Abstract
The Galician-Portuguese Cantigas de Santa Maria ("Songs of Holy Mary") sponsored by Alfonso X the Learned, the king of Castilians and Romans (d. 1284), represent a climax in high medieval veneration of the Virgin Mary, at least from the quantitative point of view. This book offers a complete translation of the collection as preserved in the manuscript To (Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional de España, ms.10069) into modern Czech.
The translation, rendered in prose, is accompanied by a monographic study that explores the character of Mary, the medieval concept of miracle and the interplay between the Castilian King's cultural project and his poetic milieu. It is shown, then, how by depicting the Christian universe as a space inhabited mainly by various sinners, Jews, heretics, in addition to fi gures of saints who, nevertheless, have their own imperfections, the series of poems praising Mary and narratives about her power serves the king to demonstrate his own power.
This demonstration is achieved paradoxically through an explicit statement of the Learned King's inability to put an end to the whole collection.