THE MARVELOUS IN THE CANTIGAS DE SANTA MARIA: A PROPAGANDISTIC MECHANISM OF THE CHIVALRIC IDEAL

Abstract

During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the field of the marvelous experienced an intense revival, especially with regard to miraculous narratives of secular culture. A literature rich in wonderful events as a result of divine action was developed, in contrast to diabolical supernatural manifestations, which expresses the manifestation of a medieval imaginary about the struggle between good and evil. In this context, based on the analysis of the source Cantigas de Santa Maria, written at the court of the Castilian monarch Alfonso X, the Wise (1252-1284), and with special attention to the Cantigas de Milagre - which report the manifestation of the religious marvel in the cure of chivalric lust - we propose to discuss how the miracle is used as a propaganda mechanism to promote models of ethical conduct defended by the Church,  among medieval knights.