CSM Cantiga 171 Lyrics: Santa María grandes faz miragres e saborosos Cantiga 171In both [E] and [T], this cantiga has a total of five lines which are missing a metrical syllable, but the usual fixes of employing diaeresis or substituting a longer synonym only work in two cases. For the others, to avoid the absolute last resort of drawn out short vowels, I have taken the liberty of adding common filler words—i (adv.), o (pron.) and óra (adv.)—as these do not significantly alter the meaning, and could plausibly have been omitted by scribal accident. See the individual footnotes below for details.

Standard spelling
Santa María grandes faz miragres e saborosos
Cantiga 171: Santa María grandes faz miragres e saborosos
Please read the notes on using the texts and the IPA transcriptions Please read the notes on using the music transcriptions
   
Standard spelling
Epigraph  

Como ũa mollér de Pédra-Salze ía con séu marido a Salas, e perderon un fillo pequeno en un río, e foron a Salas e achárono vivo ant' o altar.

Line Refrain  Metrics  
1 Santa María grandes faz 8  A
2 miragres e saborosos, 7' B
3 e guarda aos que lle praz 8  A
4 de seeren perdidosos. 7' B
 
  Stanza I     
5 E desto vos quéro contar 8  c
6 un gran miragre que oí 8  d
7 que fez a Reínna sen par 8  c
8 en Salas, e faz muitos i 8  d
9 pera as gentes aduzer 8  e
10 que sejan muit' aguçosos 7' B
11 de ben en séu Fillo creer, 8  e
12 e manssos e homildosos. 7' B
  Santa María grandes faz...    
 
  Stanza II     
13 Un hóme non podí' haver 8  c
14 fillo, per quant' éu aprendí, 8  d
15 de sa mollér, e prometer 8  c
16 foi d' ir a Salas; e des i 8  d
17 quis Santa María guisar, 8  e
18 que faz miragres fremosos, 7' B
19 que lles foi lóg' un fillo dar, 8  e
20 ond' ambos foron goiosos. 7' B
  Santa María grandes faz...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/171
 
  Stanza III     
21 Dous anos lo foron crïar; 8  c
22 e pois moveron ben dalí, 8  d
23 séu caminno foron fillar 8  c
24 pera Salas. E ind' assí 8  d
25 i viron un río correr CSM 171:25Here I have added the word i (= "there") which seems to be the least intrusive word that could fill the metrical gap. I have placed it at the beginning of the line for two reasons. First, it seems the best fit for the natural spoken rhythm of the words. Second, the fact that it then follows an identical but stressed vowel in assí makes it perhaps more plausible that the scribe could have overlooked it. 8  e
26 e eles foron coitosos 7' B
27 de passar; mas foron perder 8  e
28 o fill' os malavegosos. 7' B
  Santa María grandes faz...    
 
  Stanza IV     
29 Ca a madre, que o trager 8  c
30 en un rocín i' ante si, 8  d
31 con el no río foi caer, 8  c
32 como o contaron a mi, CSM 171:32In this line I have inserted the word o on the model of CSM 124:4 e o contaron a mi, CSM 183:25 que o contaron a mi, and similar formulaic expressions. Accidental scribal omission of this o after the same vowel in como seems quite likely. 8  d
33 e houve a desamparar 8  e
34 o fillo; e os astrosos 7' B
35 fillaron-se muit' a chorar 8  e
36 ambos come perdidosos. 7' B
  Santa María grandes faz...    
 
  Stanza V     
37 Muito o per foron buscar 8  c
38 pelas ribas, com' entendí, 8  d
39 mas nono podéron achar, 8  c
40 e tornar-se quiséra d' i 8  d
41 o padre; mas ela dizer 8  e
42 lle foi: “Pois non preguiçosos 7' B
43 fomos, vaamos óra seer CSM 171:43óra seems to be the most neutral filler word here, and although adding two new syllables requires synaeresis in seer to compensate, the latter is very common and the result feels quite natural. 8  e .eyeye
44 a Salas desto queixosos.” 7' B
  Santa María grandes faz...    
Cantigas de Santa Maria for Singers ©2013 by Andrew Casson
www.cantigasdesantamaria.com/csm/171
 
  Stanza VI     
45 Eno caminno se meter CSM 171:45Here it is possible to resolve the missing metrical syllable by expanding no to eno, on the model of CSM 138:20 fórono meter // eno caminno que devia tẽer. 8  c
46 foron, dizend' ela: “A ti 8  d
47 vou, Virgen, que mi acorrer CSM 171:47This is a very unusual case where the unstressed clitic mi does not combine with the following vowel (via synalepha) to form a diphthong. 8  c
48 quéras do fillo que perdí.” 8  d
49 E pois chegou ao logar, 8  e
50 con sospiros amargosos, 7' B
51 viü séu fill' ant' o altar CSM 171:51Diaeresis occurs in viu more often than in any other word, and is therefore a good resolution for this line's metrical shortfall. 8  e .on
52 vivo. E muit' homildosos 7' B
 
  Stanza VII     
53 loores déu, se Déus m' ampar, 8  c
54 aa Virgen. “Ca recebí”, 8  d
55 diss' ela, “o que demandar 8  c
56 te fui sempr', e nunca falí; 8  d
57 e porên querrei retraer 8  e
58 ontr' os téus mui grorïosos 7' B
59 miragres e fazer saber 8  e
60 este dos maravillosos.” 7' B
  Santa María grandes faz...    
 

Footnotes

In both [E] and [T], this cantiga has a total of five lines which are missing a metrical syllable, but the usual fixes of employing diaeresis or substituting a longer synonym only work in two cases. For the others, to avoid the absolute last resort of drawn out short vowels, I have taken the liberty of adding common filler words—i (adv.), o (pron.) and óra (adv.)—as these do not significantly alter the meaning, and could plausibly have been omitted by scribal accident. See the individual footnotes below for details.

Line 25:

Here I have added the word i (= "there") which seems to be the least intrusive word that could fill the metrical gap. I have placed it at the beginning of the line for two reasons. First, it seems the best fit for the natural spoken rhythm of the words. Second, the fact that it then follows an identical but stressed vowel in assí makes it perhaps more plausible that the scribe could have overlooked it.

Line 32:

In this line I have inserted the word o on the model of CSM 124:4 e o contaron a mi, CSM 183:25 que o contaron a mi, and similar formulaic expressions. Accidental scribal omission of this o after the same vowel in como seems quite likely.

Line 43:

óra seems to be the most neutral filler word here, and although adding two new syllables requires synaeresis in seer to compensate, the latter is very common and the result feels quite natural.

Line 45:

Here it is possible to resolve the missing metrical syllable by expanding no to eno, on the model of CSM 138:20 fórono meter // eno caminno que devia tẽer.

Line 47:

This is a very unusual case where the unstressed clitic mi does not combine with the following vowel (via synalepha) to form a diphthong.

Line 51:

Diaeresis occurs in viu more often than in any other word, and is therefore a good resolution for this line's metrical shortfall.

Standard spelling  
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Footnotes

E1:

This clef and note are inexplicably missing from the manuscript. I have positioned both to match the following clef on the same stave after the decorated capital.

Manuscript references

External links marked are to facsimiles on Greg Lindahl's Cantigas de Santa Maria website.

[E]171viewhttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/facsimiles/E/321small.htmlExternal link
[T]171 

Oxford CSM Database record

External link to poem data:  CSM 171http://csm.mml.ox.ac.uk/index.php?p=poemdata_view&rec=171

Links to the Oxford database are provided with the kind permission of the project team. When planning a concert or recording, I would recommend that you use (and credit) my more pragmatic texts and supporting materials in the preparation of your performance, but that you request permission from the Oxford database team to reproduce (and credit) their own critically edited texts in your programme or liner notes, as these adhere to stricter criteria that keep them closer to the original sources, and undoubtedly have the greater academic authority.

Metrical summary

Refrain

8  7'  8  7'

Stanzas

8  8  8  8  8  7'  8  7'

Rhyme

ABAB / cdcdeBeB
 RIIIIIIIVVVIVII
A 
Bozos
c 
d i
e 

Estimated performance times

Average syllables / min. Time
Very slow5014:04
Slow1007:02
Medium1504:41
Fast2003:31
Very fast2502:48

These are very approximate total times for a full sung (or spoken) performance of all stanzas with all repeats of the refrain. Note that the speed is in average syllables per minute, and no particular mensural interpretation is assumed. More ornamented music will reduce the syllabic speed considerably. Remember also to add time for instrumental preludes, interludes and postludes.

Total syllables: 704