Introduction (strophes 1-46)
1–Friends and vassals of Almighty God/ if it pleases you to listen to me,/ I would like to relate a fortunate experience./ Afterwards you will truly consider it wonderful.
2–I, Master Gonzalo de Berceo,/ while on a pilgrimage happened to pause in a meadow1The meadow is an evocation of the medieval locus amounts and symbolically associates the garden paradise with the Virgin Mary. As the allegory of the meadow unfolds, emphasis is placed on its perfection and perpetually pure or virginal state./ green and untouched, full of flowers–/ a desirable place for a weary man.
3–The flowers there emitted a marvelous fragrance;/ they were refreshing to the spirit and to the body/ From each corner sprang clear, flowing fountains,/ very cool in summer and warm in winter.
4–There was a profusion of fine trees–/ pomegranate and fig, pear and apple,/ and many other fruits of various kinds./ But none were spoiled or sour.
5–The greenness of the meadow, the fragrance of the flowers,/ the shade of the trees of soothing aromas/ refreshed me completely and I ceased to perspire./ Anyone could live with those fragrances.
6–Never in this world did I find so delightful a place,/ nor so soothing a shade, nor so pleasant a fragrance;/ I removed my garment for a more comfortable repose/ and lay under the shade of a beautiful tree.
7–Lying in the shade, I forgot all my cares;/ I heard sweet, modulated bird songs./ There never was heard music of organs so finely tuned,/ nor could more harmonious sounds be made.
8–Some birds carried the fifth, while others doubled,/ others held the basic melody, keeping everyone from erring./ Upon resting and moving, they all waited for each other./ No dull or raucous birds came near there!
9–There was no organist, vihuela player,/ nor giga, psaltery, or rota-player’s hand,2Vihuela, giga, and rota are medieval stringed instruments, comparable to the guitar, the viola, and the harp, respectively. / nor other instrument, or tongue, or so clear a voice/ whose song would be worth a penny in comparison.
10–Although we told you of all these virtues,/ rest assured we did not tell a tenth of them/ for there was such diversity of splendors/ that neither priors nor abbots could count them.
11–The meadow I am telling you about had another fine quality:/ in neither heat nor cold did it lose its beauty;/it was always green in its entirety./ It did not lose its verdure in any storm.
12–As soon as I had stretched out on the ground,/ I was immediately freed of all suffering;/ I forgot all worries and past burdens./ Anyone living there would be very lucky indeed!
13–No matter how many men or birds came there/ and carried away all the flowers they wished, there was never a lack of flowers in the meadow;/ for each one that they plucked three and four would spring up.3This spontaneous regeneration is in keeping with the intactness of the meadow mentioned earlier.
14–This meadow seemed like Paradise/ into which God put such great grace, such great blessing./ He who created such a thing was a wise master;/ any man who should dwell here would never lose his sight.
15–The fruit of the trees was sweet and delicious;/ if Adam had eaten such fruit,/ he would not have been so badly deceived./ Neither Eve nor her husband would have suffered such harm!
16–Gentle people and friends, what we have just said/ is an obscure parable and we wish to explain it./ Let us remove the husk and get into the marrow.4A common medieval metaphor for delving into the real or symbolic meaning below the surface./ Let us take what is within, and what is without let us leave aside.
17–All we who live and stand upright,/ even if we are in prison or bedridden,/ are pilgrims walking down the road./ Saint Peter says so–we prove it to you through him.
18–As long as we live here, we dwell in a foreign land;/ the everlasting dwelling place we await on high./ Our pilgrimage, then, we finish/ when we send our souls to Paradise.
19–On this pilgrimage we have a good meadow/ in which any weary pilgrim will find refuge:/ the Glorious Virgin, Mother of the Good Servant,/ the equal of Whom has never been found.
20–This meadow was always green in purity/ for Her virginity never was stained;/ postpartum et in partu5Latin for “after giving birth and during birth.” She truly was a virgin/ undefiled, incorrupt in Her integrity.
21–The four clear streams flowing from the meadow/ signified the four Gospels,/ for the Evangelists, the four who delivered them,6The authors of the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John./ talked with Her as they wrote.
22–Everything they wrote, She emended./ That which She praised was indeed true./ It seems that She was the source from which all waters flowed/ while without Her nothing received guidance.
23–The shade of the trees, good, sweet and healthful,/ in which all pilgrims take respite/ indeed are the prayers that Holy Mary says,/ She who prays for sinners day and night.
24–All who are in this world, the righteous and the sinful,/ regular and secular clergy, kings and emperors,/ we all hasten there, vassals and lords,/ all of us seek Her shade to gather the flowers.
25–The trees that make sweet and blessed shade/ are the holy miracles that the Glorious One performs/ for they are much sweeter than the delicious sugar/ given to the sick in their delirious suffering.7Sugar was a luxury item in the Middle Ages, used primarily in medicines.
26–The birds that sing in those fruit trees,/ that have sweet voices and sing devout songs,/ they are Augustine, Gregory, and others,/ who wrote about Her true deeds.
27–These had love and loyalty for Her/ and praised Her deeds with all their might;/ they told of Her, each in his own way;/ but throughout it all they held to one belief.
28–The nightingale sings with fine skill,/ and even the lark makes great melody,/ but Isaiah sang much better,/ as did the other prophets, honored company.
29–The apostles sang in a most natural tone;/ the confessors and martyrs did likewise;/ the virgins followed the great and powerful Mother/ singing before Her a very joyous song.
30–In all the churches, every day,/ the clergy sings lauds before Her./ All pay court to the Virgin Mary:/ they are the most pleasing nightingales.
31–Let us turn to the flowers that comprise the meadow,/ which make it beautiful, fair, and serene./ The flowers are the names the book gives/ to the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Good Servant.
32–The Blessed Virgin is called Star,/ Star of the Seas, Longed-For Guide,/ She is watched by mariners in peril/ for when they see Her, their ship is guided.
33–She is called and She is Queen of Heaven,/ Temple of Jesus Christ, Morning Star,/ Natural Mistress, Merciful Neighbor,/ Health and Cure of Bodies and Souls.
34–She is the Fleece that was Gideon’s,/ on which fell the rain, a great vision;/ She is the Sling with which young David/ destroyed the ferocious giant.8The use of these Old Testament figures suggest that they point to Mary’s role in fulfilling the divine plan.
35–She is the Fount from which we all drink,/ She gave us the food of which we all eat;/ She is called the Port to which we all hasten,/ and the Gate through which we all await entrance.
36–She is called the Closed Gate;/ for us She is open, to give us entrance;/ She is the Gall-Cleaned Dove/ in Whom lies no wrath; She is always pleased.
37–She rightfully is called Zion,/ for She is our Watchtower, our Defense;/ She is called the Throne of King Solomon,/ king of justice and admirably wise.
38–There exists no goodly name/ that in some way does not apply to Her/ there is none that does not have its root in Her,/ neither Sancho nor Domingo, not Sancha nor Dominga.9These names, like all Christina names, can be traced to Mary. In these specific cases, Sanctus (holy) and Dominicus (belonging to the Lord).
39–She is called Vine, She is Grape, Almond and Pomegranate,/ replete with its grains of grace,/ Olive, Cedar, Balsam, leafy Palm,/ Rod upon which the serpent was raised.
40–The Staff that Moses carried in his hand,10Exodus 4.2-4, 4.17, 9.23, 10.13, 14.21, 14.27./ that confounded the wise men esteemed by Pharaoh,/ the one that parted the waters and then closed them/ if it did not signify the Virgin, it signified nothing.
41–If we think upon the other staff/ that settled the dispute concerning Aaron,11Numbers 17./ it signified nothing else–so says the text–/ but the Glorious One, and with good reason.
42–Gentlefolk and friends, in vain do we argue/ for we enter a great well, whose bottom we cannot find;/ we would read more of Her names/ than there are flowers in the largest field we know.
43–We have already said that the fruit trees/ in which the birds were singing their various songs/ were Her holy miracles, great and outstanding,/ which we sing on the principal feast days.
44–But I want to leave behind those singing birds,/ the shade, the founts, and the aforementioned flowers/ and about these fruit trees so full of sweetness/ write a few verses, gentlefolk and friends.
45–I want to climb up into those trees for a little while/ and write about some of Her miracles./ May the Glorious One guide me so that I may complete the task/ for I would not dare to undertake it otherwise.
46–I will take it as a miracle wrought by the Glorious One/ if She should deign to guide me in this task/ Mother Full of Grace, Powerful Queen,/ guide me in it, for You are merciful.
Miracle 8 (strophes 182-219)
The Pilgrim Deceived by the Devil12This miracle is translated from the Spanish original, which can be found herein under Gonzalo de Berceo/ Milagros de Nuestra Señora/ “El romero engañado por el enemigo malo”
182–Gentlefolk and friends, for God’s and charity’s sake,/ hear another miracle, which is truly lovely; Saint Hugh, abbot of Cluny,13Saint Hugh (1024-1109) became abbot of Cluny in 1049 at the age of twenty-five. Adviser to contemporary sovereigns and popes, he ruled over more than a thousand monasteries and dependencies. wrote it/ for it happened to a monk of his order.
183–A friar of his house who was called Guiralt/ before becoming a monk was not very wise;/ sometimes he committed the folly and sin/ of an unmarried man without obligations.
184–He decided one day, there where he was,/ to go on a pilgrimage to the Apostle of Spain;14Saint James the Greater, whose shrine at Compostela was one of the leading pilgrimage destinations in the Middle Ages./ he arranged his affairs, and looked for his companions/ they determined when and how they would make their way.
185–When they were about to leave he did a vile thing:/ instead of keeping vigil, he lay with his mistress./ He did not do penance as the law says/ and set out on the way with this stinging nettle.15Literally, an “evil nettle’ [mala hormiga], used here figuratively to refer to his sin. The nettle is the plant armed with stinging or prickly hairs. Thus, the pilgrims sets out with the irritating “nettle” or “sin” since he did not repent and free himself from it.
186–He had covered only a little of the journey,/ it was perhaps about the third day,/ when he had an encounter along the way/ that appeared to be good, though in truth it was not.
187–The old Devil was always a traitor/ and is a skillful master of all sin;/ sometimes he appears as an angel of the Creator/ but he is a cunning devil, an enticer to evil.
188–The false one transformed himself into the semblance of an angel,/ and stood before the pilgrim in the midst of a path:/”Welcome, my friend,11 he said to the pilgrim,/ “you seem to me a little thing, innocent like a lamb.
189–You left your house to come to mine,/ but upon leaving you committed a folly/ You intend to complete the pilgrimage without penance- / Holy Mary will not reward you for this!”
190–“Who are you, sir?” the pilgrim said to him./ And he responded: “I am James, son of Zebedee/ Be aware, friend, that you are wandering astray;/ it seems you have no desire to save yourself.”
191–Guiralt said: “Well, sir, what do you command?/ I want to comply with all that you tell me,/ for I see that I have committed great iniquities,/ I did not do the penance that the abbots dictate.”
192–The false James responded: “This is my judgment:/ that you cut off the parts of your body that commit fornication;/ then cut your throat: thus will you do service to God,/ for you will make sacrifice to him of your very flesh.”
193–The ill-starred one, crazed and foolish, believed him;/ he took out his knife that he had sharpened;/ the poor crazy wretch cut off his genitals;/ then he slit his own throat and died excommunicated.
194–When the companions with whom he had set out/ arrived to where Guiralt was and saw him like that,/ they were in greater affliction than they ever had been;/ how this had come to pass they could not imagine!
195–They saw that his throat had not been cut by thieves/ since they had taken nothing from him nor robbed him;/ he had not been challenged by anyone;/ they did not know how this had come about.
196–They all quickly fled and scattered;/ they thought they would be suspected of this death;/ even though they were not guilty of the deed,/ perhaps they would be taken prisoner and accused.
197–The one who gave the advice, together with his followers,/ big and little, small and large,/ falsehearted traitors, they shackled his soul/ and were carrying it to the fire, to the cruel sweats.
198–They were carrying it, and not gently;/ Saint James, whose pilgrimage it was,/ saw it; he came out in great haste to the road/ and stood before them in the front rank.
199–“Free,” he said, “oh, evil ones, the prisoner that you carry,/ for he is not quite as surely yours as you think;/ hold him carefully; do not use force against him./ I believe you cannot even if you try.”
200–A devil retorted, he stood there obstinately:/ “James, you are trying to make mock of all of us;/ you want to go against what is right,/ you have some wicked scheme under your scapular.
201–Guiralt committed a sin, he killed himself with his own hand,/ he must be judged as a brother of Judas;16Judas Iscariot who betrayed Christ committed suicide [Matthew 27.5]./ he is in all ways our parishioner;/ James, do not try to be villainous towards us!”
202–Saint James said to him: “Treacherous tongue wagger,/ your speech cannot be worth a bogus coin;/ using my voice, as a false advocate/ you gave bad advice, you killed my pilgrim!
203–Had you not told him that you were Saint James,/ had you not shown him the sign of my scallop shells,17An attribute off Saint James of Compostela, the scallop shell was also worn as a badge by his pilgrims./ he would not have harmed his body with his own scissors/ nor would he lie as he lies, outside in the road.
204–I am greatly offended by your behavior;/ I consider my image mocked by you;/ you killed my pilgrim with a skillful lie./ Moreover, I see his soul mistreated.
205–Let me await the judgment of the Virgin Mary:/ I appeal to Her in this case;/ otherwise I will never be rid of you,/ for I see that you bring very great treachery.”
206–They presented their arguments before the Glorious One,/ the matter was well stated by each party./ The Precious Queen understood the arguments/ and the dispute ended appropriately:
207–“The deceit that he suffered must be held in his favor,/ he thought he was obeying Saint James,/and that in so doing he would be saved;/ the deceiver should suffer more.’
208–“She said: “I order this and give it as judgment:/ the soul over which you have the dispute/ shall return to its body and do penance,/ then as he merits shall he be judged.”
209–This sentence was carried out, it was sanctioned by God./ The wretched soul was returned to the body;/ even though it grieved the Devil and all his band,/ the soul went back to its former abode.
210–The body, which was lying there dazed, arose./ Guiralt of the slit throat cleaned his face/ and stood there a short while like someone bewildered,/ like a man who is sleeping and awakens annoyed.
211–As for the wound he had from the throat-cutting,/ its scar barely showed, and all pain and fever had ended./ Everyone said: “This man was indeed fortunate!”
212–Of everything else he was healed and mended,/ except for a tiny line that crossed him,/ but his private parts, all that were cut off,/ never grew back one bit and he remained in that condition.
213–He was completely sound, with everything healed over,/ and, for passing water, the hole remained./ He requested those provisions that he had been carrying on his back./ He prepared to go on his way, happy and content.
214–He gave thanks to God and to Holy Mary/ and to the holy apostle whose pilgrimage he was making;/ he made haste and found his company:/ they had this miracle for comfort each day.
215–This great marvel was sounded throughout Compostela,/ and all the townspeople came out to see him/ saying: “Such a thing as this we must write down,/ those who are yet to come will take pleasure in hearing it.”
216–When he went back to his homeland, having finished the journey,/ and people heard what had happened,/ there was great commotion, they were moved/ upon seeing this Lazarus returned from death to life.18Lazarus, the other of Mary and Martha, was resuscitated by Christ after being dead for days [John 11.1-44].
217–And this pilgrim pondered his fortune:/ how God had delivered him from the wicked teeth./ He abandoned the world, friends and relatives;/ he entered the abbey of Cluny; he dressed in a penitent’s habit.
218–Hugh, a good man, abbot of Cluny,/ a religious man of very great holiness,/ told this miracle that truly happened./ He put it in writing; he did an honorable thing.
219–Guiralt died in the order, leading a good life,/ serving the Creator in word and in deed,/persevering in good, repenting of sin./ The evil enemy did not go off laughing at him.19The evil enemy is the devil./ For all that he had sinned, he made good amends to God.
The two compositions are taken from Gonzalo de Berceo, Miracles of Our Lady, translated by Richard Terry Mount and Annette Grant Cash, UP of Kentucky, 1997, pp. 22-27, 49-53.