MIRACLES PERFORMED BY THE VIRGIN IN RESPONSE TO PRAYER
When it is considered that in _Las Cantigas_ alone there are narrated
353 separate miracles, it is obvious that it will be impossible to give
here even a brief résumé of all the instances in which the supernatural
appears. What I have attempted to do is to give a synopsis of the most
representative legends and stories, hoping in this way to present a
correct, if succinct, idea of the beliefs, superstitions and religious
practices of medieval Spain. The various occurrences of the supernatural
found in the writings of Alfonso X, have been grouped, as far as
possible, under the headings commonly employed in classifications of
this kind.
Since all the extant works of this period, with the exception of _Las
Cantigas_ and a few _cantigas de amor et de maldecir_, were written for
the erudite and were in no sense popular in their origins, it is
apparent that the popular beliefs in regard to the supernatural will be
found mentioned in them only incidentally. Occasionally, as in the
_Crónica General_ for example, the traditions of the common people had
firmly established themselves in the _Cantares de Gesta_ and other
sources which were drawn upon by the compilers. In such scientific works
as _El Lapidario_ and _Los Libros del Saber de Astronomía_, the effect
of the various heavenly bodies upon things terrestrial is mentioned, but
these reflect the beliefs of the learned, not of the ignorant. While
these beliefs of the intellectual classes are interesting and useful in
themselves, they are by no means as important for our study as the
superstitions of the man of the street. _Las Siete Partidas_ has
furnished much pertinent information because of the laws concerning
practices involving the supernatural which were forbidden, or which, as
in the case of conjuring, were permitted only under certain
circumstances. But from such sources we can get only a very small
proportion of the great mass of popular conceptions and traditions which
must have existed, as is forcibly illustrated by the fact that in all
the other works excepting _Las Cantigas_ only nine miracles are
narrated. On the other hand the term “milagro” was considered important
enough to merit a lengthy definition in the laws of the times.[19]
According to this definition a “milagro” is a divine intervention in the
regular course of nature the purpose of which is, among other things, to
reward the faithful and to bear witness to the veracity of the Christian
faith.
But when we consider _Las Cantigas_, a work whose avowed purpose is to
gather together all the current stories of miracles attributed to the
Virgin either directly or indirectly, we have a collection of 353
accounts drawn both from the writings of the saints and from popular
tradition. It is to be noticed too that all of these are performed
either directly or indirectly _by the Virgin_ and do not include any of
those attributed to the various other saints, to the Child nor to the
Man Jesus, etc. If such a host of legends and stories could be gathered
with the facilities of that time dealing with only _one_ phase of
supernatural lore and with only _one_ saint how great must have been the
entire store!
Another interesting fact in connection with this collection is that,
altho according to the Church authorities, the Virgin could perform
miracles only when especially empowered to do so, she is represented
here as performing them of her own accord. Only seldom does she go to
her Son or to God the Father for aid or permission.
Such a procedure can not be attributed to ignorance on the part of one
so well versed in ecclesiastical law and customs as Alfonso. It is
probably a conscious reflection of the general belief of the common
people who knew little of Theology.
In a period of such absolute and naive faith it is not at all surprising
that the same miracle, with a few minor alterations perhaps, should be
attributed at one time to the Virgin and at another to God,[20] or at
one time to the crucifix and at another to the image of the Virgin,
etc.[21] The result of this customary promiscuous attribution of
benevolent deeds to various divine forces and personages was that the
counterpart of every miracle mentioned in any of the writings of king
Alfonso X is found in _Las Cantigas_. Therefore our study of this topic
will be based on this collection with appropriate notes of any
variations of interest in the legends as found in his other works.
A large number of the miracles in the beginning of the collection of
_Las Cantigas_ are taken, as usually stated in the poem itself, from
some other accessible book.[22] But as legends from these sources grew
scarce the store of oral tradition was drawn upon, and occasionally, as
in apprehension that the veracity of the story might be challenged, some
such strengthening line as “mui bien sey que foi e é gran uerdade”[23]
was added. So personal is the tone of the whole collection that there is
no hesitation whatever in recounting the miraculous experience of some
member of the royal family or of the king himself.[24] Constant search
in the manuscripts at hand was apparently continued however during the
entire time of composition and as late as No. 362 occurs the expression
“achei escrito.”[25]
The cult of the Virgin became very popular during the 13th century and
when we consider the influence it had all thru the period we are
studying it is natural to expect, that in a group of miracles dedicated
expressly to her, that Jesus, the Son of Mary, and even God the Father
would be but seldom mentioned.[26] But when they are they are recognized
as being supreme. The Virgin herself often has to ask a favor of the
Son, as in Nos. 14, 45, etc. At times we are privileged to catch a
glimpse of the court of heaven resembling greatly a medieval court with
God the Father and His Son as the supreme rulers and below them the
saints in the order of their various ranks.
On one occasion, No. 14 for instance, Saint Peter pleads without success
for the soul of a licentious monk who during life was especially devoted
to him. After invoking the aid of the other saints to no avail he
finally appeals to the Virgin and in answer to her God permits the
return of the soul to the body for the benefit of another chance. The
details here are such that one might easily imagine the scene to be that
of any court of 13th century Europe.
Naturally in so large a collection[27] any classification has to be
arbitrary, and however the division is made there will be a number which
may be placed under two or more headings. The present classification,
tabulated in detail on page 135 has been made to suit the needs of this
study exclusively. In what here follows I shall summarize only the
typical examples of each class.
* * * * *
The group of miracles studied especially in this chapter, those
performed by the Virgin in response to prayer, includes almost every
conceivable form of aid, all the way from restoring life to the dead
down to helping a man find his lost falcon. They suffice to give us a
rare conception of the beliefs and faith, often almost childlike in
their simplicity, of that time.
The greatest of all miracles, the restoration of life, is performed in
all over 30 times in answer to prayer and for a great variety of
reasons. In one instance (No. 182) a certain robber who had the
redeeming quality of always giving to those in need when asked in the
name of Santa María, died suddenly. In answer to a mother’s prayer and
to afford an opportunity for repentance his soul was restored and from
that moment he observed faithfully all the commandments “da Uírgen.” In
another, to aid a faithful follower in his work on earth the Holy Mother
sends to Santo Domingo as a helper a well-educated, zealous young man
who kills himself by overwork. In answer to the supplication of the
saint she descends from heaven with a chorus of virgins and together
they read from their books and anoint the corpse, head, body and feet,
thus restoring the life of the young man that he might continue in the
service of his worthy master (No. 204).[28] In No. 84 a wife becomes
ignorantly jealous of the Holy Mother because her husband slips away
mysteriously every night and when asked the reason for his absence he
answers that he loves his wife as much as ever but admits to her, almost
in jest, that he loves another woman more. This proved too much and in a
fit of anger she stabbed herself, but in answer to her husband’s prayers
her life was restored. No. 241 is particularly interesting because of
its details and of its really lifelike setting. Two mothers, one having
a son and the other a daughter, decided that a marriage of the young
couple would be advantageous. All went well until the day of the
wedding, when the boy, being in a very happy and buoyant mood, leaned
too far out of the window as he wiped out a glass, lost his balance,
fell and was killed. All were overcome with grief except his mother who
confidently took him to the altar of the Virgin, where his life was
restored. As life returned his first words were “What a beautiful
mansion you took me from.” The two young people were so impressed they
decided to devote themselves to religion. At another time Alfonso’s
immediate family were concerned for the daughter of “o bon rei Don
Fernando”, who after being carefully reared for the convent at Las
Huelgas died. Her mother took her to the foot of the image and putting
everyone out of the church, determined to remain until her daughter
revived. Her faith was rewarded, and later in life the princess held an
important place in the convent (No. 122).[29]
When we come to consider the various kinds of _bodily ailments_ cured by
the Holy Mother we are presented with a formidable list. An arrow
striking a man in the face stuck in the bone in such a manner that none
could remove it. He requested to be taken to the altar of the Virgin and
there confessed, implored aid, and the arrow came out of its own accord
(No. 126). Seven separate times do lepers appeal to her and are
healed.[30] The blind have their sight restored; but one clerk,
apparently thru lack of faith, asked only that his sight be given him
while Mass was being said. She took him at his word and allowed him the
privilege of seeing every day _only during the time of Mass_ (No. 92).
Swellings disappear (No. 346); while often Alfonso sings of the cures he
himself has experienced. After leprosy the most common ailment to incite
the pity of the Blessed Mother is rabies, which is mentioned in no less
than five separate cantigas;[31] reason is also restored to those who
have been deprived of it (No. 331). No. 69 is the legend of a deaf mute
who presented himself before the altar of the Virgin in Toledo. While
there he saw Saint Mary in the form of a beautiful girl approach him as
in a vision, put her finger in his ear and take out a worm which had
“ ... a semella
d’estes de sirgo, mais come ouella
era ueloss’ e coberto de lãa.”
Later Santa María ordered a monk well versed in the art to aid the man
recover his voice. Another pretty story is that of a little girl with
deformed feet who was taken to the altar of Santa María del Puerto,
where, falling asleep, she suddenly cried out with a sharp pain. In
answer to the questions of her father and those near her she said the
Virgin came down from the altar, broke her feet, and then returned. They
hastily examined them only to find them in perfect condition.
As well as curing the ordinary ills of nature to which the human body is
subject, the Blessed Mother may also cure those due to acts of man if
they are unjustly inflicted, as in the case of the servant whose master
put out his eyes because of false accusation. The servant, knowing he
was innocent, procured his eye-balls, had a surgeon put them back in
their sockets, and then went to Santa María de Salas, where his sight
was restored (No. 177). A miracle showing a strong trace of
mysticism--another instance of the relief of suffering due to no
conscious fault of the victim--is No. 315. A laboring woman went into
the field to work and left her child--with a prayer for its safety--tied
to a sheaf of wheat. While she was gone the child swallowed a head of
the grain and became very ill. The mother, thinking it had swallowed
some insect or had been bitten hastened with it to Madrid where after
many days of unsuccessful treatment she was advised to take it to the
Church of Atocha. On arriving she undressed the child before the altar
for examination and to the astonishment of all present the head of
wheat, intact, came out thru the _left_ side of the child, who recovered
immediately. No. 146 shows the influence of a well-known legend of the
Middle Ages of a father who cut off the hands of his daughter because
she insisted on being true to her new faith, Christianity. Later in
life, when, because of misfortunes and persecutions, her hands were
necessary for the care of her child, they were miraculously restored,
growing out of the old stumps.[32] In the cantiga the object of the
miracle is a boy who wished to go on a pilgrimage to the shrine of the
Virgin of Albeza. His mother hesitated because of his enemies but at
last he was permitted to go. He did, indeed, fall into their power and
they put out his eyes as well as cut off his hands. He was found,
however, by some fellow-pilgrims, taken to the shrine, and there, upon
his praying the
“Madre de Deus Emanüel,
fez-ll’ ollos come de perdiz
pequennos a aquel donzel
muy fremosos, et de raiz
crecéron-ll’ as mãos enton.”
Altho the Virgin did alleviate bodily ills for good cause she was not
alway a saint of mercy. At times she was a saint of vengeance. Even
more, her devotees were sometimes given the privilege of seeing this
vengeance brought down at their own request upon the enemies of the
faith because of some impious act. One Christian while kneeling at
prayer before her shrine was bitten by a large dog that happened to pass
that way. As he arose to pick up a stone to drive the animal away he was
greatly incensed at seeing two Jews laughing at him. Not being able to
restrain his anger he called upon the Virgin to avenge herself of such
an affront with the result that the wall by which they were standing
fell upon the unbelievers (No. 286).
Such vengeance as this is usually only meted out to infidels and, even
tho Saint Mary loves vengeance and desires to please her followers, more
than once has she to temper this very human desire on their part. One
woman asked that the one who had stolen her husband’s affections be
stricken with some serious illness, but the Virgin, considering the
punishment too severe, by a vision caused the unlawful rival to repent
and ask forgiveness of the wife, which the latter finally granted (No.
68).
In many respects more important, tho perhaps making a less lasting
impression, are those miracles of prevention from harm. These are almost
as numerous as the above, tho they offer less variety and less
opportunity for dramatic effect. Among the most common are rescues from
the sea, and in No. 236 there is the added element of walking on the
water. A pious woman and her child are in a boat that sinks. She cries
out to the Virgin who appears, takes her by the hand, and together they
walk on the water as tho it were land until they arrive at Marseilles.
Those engaged in making objects for the glory of the Virgin, together
with the products of their art, receive special protection. A stone
mason working at a great height in the church of Santa María de
Castrogeriz felt his legs weaken and began to fall. Calling on the local
saint he miraculously caught on an edge of one of the stones and altho a
very large man his fingers were strengthened, enabling him to hold on a
greater part of the day until aid came (No. 242). At another time a
painter who habitually drew the Devil as ugly as possible and the Virgin
as beautifully as he was able received a visit from his satanic majesty
in person complaining of the treatment, but the artist refused to change
his pictures. The Devil, greatly offended, set loose a terrible
hurricane, which entered the church; but, appealing to the Virgin, both
the painter and his work escaped unharmed (No. 74). Ten instances, most
of which bear a striking resemblance to similar stories in the New
Testament, are told of miraculous release from prison.[33] In one of
these (No. 227) Saint Mary appeared surrounded by a bright light and led
the captive, invisible to his captors, from the dungeon. In nearly all
such releases the victim had been unjustly imprisoned.
Those who are especially devout are saved even tho at times it is
necessary to bring down the heavenly hosts. One good knight (No. 233)
fleeing on a swift horse before his enemies arrives at the church of the
Virgin of Pena Cova. His pursuers, unbelievers, on arriving at the
church, see a battalion of heavenly soldiers drawn up in front of it
and, thus admonished, they repent and naturally no longer desire his
life.[34] When Bondoudar, the Sultan of Egypt, laid siege to Tortosa de
Ultramar there were but few defenders within its walls, but when the
Sultan arrived he saw a great host in the city. One of his advisers told
him:
“ ... Per mandado
da Uirgen Madre d’ Icá
uéeron, que un eigreia
dentro en a uila á,
que está preto dos muros
da parte do aréal”.
On hearing this the Sultan withdrew, saying he would not fight against
the Virgin and later even sent much money to those in the city (No.
165). No. 49 reads almost like a fairy tale. A band of pilgrims
journeying to Santa María de Soissons lose their way in the mountains
and in answer to their prayers she appears to them _with a shining wand_
in her hand and leads them safely to their destination.
The idea of _bargaining_, one of the fundamental elements of all
primitive religions,[35] and one which even yet has by no means
disappeared, was present in a very striking manner. In this respect,
indeed, the people were so naïve at times that they made the Blessed
Mother human in the extreme and sometimes they seemed almost to lose
sight entirely of her divinity. In no less than nineteen[36] cantigas is
the record of wax being offered in exchange for divine favors and in ten
of these the wax was promised in the prayer of supplication; and altho
this may not at all times have been consciously offered as a bribe or as
a kind of barter yet there is no doubt that unconsciously the feeling
was there. Wax was by far the most popular of all offerings. It was
offered in bulk, or in the form of an image of the Virgin or of the
object desired, or often in candles. One account which is very
interesting because of the well-known historical personages involved is
No. 376. During a conversation with the Infante Don Manuel, Alfonso
showed him a beautiful ring and offered it to him as a gift. The king
sent a servant to deliver it to the house of the Infante, but on the way
he lost it. He immediately appealed to Santa María del Puerto; offering
her six pounds of wax for her church if she would help him recover the
ring. A little later a man voluntarily handed it to the messenger saying
he had found it on the street.
Altho we might consider wax a suitable offering for a miracle of the
type just mentioned, it does cause some surprise to find it accepted in
return for even such an important act as the restoration of life. But
there was a woman of Zaragoza whose children were always stillborn, so
after the third sad experience she offered a child of wax to the
Virgin. The fourth child was also born dead but, confident now, she
implored Santa María de Salas, and even while the prayer continued the
child came to life. In addition to wax many other kinds of gifts were
acceptable such as a garland of roses; or when roses were unavailable an
“Ave María” might be substituted for each rose in the bouquet (No. 121);
or nails were offered for a temple (No. 106); or a promise was made of
the most beautiful thing captured from the enemy during a battle, which
in No. 374 was a beautiful cloth of gold and scarlet.
More curious than these, and a miracle in which the moral lesson is not
to be considered, is No. 214, in which two men, one very rich while the
other possessed only a church building, were rolling dice. The wealthy
man played high stakes, the poor man, having only the church, played it.
The rich one rolled and three sixes fell. His companion, trembling, in
his turn rolled. As he did so he offered the church to the Virgin should
he win. To his astonishment, and to the wonder of the bystanders, one of
the dice fell in two, three sixes and one ace appearing.
Aside from material gifts such as the above, offers of service such as
the promise to go on a pilgrimage to some shrine are also very
effective.[37]
The naïve elements become almost startling at times in their
childishness. For instance in No. 8 a singer, after singing a “lais” to
Santa María, asked that one of the candles of her shrine light him
while he ate. The candle was miraculously placed on his instrument, but
a monk seeing it out of place became angry, thinking it bewitched, and
put it back where it belonged. This was repeated three times until the
people witnessing this repetition intervened, while the monk, convinced
he had witnessed a miracle, repented.[38] Again, at Rocamador, nine
pilgrims ordered nine pieces of meat prepared for their meal. When they
drew near the table only eight pieces were brought in, the servant
having stolen one. They prayed Santa María to show them where the ninth
piece was and at once heard a noise in a chest. It was the piece of meat
jumping around to attract their attention (No. 159). Even more peculiar
were the actions of a paralyzed mule which was ordered killed and
skinned by its master. The servant boy before beginning the task stopped
to eat and upon finishing his meal was astonished to find the mule
healed and going toward the shrine of the Virgin of Torena. On reaching
the church it ran around it three times rapidly, entered and kneeled
before the altar, then returned home with the servant (No. 228).
It is to be remarked also that while the miracles usually do contain a
moral lesson--in fact some have no other purpose than to teach a moral,
No. 155,--occasionally they are much less concerned with the moral than
with the really important fact, the miracle, which shows the goodness,
power and mercy of Santa María. Bent on emphasizing this they become at
times realistic in the extreme. We must remember also that the
conception of what is moral and what is immoral changes constantly and
that therefore it is imposible to measure the 13th century by the
standards of the 20th. But even so, we can say this for Alfonso el
Sabio; whenever he does include such accounts in his collection he
handles them with his accustomed brevity and never dwells upon the
immoral act nor enlarges upon it. With a few strokes he paints the
picture and then comes to what, for him, is the all important part, the
miracle. One such, very popular thruout all Europe in the Middle Ages,
is the legend of an abbess, accused by those under her of being with
child, who was called to account before the authorities. She prayed
earnestly to the Virgin, who during her sleep brought the child and
spirited him away to Saussonna. She was then examined and found
innocent.
No. 201 is even more interesting, being the story of a beautiful young
woman who vowed eternal chastity and then, falling in love with a young
gallant, became the mother of three of his children and killed each one
soon after its birth. Later in life she repented and tried to kill
herself with a knife but did not die; she then swallowed two poisonous
spiders[39] and still she could not die. Finally she prayed the Holy
Mother, who appeared to her and with her own divine hand cured her. The
sinner obtained forgiveness by a long life of penance. In this case the
immoral element of protecting the sinner from just punishment has
entirely disappeared, for while the Virgin shows mercy toward her and
cures her ills--the result of a self-imposed penance--yet she does not
forgive her terrible sin. All she can do is to change the form of the
penance.
One of the phases of the belief of the time which at first glance seems
to us today to be sacrilegious, or to say the least quite startling, is
the part that the breasts of the Virgin and her sacred milk played in
the religion of Medieval Spain. In this belief can be seen how very real
and how very human the Mother of Christ was to the people. This race,
which has produced some of the greatest mystics of the world, to whom
everything had a mystical meaning, saw in the sacred milk of the Virgin
the symbol of healing and of life, and the breasts which had nourished
the Christ-child were to them the symbol of the fountain of life.
In No. 138 Alfonso tells how San Juan Boca de Oro, exiled by the
Gentiles, was first blinded and then put out on the highway and told to
leave the country. Wandering, he soon fell into brambles, when, calling
on “á Rëynna esperital” for aid, she came, restored his sight and led
him out into the road again. In the conversation which ensued he asked
her what was the thing that Jesus loved most when He came into the
world. She left without answering, but appeared to him again that night
with the child Jesus playing with her breasts. Turning to the him she
said,
“ ... D’ esto se pagou
meu Fillo máis d’ál, et con mui gran razón.
Ca estas tetas lo criaron tan ben
como a sa carne mui nobre conuen;
et porende as amou máis d’ outra ren,
porque d’ estas tetas ouu’ él criaçon.”
The milk poured by the Blessed Virgin herself from her sacred breasts
cured an infirmity of the face and neck which had caused long years of
suffering to one of her faithful monks (No. 54). Similar to this is No.
93, an account of how God chastened a man of Burgos with leprosy for
three years because of his sins. After he had recited a good thousand
“Ave Marías” Saint Mary at last took pity on him, and bathed him in her
own milk, which cured him immediately.
And after all, when considered reverently, and in the light of the fact
that the Virgin was the most important and most beloved personage in the
religion of the period, what more beautiful and sublime symbol could
there be than this!
Possessions are constantly being restored thru the agency of the Holy
Mother, who is never unmindful of the needs of her children, and who is
just as quick to respond to the needs of the rich, if they are real
needs, as to those of the poor. Altho such service is quite often
performed in return for some gift, as indicated in the discussion of
Bargaining,[40] it is by no means limited to this. Often the simple
faith and earnest prayer are sufficient.
A certain Don Domingo of Santa María del Puerto lost thirty sheep in the
mountains. His devout wife appealed to the local Saint to save them from
the wolves. Three days later they were found surrounded by wolves, which
instead of harming them were _guarding_ them from harm (No. 398). In the
incident of a woman of Toledo (No. 212) we catch a glimpse of some of
the customs of the times as well as find an entertaining story. This
woman had the habit of loaning a lovely string of pearls to the poor
girls of her acquaintance for their wedding ceremony, because
“En Toled’ á un costume
que foi de longa sazon,
que quando y casar queren
as donas que pobres son,
peden aas ricas donas
de suas dõas enton,
que possan en suas uodas
máis ricas apparecer.”
But her husband for some reason forbade her to do so any longer. Soon
after this another poor woman came begging for the pearls, and because
she asked “in the name of the Virgin” the lady could not withstand the
plea and loaned them surreptitiously. While the girl was bathing, a
servant stole them, but note--
“Ela deu-o a sa filla
el leuou-a a bannar,
_com’ é costum’ en Toledo_
_de quantas queren casar_.”[41]
The bride was heartbroken and the lady, very much grieved but still more
frightened, went to the church of the Virgin, where from sheer weakness
caused by her anxiety she fell asleep before the altar. While there
still asleep, the woman who had stolen the jewels passed thru the church
with them hidden in her bosom. The sleeping woman awoke at that moment
and, miraculously given to know that this one had her pearls, forcibly
recovered them.
Legends of necessities being miraculously supplied are not lacking.
There is one concerning a church in Jerusalem built under the guidance
of the Virgin that reminds us of the widow’s cruse of oil. The community
was about to have to leave owing to a severe famine. As a last resort
they met and prayed all night, and when morning came they found all the
bread boxes full. Later a similar famine occurred and again they prayed
all night, and this time they found a large sum of pure gold on the
altar. (No. 187). Miracles similar to the one performed by Jesus at the
wedding feast in Canaan of Galilee (John 2: 1-11) are Nos. 23 and 351.
The first is the simple story of a woman who was out of wine when the
King came to visit her, so she asked the Virgin to help her in her
perplexity, and immediately the wine casks in the cellar were filled.
The second, on a larger scale and with an element of humor, maintains
that at the great annual feast in honor of the Virgen de Agosto one year
a great hogshead of wine was supplied for the public, but, sad to
relate, it did not last long. After it became exhausted the crowd was
slow to go away and someone suggested that they look again to see
whether it was entirely empty. To their surprise they found it was full
of miraculous wine supplied by the Saint, and it had the quality not
only of delighting those who partook of it but also of curing ills.
Altho such benefits and protection are usually bestowed only upon
Christians, and more especially upon those who are particularly devoted
to the Mother of Christ, occasionally she will hear the requests of
those who belong to another faith provided they are ready to accept
Christianity. A vagrant Jewess was cast from a high rock in punishment
for her misconduct, but, on appealing to the Virgin, she fell harmlessly
beside a fig tree. In gratitude she was baptised and remained constant
to the faith thru life (No. 107). The Virgin’s mercy was also great
enough to restore life to the child of a Moorish woman who, because she
had heard of the miraculous power of Santa María de Salas, took the dead
body of her little one to the shrine. After the mother had remained
there all night in prayer the child was brought back to life altho it
had been dead three days (No. 167).
There is another small group of miracles recorded in which the response
is not to prayers but to threats--cases in which the believer loses
control of himself and defies both God and man. No reason is given why
the threats are effective after prayers and requests have been of no
avail. Does it imply that the Holy Mother was to them such a human
personality that, like an earthly lord, she might be susceptible to
fear?
One case in point (No. 76) is that of a devout woman, the mother of a
criminal, who became desperate when her son was hanged. Snatching the
form of the child Jesus from the arms of the image in the church she
threatened to keep it as a hostage. The Virgin became merciful--(or
fearful)--and brought from the other world to the distracted mother her
criminal son, who, now truly penitent, reprimands his mother for her
sacrilegious act. So greatly was she impressed by the experience that
she became a nun.
The most surprising miracle of the entire collection so far as the
behavior of Saint Mary is concerned and her show of fear is the
following, from which I shall quote freely. The young son of a baron
fell with his horse from a high bridge. The father saw the accident and
cried out aloud to the Virgin:
“Dizend’ a mui grandes uozes:
‘Ual-me, Rëynna Sennor.’
Enton a Vírgen bêeita
que seu fillo Saluador
tijnna ontre seus braços,
_ouue da uoz tal pauor_
como quando Rei Herodes
lle quis seu fillo matar.
E mandou a esses santos
que o fossen acorrer,
que y estauan, _et ela_
_foi o seu Fill’ asconder_,
_con medo d’aquel braado_,
que o non podes’ auer
Rei Herodes; _et porende_
_foi logo passar o mar_.
_D’esta guisa con seu Fillo_
_fugiú a Jerussalem_[42]
a Uírgen Santa María,
et guariú acá mui ben
o menynn’ e o caualo
que se non feríron ren:
et o padr’, a bouc’ aberta,
fillou-see Deus a loar.” (No. 337).
This is the first and only reference I have found to this peculiar fear
on the part of the Virgin.