Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 1v

The Cantigas de Santa María, composed at the Court of King Alfonso X in the second half of the 13th century, constitute a vast poetic repertory in medieval Galician. Among the four surviving manuscripts, the Códice de los músicos (Codex of the Musicians) is the most complete, famous for including musical notation and 42 coloured miniatures depicting musicians with period instruments. The picture shows folio 1v, the first page of the manuscript. It contains the prologue and sheet music with a large initial.

If you want to learn more about the period instruments and musicians illustrated in the codex, we recommend joining our guided tour on the topic Music in visual arts.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 2 minutes): Alfonso el Sabio: Cantiga