"A Holy Alliance: Alfonso X’s Use of Marian Poetry," by Connie L. Scarborough

A Holy Alliance: Alfonso X’s Use of Marian Poetry, by Connie L. Scarborough (University of Cincinnati). Scarborough explores the political themes and messages embedded in the king’s collection of miracles attributed to the Virgin—Las Cantigas de Santa Maria. While this study does not reject the religious sincerity of this great Alfonsine project, it shows that the political implications for these songs were also principle concerns in the monarch’s text. Special attention is paid to those songs which are narrated in the first-person. Even though the use of a narrative “I” is not proof of Alfonso’s personal authorship of any of the songs, this narrative device is frequent in those tales that relate the many challenges the king faced or events for which he claims to be an eye-witness. The author takes a fresh look at the propagandistic potential in songs related to historical events, especially the conversion of the Moorish city of Alcanate into the Christian town of El Puerto de Santa Ma