The Lady Chapel in Winchester Cathedral has some wonderful wall paintings, which represent miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary. I believe that most of them are drawn from the Cantigas de Santa Maria of Alfonso the Wise. Cantiga 24 is illustrated by a frame from the left hand end of the lower section of the south wall, next to the door.
Cantiga 24
Madre de Deus, non pod' errar
Mother of God, it is not possible for wrong
Esta é como Santa Maria fez nacer ha fror na boca ao crerigo, depois que foi morto,
e era en semellança de lilio, porque a loava.
How the Saint Mary made a flower bloom in the mouth of a monk, after he died,
it was like a lily, because he praised her.
Madre de Deus, non pod' errar |
Mother of God, it is not possible for wrong |
Previously in Cantiga 24: There was a young priest in Chartres who was a thief and a gambler, although he had great faith in the Virgin. Whenever he went out to do ill, if he saw an image of the Holy Mary, he would delay and prayed to it before going on his bad way.
Because of his sinful ways, he died without confession, and so they would not bury him in consecrated ground. The Virgin appears to a priest in a dream and tells him that they did wrong by doing this to "her" priest. She tells him "Early tomorrow, may God forgive you, fetch him with mourning and reverence, to pay for your great error."
The priest gets up at once, has the bells rung and rushes to see the anticipated miracle, singing the Kyrie. Where the young priest was lying, God has given an indication of His grace: because the priest had always praised His Mother, a flower like a lily is blooming from his mouth. |
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In a future episode: After the sermon is over. they take him away dancing.