In Spain, the 13th century was dominated by the monumental patronage of Alfonso X of Castile (1221-1284), known as El Sabio (The Wise). His reign (1252-1284) saw an unprecedented blossoming of the scientific and cultural life of Castile and León. Alfonso gathered the finest Christian, Arab and Jewish scholars, poets and historians to his court. By contrast with the manuscripts illuminated at the French court during this period, there are no biblical or liturgical texts among Alfonso's books. Under his direction, the scriptorium moved away from strictly Latin liturgical texts toward vernacular Castilian works covering law, science, and history.

The Cantigas de Santa María constitute a vast poetic repertory in medieval Galician. The 420 compositions include 353 narratives of miracles of the Blessed Virgin Mary - one of the largest such collections - as well as a large number of devotional and liturgical poems, almost all set to music, and many illustrated by miniatures divided into smaller panels. Alfonso X's "Cantigas Project" occupied most of his reign (1252-1284) and was seen by him as an important part of both his political survival and his personal salvation.

Four contemporary manuscripts survive: To-Codex (the Toledo MS, now in the Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid), T-Codex (the Códice rico, in the Escorial Library), E-Codex (the Códice de los músicos, also in the Escorial) and F-Codex (the Florence MS, in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence). They represent at least three different compilations or stages in the elaboration of the Cantigas Project.

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 1v after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 258 Kb
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 29r after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 232 Kb
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 39v after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 232 Kb
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 118r after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 232 Kb
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 71v after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 232 Kb
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 341r after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 232 Kb
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 154v after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 232 Kb
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 218v after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 232 Kb
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 209r after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 203 Kb
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 201v after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 235 Kb
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 235v after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 228 Kb
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 169r after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 218 Kb
	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	1200*1800 True Color 225 Kb
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 268v after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 229 Kb
	Cantigas de Santa María, Codex of the Musicians, folio 295v after 1280 Manuscript (RBMECat b-I-2), 404 x 274 mm Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo, El Escorial	1200*1800 True Color 242 Kb