MINIATURIST, Spanish
(active 1280s)

Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 176v

after 1280
Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm
Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial

The Códice de los músicos (Codex of the Musicians) is the most complete manuscript of Alfonso X's "Cantigas Project", which occupied most of his reign (1252-1284). He considered it an important part of both his political survival and his personal salvation.

The picture shows folio 176v, which contains a miniature, a poem, and sheet music. The miniature depicts a man and a woman playing the cymbals, a common percussion instrument.

View the miniature