Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Las Cantigas de Santa María, is a collection of over 400 poems. This collection, was created under the reign of King Alfonso X (1221-1284). This famous Castilian king, is known for his love for art, literature, and law. In fact, he is known as “the wise” for his interests in translation studies, and for compiling books of history, law, and astronomy. While under Alfonso X there was a push for the use of Castilian in both daily life and in the court (using the vernacular instead of Latin), the Cantigas were originally written in Gallego-Portuguese, a medieval romance language that was developed in the North-West region of the Peninsula. Indeed, this vernacular was commonly used in poetry during the medieval period. The manuscripts also include musical notations and illuminated miniatures.

The CEMVC collection……