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 72 is clearly illustrated by a frame from the left of the lower section of the North Wall, to the left of the door.
Cantiga 74
Quen Santa Maria quiser deffender
The most glorious Virgin
Como Santa Maria guareceu o pintor que o demo quisera matar porque o pintava feo.
How Saint Mary saved the painter whom the Devil wanted to kill because he painted him ugly.
Quen Santa Maria quiser deffender, |
To anyone whom Saint Mary defends |
Previously in Cantiga 74: A painter always tried to paint images of the Virgin Mary as beautiful as he could, and the devil uglier than any other image. The devil appeared to him and asked "why do you disdain me – why make me look so ugly to everyone looking at me?" The painter replies that he has good reason, "for you always do evil and shun good."
The Devil got angry and threatened to kill the painter. He looked for a way to kill him quickly. One day he saw him painting an image of the Virgin, composed so that it would be very beautiful. So the evil devil caused a great wind to blow through the church and knock over the scaffolding.
The wind blew into the church and destroyed the scaffolding on which the painter was standing. However, he called on the Virgin, Mother of God, to aid him. At once, She came help his and made him hang onto his paintbrush. So he did not fall down, and the Devil could not harm him at all. The people came at once at the loud crash the falling timbers made and they saw how the painter was hanging from the brush. |
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 the image from Cantiga 74 |
In a future episode: The people see the pitch-black devil flee from the church where he been defeated, and they gave thanks for this to the Mother of Our Lord, who assists Her own in time of great trouble.