Cantigas de Santa María, folio 1

The Cantigas de Santa María (Songs of Saint Mary) are four manuscripts, composed in the second half of the 13th century at the Court of Alfonso X, King of Castile and León. They constitute a vast collection of monodic songs, in medieval Galician language and mensural notation. The cantigas praise the virtues of the Virgin Mary and narrate the miracles achieved through her intercession. The narratives are based on deeds of the Wise King and his family, as well as local anecdotes and legends.

Among the four manuscripts, the Códice Rico (Rich Codex) and the Códice de los músicos (Codex of the Musicians) are in the Escorial Library, one in Florence (Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale), considered the second volume of the Códice Rico, and one in the National Library of Spain in Madrid.

The manuscript in Madrid came from the Chapter Library of Toledo. Its content is similar to that of the Florence manuscript; it contains 120 cantigas but lacks miniatures. Latest studies have shown that the manuscript was made at the end of the thirteenth century by copyists more skilled in musical notation. The modernised notation represents a more advanced stage as compared with the Escorial codices.

The picture shows folio 1, the first page of the manuscript. It contains the text of a poem in two columns, beginning with a large decorative D initial. The colour of the stanzas alternates between red and green, while the small initials change colour in the opposite direction.