art of al-Andalus.

All these elements within these miniatures are a synthesis of the contact that existed between the Muslim world, the Iberian tradition and France and Italy, infusing them a strong personality. Furthermore, they constitute a primary and important source in the study of this period, whether of the Christian, Jewish or Muslim world.

The general themes explored by the Cantigas can be compared to other illuminated poems intended to be sung, such as Gonzalo de Berceo’s Cantigas or Juan Gil de Zamora’s Cantigas, author of the Liber Mariæ. They have also been compared to the French texts by Gauthier de Coincy (written around 1200) or those by Vincent de Bauvais, author of the Speculum Historiale.

Music in al-Andalus, like its many other artistic productions, was strongly influenced by the Orient. Zyriab, a musician moved to Spain from Baghdad in 822, brought with him a style of music from Iraq. He created a school of music and spawned new fashions in hair and clothes as well as new techniques for cooking. Shortly afterwards, in the Iraqi capital, Abû ’l-Faraj al-Isfâhanî, born in 897 in Iran, undertook a major work, the Kitâb al-Aghânî (Book of Songs), a true compilation of oral history thanks to its long chain of contributors: composers, singers, historians and genealogists…. For each song, there is a mention of the author of the poem, the composer of the melody, the rhythmic and tonal mode, and, where appropriate, the intervention of several singers. In 1218-1219, undoubtedly in Mosul, a copy in twenty volumes of the Kitâb al-Aghânî, with magnificent illuminated frontispiece, was made especially, according to some historians, for the Atabeg Badr al-Dîn Lu’lu.