MIRACLES PERFORMED VOLUNTARILY BY THE VIRGIN
Altho at times this study of Miracles may have the appearance of an
examination of the character of the Virgin, which indeed it is in a
certain sense, nevertheless it is such only in order that we may, by
studying her acts as recorded in these miracles, come to a better
understanding of what was considered supernatural in that period and
what was not. Perhaps it will help in arriving at this result if, before
beginning the study of the next group, we stop at this point to see what
was Alfonso’s own judicial definition of “miraglo”, as the term is used
in his _Siete Partidas_.[43] It reads as follows:
“Miraglo tanto quiere decir como obra de Dios maravillosa que es
sobre la natura usada de cada dia: et por ende acaesce pocas veces.
Et para ser tenido por verdadero ha menester que haya en él quatro
cosas: la primera que venga por poder de Dios et non por arte: la
segunda que el miraglo sea contra natura, ca de otra guisa non se
maravillarien los homes dél: la tercera que venga por merescimiento
de santidad et de bondat que haya en sí aquel por quien Dios lo
face: la quarta que aquel miraglo acaesca sobre cosa que sea á
confirmamiento de la fe.”[44]
Next in extent after the group of miracles performed in answer to
_direct appeal_ is that in which Santa María comes to the aid of her
followers _voluntarily_, owing, perhaps indirectly, to their prayers,
but if so this is not so stated and the dominating thought is not that
the act was in answer to prayer but rather it is to emphasize the
kindness, care and eternal vigilance she ever has for those who have
commended themselves to her keeping.
In our study of this division we shall follow the same classification as
we did in the last, but shall cite examples only in cases where they
differ materially in one particular or another from those mentioned
above. Altho the actual number of miracles is less, here divine aid is
manifested in an even greater variety of ways. These new elements will
be considered under additional appropriate headings beginning on page
65. On the whole the general tone of the miracles is the same, and
sometimes it seems as tho the poet merely forgot, or perhaps it was not
convenient for him, to work into his verse the statement that a given
case was one of direct answer to prayer. At other times, however, it
seems that the prayer was answered in a manner entirely unlooked for, or
again that the miracle was performed without supplication whatever on
the part of the recipient.
Beginning again with the group composed of the greatest of all miracles,
the restoration of life, it is noticed that here instead of being in
response to a direct appeal on the part of some faithful servant, the
miracle seems to be performed as a reward, without the bereaved person
having thought such a thing possible. The fact that the soul of the
person whose life is thus restored may be brought back from the regions
of eternal happiness seems of minor importance. One of the most
beautiful of these miracles is said to have taken place in “Inglaterra.”
A widow had a young son who sang, as no one else could, the “Gaude Virgo
María”. A jealous Jew killed him and put his body in a cellar, thinking
that would be the end of it. The mother, not knowing what had become of
her son, went thru the street calling “Where are you?” As she passed the
house of the Jew she was answered by her resurrected child singing more
beautifully than ever “Gaude María”. The Jew was put to death for his
crime (No. 6).
The new element of temporary restoration is found in No. 311. A pious
man and his friend set out on a pilgrimage to Nuestra Señora de
Monserrat. His friend does not seem to be very well confirmed in the
faith, and when, as they are passing thru Barcelona, a flash of
lightning kills his devout companion, he curses the Virgin and taunts
his dead fellow pilgrim with the worthlessness of his devotion. The next
day at the burial the dead man rises in his coffin and vindicates his
faith by saying that all is well now.
The Virgin plays an even more important part in the miracle (No. 323)
which happened when Aben Yussef crossed the straits of Algeciras and
made damaging raids into the territory of Seville. A poor man’s only son
died, and, as the Moors were already in sight, all the father could do
was to commend the body and his worldly possessions to the Blessed
Mother as he hastily fled before the enemy. When the land was recaptured
the old man, to his great astonishment, found his son alive and all his
possessions safe. The boy told him that a lady had come to accompany
him and for some reason the Moors had respected her.
Very close akin to these are those of life miraculously sustained when
according to all laws of nature death was inevitable, as was the case
(No. 131) when Emperor Alexius of Constantinople, while on a tour of
inspection, was imprisoned in a caving mine along with many workers. All
were killed except the emperor who was saved by a large rock which
formed a protection for him. The empress and all at court gave him up
for lost and spent much time in Masses for his soul. At the end of one
year the Patriarch of the city dreamed the emperor was still alive and
immediately took workmen and had the mine opened. Thereupon they found
the emperor unharmed and learned that he had been fed and solaced by
angels during the entire interval.
Even more dramatic is the experience of a German and his son on a
pilgrimage to the shrine of Santiago, who while lodging in the house of
a heretic fall victims unawares to the old trick of having silver put in
the boy’s bag in order to accuse him of theft. The boy is hanged, and
the heart-broken father, still faithful, continues on his way and
fulfills his vow. On his return he is impelled to pass by the gallows.
To his surprise he finds his son still alive, having been sustained by
the Virgin for three months. Hastening to the bailiff, the father
secures the release of his boy and has the heretic duly burned (No.
175).
There are no new elements presented in the various miracles in this
group dealing with the curing of bodily ailments, beyond those already
indicted on page 35. No 206 however describes the interesting spectacle
of Pope Leo, very devout and austere, who became so much perturbed at
being kissed on the hand by a beautiful woman at Mass that he could not
forget the sensation nor concentrate on his work until he had his hand
cut off. This did not give him peace because he was no longer qualified
to say Mass. The Virgin, seeing his grief and having mercy on him,
descended from heaven and applied a marvelous ointment to the stump with
the result that the hand was restored.
In the methods by which the Blessed Mother prevents harm from befalling
her devotees there is nothing new. The only difference being that here
the act is performed more as tho it were the reward for faithful service
while previously it was in answer to prayer.
As is to be expected the idea of bargaining is almost entirely absent
from this group. The bargain idea found its birth on the part of man and
not of the Deity. One legend only in the entire collection represents
the Virgin as taking the initiative in a bargain (No. 307). This is when
she appears to a virtuous man after an eruption of Mount Etna which had
caused great damage and had lasted forty days. She told him if he wanted
the eruption to cease to compose a hymn to her. This he did with the
desired effect.
The number of the unmoral, in fact in some cases distinctly immoral,
miracles here is greater than before. We must not forget, however, that,
as mentioned above, often there was no very close connection between
religious observances and morals in Medieval Europe.
On one occasion (No. 24) we are told that a very wicked man, a robber
and a gambler, died and was refused a Christian burial, but during his
life he had been devoted to the Virgin, so she appeared to the priest
and demanded that his body be taken up and buried in sacred ground. When
they opened the grave they found a rose in the mouth of the corpse[45].
No. 11 is the story of a licentious monk who was drowned one night while
crossing a river on the way to visit his amour. The Devil appeared for
his soul but two angels contested his claim. He convinced them of his
right and they were about to retire when the Virgin arrived, routed the
Devil, and ordered the soul to return to the body in order that the monk
might repent and do penance. In this instance, it will be noted, the
soul is simply restored to the body and given another chance, while in
No. 24 above, the indication is that the soul of the evil doer is saved.
Then there are five quite similar, Nos. 55, 58, 59, 94 and 285, tho the
moral lesson differs somewhat. In the first a young nun elopes with a
monk to Lisbon where when she finds herself about to become a mother she
is cruelly deserted. Not knowing what else to do she returns penitent to
the convent. Angels attend her at the birth of the son during the night
and no one suspects her. None had missed her during the absence because
the Virgin had taken her place and it is not until one day in her old
age when her son, now a handsome young man, appears in the choir singing
“Salve Regina” that all is discovered because the worthy nun recognizes
him publicly. No. 94 is apparently the same legend more fully developed.
The nun, the treasurer of the convent, falls in love with a knight and
on leaving the convent gives the keys into the keeping of the Virgin.
She and her husband live together happily for years, being blessed with
many children, and it is only in later years that she repents and
returns to the convent, confessing all. To her astonishment, she found
that the Virgin had taken her place during her absence and no one had
ever known the difference. When it is learned that the Blessed Mother
had performed such an act of kindness, all burst into a hymn of praise
to her. In No. 285 we have the same setting of a young nun falling in
love, this time with the nephew of the abbess, but the actions of the
Virgin are quite different. On the first attempt to leave the convent
Saint Mary stopped her. The next day she sent word to her lover that she
had failed to keep her appointment because she had been ill but promised
to meet him the next night, which she did, and the two made their escape
successfully. They married and had children but even then she was not
able to get away from the Holy Mother, who appeared to her in a dream
and severely reprimanded her. This was too much. She at last told her
husband and in repentance they both decided to enter the monastic life.
In this legend the immoral element has disappeared, the Virgin no longer
protecting the guilty. No. 59 is still another story with the same
theme, but the punishment is still more severe. As the young girl was
about to depart she went to take leave of the Saint. At the parting her
image began to shed tears. The girl then drew near the crucifix, which,
loosing one of its hands from the cross, struck her in the face, leaving
the mark of the nail as a stigma. In No. 58 the girl concerned was about
to elope, but two dreams of Hell and of eternal punishment were
sufficient to make the heroine send for her lover and tell him that
their union would be impossible.
Of the three instances in which the sacred breast or milk of the Virgin
play a part, all involve an answer to direct appeals. See page 45.
While there is only one account of possessions being restored without
request (No. 228, which contains no new elements) there are several
which tell of rare materials, or of materials delayed by storms at sea,
etc., being miraculously supplied; or perhaps, as in the case of Emperor
Constantine (No. 231), Santa María would help in the erection of
buildings. The emperor had brought huge blocks of marble from Roumania
for the altar and columns of a church to be dedicated to her. When they
arrived they were so large no means could be found to hoist them into
position. At last she appeared to the architect and told him to do away
with all apparatus and use only three small boys to do the work. He did
as he was bidden and they placed the blocks in position with ease.
These, however, do not give us as intimate a picture of the life of the
common people as do other accounts, such as No. 273. In it we get a
glimpse of the privations of the home life of the peasants and at the
same time an idea of their innate pride in their local church. At
Ayamonte there was a small and poor church erected to Santa María but in
spite of the poverty of its communicants the altar decorations were
rich. So great were their privations that even the Host was scarce. At
the feast of the Virgen de Agosto some of the altar cloths needed
mending and one of the devout men of the congregation offered to do it.
He had a needle but no thread, and no one could provide him with it.
While before the altar considering what he should do, he glanced up and
saw two threads on his shoulder obviously supplied by the Saint. It is
in such apparently incidental allusions as this--and the one, No. 211,
where bees come into the church of their own accord and supply the wax
for the candles because the congregation could not furnish any--that we
can, from time to time, form an idea of how “the other half,” which did
not consist of knights and nobles, really lived.
Following the same order as in the first group we now come to those
accounts in which the Virgin comes to the aid of the enemies of the
faith. Quite modern in tone is the story (No. 335) of a poor man who,
altho entirely ignorant of Christianity and its teachings, gave even the
little he had to the poor. The Holy Mother, knowing of his goodness,
appeared to him as a poor woman with her child in her arms and asked him
for a morsel of bread. Fearing he had none he went, nevertheless, to see
if he could not scrape out just a little more flour from the barrel.
When he returned with the last of his flour made into bread for her, she
had gone. He made inquiry thruout the neighborhood describing her, and
was finally advised to go and inquire of the Christians. There he
recognized the Virgin and Child from her image and became a Christian.
From the day she appeared to him the flour never failed in the bin.
Not only was mercy extended to those good at heart and living model
lives and to those who did not believe simply because of ignorance, but
opportunities for proselyting were quickly taken advantage of. A certain
Jewess, (No. 89) dangerously ill at childbirth, was about to despair.
Naturally she did not believe in the Virgin but she heard a mysterious
voice bidding her call on Santa María, which she did. When those
attending her heard this awful name they fled, calling her a heretic and
a renegade, but she was cured. The mother and child both became
Christians.
The Blessed Mother, however, knew mankind and did not use the same
method with every one. With some, more persuasion was necessary than
with others, and so when dealing with one hardened Jew, who had been
robbed and beaten by Christians and was still being kept on a diet of
bread and water in the hope of extorting even more from him, it was not
enough that she should merely appear to him and bid him forsake his
religion; she tells him that altho he is of the evil race she will show
him what his people have missed. With that she takes him from prison to
a high mountain where she shows him how the Jews are being tortured and
then to another from where he can see the Christians surrounded with
angels, and thence to a monastery, where, taking the hint, he gladly
becomes a Christian (No. 85).[46]
The Christians themselves used rather persuasive methods of proselyting
at times if we may trust the account of a Christian of Consuegra who
disputed much with a Moorish captive of his concerning the Virgin. When
he could not make the man believe by arguing he put him in prison, where
his efforts were supplemented by the intervention of supernatural
beings. The Devil tormented him for two nights and on the third the
Virgin appeared to him and told him if he wished to be free from the
Devil he would have to forsake the “dog” Mohammed. He told this vision
to his master, was baptised, and from that time on was a faithful
believer (No. 192).
In another (No. 205) we again find both human and divine persons
interested in the unbeliever, but this time it is physical safety they
are concerned about. The miracle was witnessed by two nobles mentioned
by name, Don Alfonso Tellez and Don Gonzalo Eanes, Maestre de Cala, and
their followers. They were attacking a Moorish castle and had set fire
to it. On one of the towers they saw a Moorish woman with her child who
by her pose reminded them of the Virgin and Child. The sight filled them
with pity and inspired them to pray for the safety of the two. In answer
the flames respected them, while the tower fell gently to the ground,
allowing them alone of all those in the castle to escape unharmed. The
mother out of gratitude asked for baptism for herself and her child.
After examining these classes, which coincide more or less with similar
ones of the first group, there still remain a number of other miracles
which present entirely new elements. First we shall examine those in
which Saint Mary aids her devotees in acts of worship or in restraining
evil passions which prevent their undivided service.
A person sincerely trying to do his religious duty could always count
upon aid from heaven when his temptations were becoming too great for
him or when worldly cares caused him temporarily to neglect his regular
worship. A very devout woman (No. 246) used to pray every Saturday
evening at the shrine of Santa María de Mártires. Once she forgot, owing
to household duties, until very late. On her arrival, altho the church
doors were already closed they opened of their own accord, after she had
begun her devotions before the portal. She entered and deposited her
gift, and as she left the doors closed of themselves. Astonished, she
returned to the city where the closed gates of the wall opened without
the touch of a human hand. Just then a beautiful woman appeared and when
the peasant asked her who she was she acknowledged herself to be the
Virgin. The poor wretch tried to kiss her feet, but as she did so the
Holy One disappeared.
Again, we learn (No. 156) of a clerk who persisted in chanting Mass in
honor of the Virgin, thereby angering some heretics who cut out his
tongue. Some time later the good man entered the church of Santa María
de Cunnegro while the congregation were singing vespers. As he attempted
to join in the song a new tongue was given him.[47]
Of the numerous legends having as the dominant theme the inability of
the person concerned to restrain his animal passions the best developed
is the story of the clerk who was much given to women. One night while
in the room with one he suddenly saw thru the window the lights of a
church of the Virgin. Never having seen them there before he left to
investigate, but finding nothing returned. This time the woman herself
closed the window fast but almost immediately a strong gust of wind blew
it open, and again the church was seen. With this he recognized his
error, repented, and became a monk. A little later, when his former
conduct was criticized and he was brought to account for it before the
church council, the Virgin cleared him of all charges (No. 151).
It will be noted that often in the foregoing miracles, and often in
those that are to follow, the Virgin appears in dreams or visions, but
the feature of the vision has usually been only incidental. In all we
have only two examples (Nos. 261 and 288) of a true mystical vision
granted for the sake of the experience alone. One of these (No. 261)
recounts how a very devout woman was desirous of seeing a perfectly
virtuous man and woman. Communicating her desire to the priest, he told
her to return home and to remain alone in fasting and prayer. This she
did and after nine days she saw a bright light followed by those who
said they were saints. These in turn were followed by the Virgin and her
Son. Upon seeing them she had no further desire to live and prayed to be
taken with them, which request was granted. When the priest was told of
her death, and undertook to prepare her body for burial, he found it
giving off an odor more delicate and pleasing to the senses than the
perfumes of the Orient.
The usual purpose of the vision is to give commands, or to strengthen
the weakhearted or discouraged.[48] There are one or two accounts,
however, in which the vision itself is enlarged upon and the cure or
command or lesson, as the case may be, sinks into minor importance. The
scene is that of a deeply grieved mother sitting beside the bed of her
very religious son, a deaf mute, who was dying of a serious illness. His
mother saw him suddenly rise up in his bed and begin to talk to some
person unseen and unheard by her. It was the Blessed Mother who had
visited him in a vision and healed him (No. 269).
At other times the vision seems to be a kind of clairvoyance thru which
the recipient sees what is happening at a distant place at that very
moment. In relating one of his own experiences Alfonso declares (No.
345) that when D. Nuño de Lara abandoned Jérez, in spite of the fact
that reenforcements had been sent him, the Moors entered, destroyed the
chapel, and tried to burn the image of the Virgin but could not. At that
particular time both the king and the queen were taking their siesta at
Seville and each dreamed of the Virgin and her Child fleeing from the
burning chapel of Jérez. On awaking they learned of the disaster and
hastened to retake the city, after which the royal couple, together with
their children, restored the church.
Similar to this in so far as the character of the vision is concerned
tho in an entirely different setting is No 15 in which Emperor Julian
was the victim. In this particular case we are presented with two
versions of the legend--one in _Las Cantigas_, originally told
supposedly by an eye witness of the events as they happened at the tomb
of the saint, and the other in the _Primera Crónica General_. In brief
they are as follow:
(Version according to _Las Cantigas_, No. 15)
Emperor Julian had to pass thru Caesarea, where, angered by San
Basilio, he promised to return and destroy the city after the
conquest of Persia. After much prayer and fasting by the entire
city San Basilio had a vision in which he saw the Virgin appear and
order San Mercurio, whose tomb and armor were in that church, to
avenge her and her son of the evil emperor. Upon awaking an excited
fellow priest hastened to report that the arms of San Mercurio had
disappeared. San Basilio then called together the people to tell
them the news and together they went to examine the tomb. To their
surprise the arms were again in their place red with blood. While
they were still gazing, astonished, at the bloody weapons, Libano
de Sur rushed in and confirmed the news of the emperor’s death.
(Version in the _Primera Crónica General_, p. 201)
Emperor Julian, on setting out to conquer Persia, promised to
sacrifice to his gods if they would give him victory all the
Christians, especially all the bishops, he should find. As he was
returning victoriously from the East he was about to lose many of
his host thru lack of water. Against the advice of his counselors
he took as a guide one of the men of the country and,
unaccompanied, went with him in search of water. Suddenly a strange
knight appeared before the two, killed the emperor and instantly
disappeared. As he expired the emperor took some of his blood in
his hand and throwing it heavenward as tho throwing it in the face
of someone cried out “Ya uenciste, Galileo, ya uenciste.” (He
always referred to Jesus as Galileo). The compilers add that some
histories say the emperor was killed by one of the enemy knights
but in reality it was San Mercurio, for in the church where his
body lay it was noticed that his shield and sword disappeared that
very day and hour and that they were back in place the next day
stained with blood. Because of this it was known that the strange
knight was none other than San Mercurio who had killed the great
enemy of the faith.
In this last version the vision motif is entirely lacking.
At other times the vision takes on a kind of symbolic or mystic feature,
its purpose being to strengthen the faith of the one concerned. One in
which the acts of Saint Mary astonish us is that experienced by some
nuns commissioned by a religious and devout king (probably Alfonso
himself altho he was too modest to say so) to pray for him. They saw the
Virgin calling for the king on Easter morning, saying she would grant
anything he asked if he would come. He entered the church and as he did
so the image kneeled before him and kissed his hand. He immediately fell
on his face in humility. She, thru her image, bade him rise for, she
said, “You have always honored me and my Son and when you die you will
come to us.” After witnessing such magnanimous acts the vision passed
and the nuns hastened to tell the king what they had seen. He was devout
before, but this greatly increased his devotion (No. 295).
The line between experiences having the mystical element usually
considered essential in visions proper, or in dream-visions, and those
experiences which some few persons undergo while in full control of all
their faculties is so fine as to be at times almost undistinguishable.
The following (No. 365) has, indeed, all the marks of a vision but on
the other hand the friar manifests none of those emotions usually
supposed to accompany such cases. This clerk, contaminated with the
Albigensien heresy, did not believe in the immortality of the soul and
therefore was about to flee from the convent to a life of pleasure, when
he saw the Virgin descend from heaven with a host of angels and return
with the soul of a poor, humble, but believing man. This convinced him
of his error and he passed the rest of his life in the convent full of
holy hope.
The rôle of a saint who admonishes and warns is quite common for the
Blessed Mother. She is indeed in many respects like a mother who
carefully watches over her children, ready to offer a word of comfort
here or one of criticism there. Just like a school boy who tires of his
task and is ready to flee before its completion was a friar of Burgos
who began a garment of prayers for the Virgin, but was persuaded by the
Devil to leave the monastic life with his task half finished. She,
however, appeared to him holding in her hand a dress far too short, and
told him to return and finish the work, adding that she wanted him, too,
for he was going to die within one year, but that she would come again
before the final day. 364 days later she did return and he died on the
day following (No. 274)[49].
Another picture, so very human and so child-like, is that of a doctor
who became a friar, but, not liking the poor food, complained
considerably. To cure him of this the Virgin appeared with a dish of
delicious food and, treating the whole community as so many children,
gave some to each one except the complaining clerk. He acknowledged and
accepted the lesson (No. 88).
Various methods besides that of the vision are employed to warn the
delinquent. These can be best illustrated by giving a brief résumé of
three miracles which need no comment.
A gambler, losing heavily (No. 154) curses God and the Virgin and in
defiance of their power picks up a bow and shoots an arrow into the
sky, shouting “D’aquesta uegada ou a Deus ou a sa Madre darei mui gran
saetada”. Having thus given vent to his feelings he returns to play. A
few moments later the arrow, wet with blood, falls on the table around
which they are seated. Thinking someone has been wounded, each hastily
examines himself. When each is found whole the true significance dawns
on them and they become terrified indeed. So great is the effect that
the blasphemer repents and enters an austere order--and, it is said,
gained heaven.
In No. 196 a gentile[50] priest who hated everything connected with
Christianity prepared a mold for an image which he expected would answer
all his questions. When it came out it had a form quite different from
what he had anticipated, so he asked his fellows what it was. They could
not help him. Finally some of his Christian acquaintances told him that
it was the form of the Virgin, and to prove their assertion took him to
the church where he could see for himself. This experience convinced him
of his error and he was converted.
The Bishop of Siena (No. 219) had several images made for the church,
all in white. Among them was one of the Devil and one of Santa María. As
this color did not make Satan look as vile as he really was the Virgin
turned the figure black. The prelate, hearing of the change, thought it
was some trick and ordered the image washed and scraped, but without
result. It was black thru and thru. He then recognized his sin and
prayed for forgiveness.
The hope of reward has ever been one of the strongest arguments offered
by any religion. The Mohammedans, the greatest rivals of the Christians
at that time, offered thru their faith attractive rewards in the next
life, as did Christianity also. But for the peasant and also for the man
of the middle class as well as occasionally even for the noble, the
future life was something afar off; reward in the present life was much
more attractive and it was this that the Virgin granted from time to
time to a chosen few. The first miracle recorded in the collection (No.
2) is the old and even then well-known legend of the mantle the Virgin
gave to San Ildefonso for his service and which at his death his
successor in office, Don Siagrio, dared to appropriate, dying as the
result of his sacrilege[51].
Usually the favor was in return for some special service. In No. 141 it
is an answer to the eternal desire to grow young and is bestowed upon a
certain very devout friar who always fell on his knees when he heard the
name of the Virgin. When very old the abbot assigned two monks to
accompany and care for him, but one day when left alone for a few
moments he fell and could not rise. He called on the Saint, who appeared
and led him by the hand before her altar, where she told him to kiss it
and become young. To his great surprise he found himself again a young
man of about twenty years.
No. 63 is especially interesting, not only because of its contents but
also of its similarity to the story found in the second part of _La
Primera Crónica General_ (p. 426). A knight, the constant companion of
the Count D. García in his campaigns against the Moors, was extremely
conscientious in his devotions and always stayed until Mass was entirely
over before leaving. One day, due to this, he was late in arriving on
the field of battle, tho no one had missed him. As he rode up the Count
met and embraced him and bade him have his wounds dressed,
congratulating him at the same time, saying that it had been his skill
and valor that had saved the day. Shamefacedly the knight glanced at his
armor and was surprised beyond words to see it full of holes and bloody.
He then realized that some divine messenger had taken his place; and all
rejoiced in the miracle.[52]
In another instance (No. 105) the reward is the gift of healing, tho
this time it is not, as is so often the case, by means of a mantle. The
Blessed Virgin appeared to a young girl early in life and told her if
she wished to gain heaven she must remain a virgin. The child promised,
but her parents married her against her will. She repelled her husband
for over a year until, beside himself, he wounded her with a knife.
About this time the people of the community began to fall ill with
leprosy. She too took the disease and, still suffering from her wound,
went to the altar of Santa María. While there, asleep from exhaustion,
she was visited in a dream by the Holy Mother who appeared in her dream,
cured her, and gave her the power of healing all lepers with her kiss.
There are also a few accounts of the faithful being taken to heaven when
life has become intolerable (Nos. 384, 56, etc.).
Just as Santa María, when answering prayer, is not limited in her power
to curing bodily ills but may also protect from harm, so in bestowing
rewards she does not confine her mercies to those who are suffering. In
fact she much more frequently protects them from such harm. Naturally,
miracles of this type, all in return for faithful service, cover a large
variety of cases such as: the congregation miraculously saved from harm
when a heavy beam fell during a sermon (No. 266), a pilgrim saved on
falling into the sea (No. 33), a wife saved from an angry husband
because she spent too much time at devotions (No. 314), a boy freed
after capture by the Moors (No. 359), a clerk who lost his position
because he could say only one Mass ordered reenstated (No. 32), and one
that reminds us of Coleridge’s “Ancient Mariner,” the story of a hermit
captured by pirates after they had sacked the surrounding country and
were ready to sail away. They started with him on board but each night
some mysterious power brought their ships back to where they had been
the day before. At last the admiral decided to release the hermit, Count
Abran of Germany, and in addition offered him great riches of which he
selected only one glass to keep as a reminder of the favor he had
received at divine hands (No. 95).
Quite often Saint Mary protects her own from unjust punishment. A
confidential adviser of a certain lord was falsely accused by his
enemies. Because of his devotion to Santa María she caused the truth to
be brought out at the trial so that he was freed while his maligner was
burned. She proves equal to the occasion when her followers are
submitted to the ordeal of trial by fire[53]. A married woman’s
mother-in-law accused her before her husband of unfaithfulness. The wife
and the Moor with whom she was accused and who had agreed to act as an
accomplice of the mother-in-law were taken to the public square to be
burned. The Moor perished immediately but the woman was unharmed, and
furthermore the Virgin was seen beside her in the fire (No. 186).
The motherly characteristic of Santa María again comes to the front in
No. 47 when she rewards a good priest who has always been punctual in
his duties but gives way once and, yielding to temptation, becomes
thoroly drunk. This she does by caring for him on his way home, when the
Devil in the form of a bull, a frightful black man, and a lion torments
him. She protects him even to the point of striking the lion with a
stick, then she tells him to go and sin no more.[54] At another time she
rewards a faithful servant by keeping his wife from harm while he is
away in the wars. During his absence a gallant courts her and sends her
a pair of shoes. She puts one on to try it and to her dismay is unable
to remove it. In fact no one could do so until her husband returned,
when he took it off with ease (No. 64).
Santa María is particular about vows that have been made to her and is
careful to see that they are conscientiously fulfilled. A woman (No.
117) promised never to work on Saturday, that day being dedicated to the
Mother of Christ. When she forgot her vow she was stricken with
paralysis. Another mother who forgot her vow made while praying that she
might have a child, was punished by having it die before reaching
maturity (No. 347).
The conception of “The Bride of Christ” on taking the vows of a nun
remains even to the present time. In the Middle Ages, when the cult of
the Virgin was at its zenith, the vow of celibacy on the part of men
seems to have had a similar appeal with respect to consecration to the
worship and love of the Virgin while she is constantly represented as
being extremely jealous of those who have thus dedicated themselves to
her. One young man made the vow either under the inspiration of the
moment or perhaps even partly in jest, but this did not make it any the
less binding. As he was about to begin to play ball he removed the ring
of his fiancée from his finger for fear of damaging it, and as he
happened to be standing near an image of the Virgin he slipped it on its
finger saying as he did so that he would never love another woman. To
his surprise and great fear the image bent its finger so the ring could
not be removed. His friends advised a monastic life but he did not heed
them, shortly afterwards forgetting all about the incident and preparing
to marry. But the Virgin appeared to him in two successive dreams and in
her anger so disturbed the youth that he wandered aimlessly for a month
and then entered a monastery (No. 42). She was a little more lenient at
times with young nuns who violated their promise. In fact nearly all
those miracles termed unmoral are cases where the Blessed Mother out of
pity shielded these same girls from what was considered their just
punishment.
As well as being jealous of those who have consecrated themselves to
her, the Virgin guards with the greatest care her shrines, her own
images and those of her Son, her feast days, and the special customs,
etc., that grew up around her individual sanctuaries. She protected her
church of Monsarás (Portugal) from an avalanche (No. 113), and the one
in Murcia from the political wiles of man by making it impossible to
remove as much as one nail (No. 169). Later she saved this same church
when even Alfonso X himself consented to its destruction, and still
later against the ravages of the Moors. During this period of constant
war she frequently had occasion to guard her images against the
Mohammedans (Nos. 99, 183, etc.), or against sacrilegious acts of
supposed Christians (Nos. 136, 293, etc.). This might be accomplished by
causing the images to remain intact amid general destruction of all
other objects (No. 99), or to pass thru a severe fire unharmed (No. 39).
The occupation of the offenders might be brought to a standstill (No.
183), the offender himself might be physically harmed (No. 293), or the
image might put up its arm to protect itself (No. 136). Santa María de
Ribila would allow nothing but olive oil to be burned before her shrine
(No. 304).
Neither will she tolerate the making and maltreatment of effigies of her
Son.[55] A heavenly voice at Mass warns the congregation, “The Jews who
are killing my Son do not desire to be at peace with Him”. The
Christians rush to the Jewish quarter and find the Jews engaged in
beating and spitting upon an effigy of Jesus which they are preparing to
crucify. All the Jews perish on the rack for the deed (No. 12). In No.
215 in a little town near Martos a Moor attempts to stab an image but
wounds himself instead; stones it but it remains unharmed; puts it in
the fire for two days but it is not affected; ties a stone around its
neck and then throws it in the river but it does not sink. The King of
Granada then sends it to the king of Castile, who is at Segovia; he
receives it with great joy and orders it put in his chapel.[56]
It is necessary to approach the church of the Virgin with due humility
and in a penitent state of mind. Wilful sinners can not force an entry
until they have duly and earnestly repented (Nos. 98, 217, etc.),
neither are Moors allowed to enter for unholy purposes, but are struck
blind and paralyzed, etc. (No. 229). Acts of violence committed in the
church are always fittingly punished with disease, paralysis, or death.
Sometimes such punishment is accompanied by significant acts by the
image of María, sometimes not. In No. 164, because of the affront
offered by the Infante D. Fernando in arresting a prior before the altar
on the charge of counterfeiting money, the image of the Virgin separated
itself from that of the Son and lost its color. After the repentance of
the Infante the form of the mother went back to that of the Son but
never regained its color.
No. 38 has the added element, by no means uncommon, of the Devil or of
demons acting as the agents of God in killing the offenders. This time
it was the Conde de Poitiers who with his men entered and desecrated the
sanctuary, one going so far as to maltreat the image of the Virgin with
the Child in her arms by striking it, thereby breaking one of the arms.
To his surprise and horror, blood flowed freely from the wound. Demons
killed the guilty person, and hearing of it the Count vindicated himself
by punishing all those implicated. So particular is the Virgin about the
sacredness of her shrines that some pilgrims at Santa María de Terena
after becoming engaged in a terrible fight among themselves during the
night, were awe-struck, on going out to collect the dead and wounded, to
find them all well and reconciled, altho their armor was battered and
broken. The Blessed Mother would not tolerate Christian blood shed by
Christians in front of her church (No. 198).
Those legends which have to do with the earthly life of the Mother of
Jesus are very rare, and when we do find them it almost startles us to
think she was ever considered as a person, human in all respects as they
were and living on this earth. We learn, however (No. 27), that in the
time of the apostles, the Christians had bought a synagogue intending to
convert it into a church. When the Jews hear of their intention they
reclaim it and carry the matter before Caesar. The Christians go to
Mary, who is then living at Mount Sion and ask her advice. She tells
them not to fear, for she will help them at the trial. When the day
arrives the case is called in the church building. As Peter takes his
place beside the altar an image of Mary appears on the altar cloth. This
is too much for the Jews, who refuse to carry the trial further.
Tradition has it that this was the first church dedicated to Santa
María. Some time later Emperor Julian ordered the Jews to take away the
image of the Virgin, but it frowned on them in such a manner that they
feared to touch it.[57]