Holy Mary of the Snows: A Roman Miracle Known in Alfonso X’s Kingdom of Castile and Leon

Abstract

This article addresses Alfonso’s miracle about a vision of the Virgin to the Pope and Emperor which foretold the snow which was to fall in August in Rome. Little has been written about the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows with regard to the Cantigas de Santa Maria (CSM), the Marian miracle collection compiled by Alfonso X, King of Castile and Leon. However, the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows begins to appear in Castilian and Leonese breviaries from the very beginning of the fourteenth century, shortly after the death of Alfonso in 1284. Comparing the near-contemporary versions of the miracle reveals that Alfonso’s version of the miracle foregrounds the relationship of the Pope and Emperor, whereas the liturgical versions include the vision of the Pope as well as of the Patrician John and his wife. This article concludes that Alfonso, seeking to promote his imperial ambitions, may have brought this miracle and others back to Castile. No trace of the miracle exists in the kingdom before Alfonso’s CSM. Alfonso sought to emphasize the collaboration of Pope and Emperor which suited his purpose. The foundation of the Basilica dedicated to the Virgin in Rome paralleled the cathedral founded in the city of Seville, recently conquered by his father.

1. Introduction

A large number of the miracles collated by the King of Castile and Leon, Alfonso X (1221–1284), regularly nicknamed ‘the Wise’, in the Cantigas de Santa Maria (CSM), are set in the Iberian Peninsula.1 There are also several set outside the borders of Alfonso’s kingdom. Many miracles relate to principal pilgrimage locations in southern France, such as Rocamadour or Le Puy as well as to pilgrim sites like Montserrat in the neighbouring kingdom of Aragon. Miracles about the Virgin Mary had already been collected in Rocamadour, but also in Soissons and Chartres (Brea 2004–2005, p. 281). Most scholars today do not consider Alfonso sole author of the CSM, whilst still recognizing his skill as a poet (Snow 2019, p. 136). Alfonso’s miracles, written in Galician-Portuguese, were compiled by a group of poets, working under his direction.

One of the miracles in the CSM recounts the miracle of snow which fell in Rome on 5 August, an event commemorated by a feast day dedicated to the Virgin.2 This miracle in the CSM has been previously studied with reference to its links to Italian lands and places (Teza 1887; Molina López 2011), to Italian liturgies (Pelaez 1923), and to a collection of Italian miracles (Mettmann 1988; Negri 2017). How the miracle Alfonso narrates in Cantiga 309 relates to Castilian liturgy has so far not been examined. This article intends to examine contemporary and later Hispanic liturgies for evidence of the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows and set this evidence alongside Alfonso’s recounting of the miracle.

2. Alfonso X and the Cantigas de Santa Maria Version of the Miracle of Holy Mary of the Snows

Alfonso’s CSM have been variously interpreted from the nineteenth century onward, with earlier scholars believing the cantigas were authored by Alfonso X alone and later scholars believing he simply masterminded the great project of Marian devotion (Parkinson and Jackson 2006, p. 159). The Galician troubadour school, within which the CSM take their place, had its apogee beginning in the time of Alfonso, with the CSM called near perfect in their rhythm and language (Menéndez Pelayo 1941, p. 167). The CSM were also termed exemplary in their poetic simplicity (Pelaez 1923, p. 215). Yet, in the nineteenth century, the CSM had been categorized as poetry written by a ‘magro poeta’ [a poet with limited skill] (Teza 1887, p. 304), a view which meets with little support today. Alfonso’s collection of poems in praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary is today generally recognized as occupying ‘a very special position in medieval Hispanic literature and culture, as well as ‘in the works produced at the court of King Alfonso X of Castile and León’ (Parkinson 2015, p. 1). The CSM have also been considered as ‘giving sense to his [Alfonso’s] imperial ambitions’ (England 2017, p. 106). Studying the miracle of Holy Mary of the Snows, Cantiga 309 (III, ll. 143–45), where he recounts the vision the Emperor and Pope had in Rome, in Alfonso’s collection will provide some further insight into both his poetry and his political ambitions.

The Escorial codex, the Códice de los músicos (Escorial MS b.I.2, designated E), comprising over 400 compositions, is the only version to contain the miracle of Holy Mary of the Snows in full (fols 275v–276v). An unfinished manuscript (MS B.R.20 [F]) contains a partial version of the miracle, Holy Mary of the Snows (Fernández Fernández 2009, pp. 341–43; Fidalgo Francisco and Fernández Guiadanes 2019, pp. 49–50, fol. 16v; Fernández Guiadanes and Fidalgo Francisco 2020, p. 257). The Códice de los músicos (MS E), dated post-1280, corresponds to the latter years of Alfonso’s reign, following the uprising of his son Sancho (Fernández Fernández 2012–2013, pp. 99–114; Fernández Fernández 2021). The Florence manuscript (MS F) is also a late version of the Cantigas project. Fernández Fernández (2021) indicates that, in difficult times, Alfonso needed to rebuild his persona and reclaim his literary and cultural project. His literary project also became a place of refuge for him during the last years of his reign (Fernández Fernández 2012–2013, p. 117).

In Alfonso’s version (E) of Cantiga 309, there are parallel visions with the Virgin appearing to both the Pope and Emperor. She urges them to build a church in her honour in the city of Rome. MS F ends at this point, without any reference to the miracle of the snow. In E, the Virgin advises them that she would give a sign consisting of a snowfall in August. By observing the sign, they would know where to build the church. The snow then fell on a field, which the Pope and Emperor purchased. The Christians built the church dedicated to Holy Mary in the field: ‘fezeron ssa eigreja|grand’ e rica e fremosa/a onrra da Santa Virgen, |Filla de Deus e Esposa’ [they constructed the big, rich and beautiful church in honour of the Holy Virgin, Mother and Spouse of God] (III, 145, ll. 70–71).3

It has been long established that the CSM and its compilation can cast light on the historical events which marked the reign of Alfonso. Kinkade (1992, pp. 286, 287, 322) discusses the miracles which relate to Alfonso’s health after 1269 paralleling the events of the miracle with events in Alfonso’s life. Historical detail related to Alfonso’s reign similarly underpins the miracle of Holy Mary of the Snows. Alfonso’s interest in Rome and its history was, no doubt, spurred by personal events which occurred in his own life. The miracle of the Virgin of the Snows with its Roman setting seems to correspond to Alfonso’s imperial ambitions. Alfonso’s imperial ambitions began to flourish in 1250 with the death of Frederick II of the Hohenstaufen dynasty (1194–1250). Alfonso had been nominated Rex Romanorum [King of the Romans] in 1256 (González Díaz 2021, p. 244). However, his bitter rival, Richard of Cornwall (1209–1272) declared himself Senator of Rome and was crowned Rex Romanorum in 1257, winning over Pope Alexander IV to his candidacy (Lewis 1937, p. 657). In his pursuit of the position as Holy Roman Emperor, Alfonso followed his grandfather, Philip of Swabia (1177–1208), who was nominated Rex Romanorum as a step on the way to becoming King of the Germans (Baura García 2018–2019, p. 64). Philip’s ambitions to become Holy Roman Emperor were never realized, as he was assassinated by his rival for the prize, Otto (Baura García 2018–2019, p. 65). It is likely that Alfonso’s ambitions to take the prize of Holy Roman Emperor had been nurtured by his mother, Beatriz or Beatrice of Swabia (1205–1235). Having been approached by a delegation from Pisa, Alfonso needed to seek the approval of the Pope and, whilst papal approval was accorded in 1257, he required the support of several German and Czech princes, to some of whom he was related. One of his supporters was Ottakar of Bohemia (1233–1278), connected to Alfonso through his mother, Beatrice of Swabia (González Díaz 2021, p. 248). Collamati (2024, p. 3) makes the point about Beatrice’s influence on Alfonso. What is also apparent is that the huge sums of money Alfonso paid to German and Italian princes, in return for their support in his plans to become Holy Roman Emperor (Díaz Estepa 1984, p. 53), caused resentment back in Castile and, eventually, led to the nobles’ rebellion (Hernández 2015, p. 94; González Jiménez 2017, p. 10).

It is certain that Alfonso’s imperial ambitions were deeply embedded in his psyche and he continued to pursue his ambition to be Holy Roman Emperor, even after 1272, when Rudolph of Habsburg (1213–1291) became the first of the Habsburg dynasty to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Alfonso continued to oppose Richard throughout the Interregnum, until 1272. It was only in 1275 when Pope Gregory X finally crowned Rudoph of Habsburg as Holy Roman Emperor (Collamati 2025, p. 12) that Alfonso’s ambitions were thwarted. Collamati (2025, p. 12) refers to the final phase of Alfonso’s ambition to become Holy Roman Emperor, as Alfonso left Castile for Italy, refusing to accept the nomination of Rudolph. The Pope headed Alfonso off at Beaucaire, preventing him from crossing the Rhine (Collamati 2025, p. 12). Some of Alfonso’s miracles tied in exactly with the cities and regions which he had needed to court in order to realize his ambitions (Molina López 2011, p. 321), which were Pisa, Lombardy, Rome, and Puglia. Alfonso’s collection includes miracles set in Pisa: ‘E dest’ un maravilloso/miragr’ avēo en Pisa/a un crerigo fremoso’ [and so a marvellous miracle occurred in Pisa to a handsome clergyman] (II, 87, ll. 21–23 [cantiga 132]). Lombardy, and Alfonso’s powerful ally, Guglielmo de Monferrato (1240–1292), was the last of the Italian rulers still supporting Alfonso’s candidacy after 1272 (Valdeón Baruque 2004–2005, p. 253). Beatriz de Castilla (1254–1280), daughter of Alfonso and Violante de Aragón, went to Lombardy to marry Guglielmo in 1272. Given Alfonso’s personal ties to the state, it is unsurprising that one of the CSM miracles is set in Lombardy:

Esto foi en Lombardia|dun jograr remedador

que atan ben remedava, |que avian en sabor

todos quantos lo viian, |e davan-lle con amor

panos e selas e frēos |e outro muito ben don.

(III, 106, ll. 1013 [cantiga 293])

[This took place in Lombardy and was about a mimicking troubadour/who mimicked so well that he was favoured by all who saw him and with love they gave him cloth and saddles and bridles and many other generous gifts]

Collecting miracles from a wide range of sources corresponded to the final stage of compilation of the Códice de los músicos which expanded the collection from the initial hundred miracles to more than 400. During the final phase of compilation of Alfonso’s CSM, many Italian miracles were added, collected by those working on his project. Alfonso did not give up his imperial ambitions until a mere eight years before his death, during the time when the miracles in the final phase of the CSM project were being collected, translated, and added to the collection. Each of the Italian miracles attest the interest of Alfonso not only in Italy but many reveal his interest in empire. Collecting miracles was a first stage in the composition of the CSM, which included active sourcing from existing miracle collections in French or Latin (Parkinson and Jackson 2006, p. 160). His coterie of poets and translators, as they compiled his CSM, expanded the project with a collection of many Italian miracles, but none is so closely aligned with Alfonso’s imperial ideology as the miracle about Holy Mary of the Snows.

Alfonso reacted in various ways to an imperial vision of his kingship. In 1256, for example, he had instigated a review of the Castilian code of laws, creating a new law code, based on Roman law, the Siete partidas (González Díaz 2021, p. 246). However, the Siete partidas were intended to project the new legal code as one which would apply to Europe (Fernández de Marcos Morales 2008, p. 12). Including a Roman miracle in his CSM corresponded to the same interest in things Roman, as Alfonso evinced in his legal code.

The rubric to the CSM miracle, Cantiga 309, mentions the role of the Emperor as well as the Pope in building Santa Maria Maggiore church in Rome: ‘Esta é como Santa Maria vēo en vison a Roma ao Papa e ao Emperador e disse-lles en qual logar fezessen a eigreja’ [this miracle is how Holy Mary came in a vision in Rome to the Pope and to the Emperor and told them where they should build the church] (III, 143, rubric [cantiga 309]). The combination of Pope and Emperor echoes Alfonso’s Siete partidas, in which he asserts the Emperor is the vicar of God in matters temporal, whilst the Pope is the vicar of God in things spiritual (Panateri 2015, p. 231).

Alfonso and his poets probably knew the miracle of the foundation of Santa Maria Maggiore through the miracle collection of Bartholomew of Trent (c. 1200–1251) where the feast day appears, although the focus of the two miracles is different. Bartholomew’s miracle appears in his Liber miraculorum.4 Bartholomew’s miracle is ‘Snow falls in Rome in August’ and, like the CSM version, is the story of the origin of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore (Miracle 32). The Snow miracle accompanies a series of miracles about Rome (Miracle 24, ‘Two brothers at Rome’; Miracle 26, ‘The statue of Romulus’). The other Roman miracles in the cluster are not relevant to the CSM and not included. Holy Mary of the Snows has been summarized in the following way by Paltrinieri and Sangallo: ‘Johannes patricius Deo et Virgini Mariae… È il noto miracolo dell’origine della Basilica di S. Maria Maggiore in Roma’ [John the Patrician on God and the Virgin Mary. It is a notable miracle on the origin of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome] (Paltrinieri and Sangallo 1950, p. 382). In Bartholomew of Trent’s collection, the miracle on the foundation of Santa Maria Maggiore accompanies other Marian miracles related to the Virgin’s feast days, including miracle 30 on the Virgin’s Nativity (8 September) and miracle 31 on her Conception (8 December), which is a version of the miracle which happened to Abbot Elsinus when he was on his way to Ramsey Abbey from continental Europe (Paltrinieri and Sangallo 1950, pp. 381–82). Adding the Virgin of the Snows to the series shows Bartholomew recognized it as a miracle related to an independent Marian feast day.

The snow miracle Alfonso and his poets recount in the Escorial manuscript (E) offers a double vision, not to the patrician and his wife, but instead to the Pope and to the Emperor. The vision recounts how the Virgin appears to the Emperor (III, 144, ll. 40–54) and asks him to build a church in which both she and her son can be praised: ‘Que lle mandou que fezesse|ssa eigreja, sen mentira, /en que foss’ ela loada|e Deus, verdadeiro Padre’ [to build her church, in all truth, where she would be praised as well as God, the one true Father] (III, 144, ll. 47–48 [cantiga 309]). Although Alfonso’s interest in becoming Holy Roman Emperor was thwarted before the completion of the Escorial manuscript (E), he continued to project imperial ambitions constructed around the Mediterranean seaboard (Parmley 2017, p. 201). In the final years of his reign, when Alfonso’s literary project was at its height, Alfonso directed his works on historiography, the General Estoria and the Estoria de España, in which the imperium theme was also pre-eminent (Fernández-Ordóñez 2020, p. 26). The Emperor theme is an important one in the CSM too.5 Alfonso VII (1104?–1157), known as ‘The Emperor’, is mentioned in Cantiga 122 (II, 60, ll. 15–16). The Emperor of Rome has a part to play in the miracle about the healing of St John Damascene (III, 37, ll. 46, 51 [cantiga 265]). Alfonso had always combined his ambitions of Roman Germanic empire with his more domestic ambitions to recreate the imperium Hispaniae (Fernández-Ordóñez 2020, p. 26). In Castile, there was a desire to recreate the Hispanic Empire founded in 1135 by Alfonso VII (González Jiménez 2017, p. 7). What is more, in 1277, Alfonso set up the Orden de Santa Maria de España (Holt 2015, p. 221) which Remensnyder (2005, p. 263) sees as an emulation of the Teutonic Orders, allying it to Alfonso’s imperial ambitions, then focused on North Africa. Indeed, Alfonso never abandoned the desire to present himself as Emperor and had himself buried clothed in imperial regalia (Fernández de Marcos Morales 2008, p. 3). In the latter stages of his reign, his ambition to be Holy Roman Emperor over, he took solace in his literary works.

Alfonso, thus changes the original miracle from a narrative about the patrician John and his wife, who both shared a concurrent vision of the Virgin which they recount to the Pope, unnamed, to a vision accorded the Emperor and the Pope. Another addition made is that Alfonso emphasizes the devotion of the whole populace to the Virgin:

En aquel tempo tan bōo, |de que vos eu ora digo,

era o pobro de Roma|todo atan muit’ amigo

da Virgen Santa Maria, |e avia ben consigo

creença de seu Fillo|Jhesu-Crist’ e de Deus Padre.

(III, 143, ll. 15–19)

[At that goodly time about which I will now recount

the people of Rome were very devoted

to the Virgin St Mary and had also

deep belief in her son Jesus Christ and in God the Father.]

It is apparent that Alfonso wished to mould his diverse Andalusian populace into devotees of the Virgin. He sought to create a unity of worship among the peoples, cemented by the foundation of the new church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the story of the upsurge of devotion to the Virgin in Rome provides him with a model. Pelaez (1923, p. 222) notes how including the devoted populace is a ‘substitution’ effected by Alfonso on the original miracle story.

In Alfonso’s version of the miracle, both the Pope and the Emperor are presented as holy men and Alfonso clearly wished to project the same concepts onto his own time, first as he sought to have himself nominated as Holy Roman Emperor and, later, as he sought to create a seaboard empire. Alfonso was aspiring to be Emperor and, therefore, praises the Emperor in terms which align with his own interests: ‘e ūu Emperador bōo|per quant’ ele mais podia/servia muit’ e amava|a Virgen Santa Maria’ [he was a good Emperor who served and loved St Mary the Virgin as much as he could] (III, 143, ll. 11–12 [cantiga 309]). No doubt, Alfonso saw his own service to the Virgin, evidenced in the compilation of a major miracle collection with over four hundred songs and miracles, as closely mirrored by the Roman Emperor of yesteryear, described in Cantiga 309. Alfonso’s principal focus in the Virgin of the Snows miracle is on the interrelationship of the Pope and the Emperor.

There is another feature of the CSM, which relates to Bartholomew of Trent’s miracles. Alfonso X may have decided to incorporate the miracle of the Virgin of the Snows in his collection of miracles because he associated it with the most important Marian feast in the Castilian calendar, that is with the Assumption, a feast celebrated on 15 August.6 Indeed, Alfonso writes of the snowfall occurring ‘na ssa festa d’Agosto’ [on her August feast] (III, 144, l. 51). Alfonso deliberately conflates Holy Mary of the Snows (5 August) with the most important Marian feast in the Peninsula which occurs in August, the Assumption (Pelaez 1923, p. 222; Negri 2017, p. 350). Pope Honorius III (c. 1150–1227) issued a bill in 1223 in which he instituted the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows (Pelaez 1923, p. 217; Negri 2017, p. 350). Elsewhere in the CSM, Alfonso refers to the feast of Holy Mary in August, meaning the Assumption: ‘Ond’ avēo na gran festa desta Virgen en Agosto’ [then it occurred on the great feast of the Virgin in August] (III, 57, l. 20 [cantiga 273]). Similarly, in Cantiga 18, Alfonso again writes of the ‘gran festa d’Agosto’ (I, 56, l. 37 [cantiga 18]). On these occasions, Alfonso makes the point that the miracle occurred on the Virgin’s ‘great feast’. Elsewhere, he writes of the feast which falls in mid-August: ‘na festa|qu’é en meogo do mes/d’Agosto’ (III, 148, ll. 17–18 [cantiga 311]). In yet another cantiga, Alfonso adds details about the nature of the feast of the Virgin: ‘fasta que chegou a festa|da Virgen Santa Maria, /que cae no mes d’agosto, |quand’ ela foi corōada’ [up until the time of the feast of the Virgin Holy Mary, which falls in August, when she was crowned] (III, 179, ll. 32–33 [cantiga 322]). Finally, in the rubric to the Vigil of the Assumption, Alfonso explains that the August feast is about how the Virgin was lifted into heaven: ‘Esta .IX. é da vigilia de Santa Maria d’Agosto, como ela passou deste mundo e foi levada ao çeo’ [The ninth is on the vigil of Holy Mary in August and how she passed from earth and was lifted into heaven] (III, 390, rubric [cantiga 419]). It is to be noted, however, that, in each case, Alfonso adds either details about the nature of the feast or refers to the ‘gran festa’ [principal feast day]. In the case of Cantiga 309, however, this is not done. Cantiga 309 specifies ‘na ssa festa d’Agosto’ (III, 144, l. 51) [at her feast in August]. Alfonso associates the snowfall with the Assumption feast, as Pelaez (1923, p. 222) assumes, because he writes that the snow falls in mid-August: ‘u viren meant’ agosto|caer nev’ expessamente’ (l. 37) [where they saw snow fall thickly in the middle of August]. Alfonso’s CSM changes the timing of the miracle to the Vigil of the Assumption. In so doing, he may reflect the early writing in the East about the Assumption which relates the many miracles Mary performed, following her Assumption (Shoemaker 2006, p. 378). Alfonso’s direction to set the Santa Maria Maggiore miracle under the Assumption seems to take its lead from how the Virgin of the Snows falls within the chapter on the Assumption in Bartholomew of Trent’s other collection of miracles, the Liber epilogorum (Negri 2017, p. 353). At the same time, Santa Maria Maggiore was the place where a dawn ritual, an elaborate rite of the Assumption, took place (Bolton 1992, pp. 126–27). The ritual in Rome began on the eve of the Vigil.

Some other medieval authors, such as the Middle English hagiographical writer, John Capgrave (1393–1464), beyond the bounds of Iberia, recount the miracle of Holy Mary of the Snows, remaining closer to the protagonists detailed in Bartholomew of Trent’s version. In 1450, Capgrave, writing his Ye Solace of Pilgrimes (1911) holds that the recipients of the dream in the miracle are a Roman Governor and his wife who are both devout and pray daily to the Virgin:

In his tyme was in rome a man pat had mech pe gouernauns of rome for emperouris at yat tyme ne now as ferr as I can se haue lytyl dominacion Þere. This man as Þe bokis sey hith jon a holy mau deuoute iuste and trewe whech had a wif of be same proporcioun in holynesse deuocioun rithwisnesse/and treuth. They prayed euery day to our lady of hie deuocyoun Þat Þei myth leue in Þis world to Þe pleasauns of our lord.

(Capgrave 1911, p. 84)

[In his day there was in Rome a man that had much of the government of Rome, for emperors at that time, as far as I can see, had little dominance there. This man, as the books recounts, was called John, a holy man who was devout, just and true and he had a wife of similar ilk in holiness, devotion, righteousness and truth. They prayed every day to Our Lady of high devotion that they might live in this world in a way pleasing to Our Lord.]

In Capgrave’s version, both John and his wife dream of the Virgin and, afterwards, speak to the Pope about their dream. In Alfonso’s version, the Emperor’s wife is never mentioned and has been eliminated from the miracle. Alfonso, even though his relationship with and trust in Violante de Aragón (1236/37–1300) did not waver (Hernández 2015, p. 96), did not require details about the Emperor’s wife, as his focus was the Emperor.7

When Alfonso incorporated the miracle about another Roman ‘emperor’ building a church for the Virgin in Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore, he also had in mind his own architectural project, as he was sponsoring his father’s cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin in 1252. Fernando III (1199–1252), Alfonso’s father, converted the mosque in Seville into a cathedral, a first church dedicated to the Virgin. There is further personal context behind Alfonso’s interest in Santa Maria Maggiore. Fernando III had conquered Seville and, in 1252, Alfonso had his father buried in front of the main altar of the new cathedral (Crites 2009, p. 397). Seville was tightly bound with Castile’s history but also with Alfonso’s own (González Jiménez 2000, p. 24). Alfonso also sought to re-create the imperium Hispaniae, as mentioned above, but centring it on Seville (González Jiménez 2017, p. 8). Alfonso conceived of Seville as the capital city of a Christian and European empire (Crites 2009, p. 392) because emperors had previously been crowned there (González Jiménez 2016, p. 148). Alfonso’s project of funding the mosque-Cathedral of Holy Mary was ever present in his mind, as he directed how Cantiga 309 was to be narrated. It can be noted here that the truncated version of the miracle (MS F) ends on the fourth stanza and has a different focus in its rubric: ‘[E]ſta é. ꝺe como foı feıta/á pꝛımeıra Eıgreıa ꝺe ſanta/María en Roma’ [this is how the first church dedicated to holy Mary was built in Rome]. Because it is truncated, it emphasizes the building of the first church, rather than any miraculous events which occur in the narrative. Schaffer (2000, p. 194) notes certain differences in practice discernible in the Florence manuscript (F).

Another aspect of the miracle story, missing from both of Alfonso’s versions, is the marking of the layout of the church in snow, essential to the miracle. Capgrave’s fifteenth-century version of the miracle records the marking out of the building on the ground in the snow: ‘Þis hous schuld be edified sche told hem who Þat sche had merkid al Þe ground with snow wher Þat sche Þout hir hous schuld stande’ [this house should be built she told him that she had marked the ground with snow where she thought her house should stand] (Capgrave 1911, p. 84 [cited in Donkin 2018, p. 234]). Capgrave then adds the papal procession to the snowy ground and the Pope breaking the earth to begin the foundation of the church. Alfonso instead focuses the miraculous element on the snowfall: ‘E quand’ aquel dia vēo, /viron caer tanta neve|que tod’ un canpo foi chēo;’ [and when that day came, they saw such a quantity of snow fall that the whole field was full of it] (III, 145, ll. 60–61). For Alfonso, the layout of the basilica, determined by the Virgin, is less important than the miraculous event of snow falling in the heat of August. He repeats several times that they will await the fall of snow which will tell them where to build the church:

Enton lle respon o Papa: |«Outro tal sonn’ ei sonnado,

e ben é que atendamos|aquel dia sinnado;

e quando virmos a neve, ponnamos logo recado

como seja a eigreja|feita, do Fill’ e do Padre.»

(III, 145, ll. 55–59)

[then the Pope replied to him: ‘I have dreamed just such a dream

and it is good for us to wait for that special day;

And when we see the snow, then we will put in place the necessary measures

about how the church should be built, from the Son and the Father.’]

Alfonso’s emphasis in Cantiga 309 is on waiting for the day indicated in the dream ‘aquel dia sinnado’ [that special day] (l. 56). The shape of the basilica does not correspond to the connection he wishes to make between founding a church dedicated to the Virgin and Santa Maria Maggiore and he, therefore, omits it. The theme of the foundation in Alfonso’s other works, such as his Estoria de España (Alfonso X 2022), is also significant and shows how he believed foundation myths and legends aligned with his foundation not only of the church but also of the city of Seville (Jérez Cabrero 2020, pp. 484–85). It was in Seville that Alfonso placed his scriptorium out of which his poets worked, making it the cultural centre of his empire (Ruiz Rodríguez 2022, p. 265).

Alfonso’s version of the miracle of Holy Mary of the Snows makes a number of changes to the version in Bartholomew of Trent’s collection. He omits the patrician’s wife, He emphasizes the miraculous snowfall rather than the snow falling in the shape of the basilica. He makes the feast coincide with the Assumption, the principal Marian feast in the Peninsula. He changes the patrician into an Emperor which fits with his own desire to present himself as an Emperor, sustained right up to his death. Given that the CSM has been seen as a solace to Alfonso in the latter stages of his reign, looking back at the time when he longed to be Holy Roman Emperor, prompted him and his poets to emphasize the imperial aspect of the miracle.

3. Liturgical Calendars Recording the Feast of Mary of the Snows Prior to and Following Alfonso’s CSM

Comparing Alfonso’s miracle with contemporary liturgies provides further insight into his narrative. Although none of the twelfth and thirteenth-century liturgies in the Peninsula incorporate the feast of the Virgin of the Snows,8 the feast at 5 August begins to appear in several Hispanic calendars dating from the turn of the fourteenth century.9 When, at the very end of the thirteenth or start of the fourteenth century, liturgies begin to include the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows, the feast day is variously titled. One fourteenth-century Hieronymite breviary has an entry in its calendar for ‘Sancta Maria ad nives’ [Holy Mary at the snows] (BNE, MS 9082, fol. 20v). Another breviary, now in the royal collection (Madrid, Palacio Real [Biblioteca], MS II/20, fols 136v–38r) and originally from the Colegio Mayor San Bartolomé in Salamanca, records the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows, dedicated ‘In festo sancte Marie de niuibus’ [on the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows] (fol. 136v). In a Zamora breviary, dated 1389, the feast is marked ‘Sancte Marie de niuibus’ [of Holy Mary of the Snows] (Zamora, Archivo de la Catedral, MS 209, fol. 4v). The earliest breviary so far found is Franciscan, dated 1297 to 1310 by Horowski (2023, p. 49).10 In the breviary calendar, however, 5 August has no entry for the feast of the Snows, whilst the proper of the saints incorporates a liturgy for the ‘festum niuis’ (BNE MS 713, fol. 358r). By the late fourteenth century, a Roman missal, from the library of Pedro Fernández de Velasco (1390–1470), Count of Haro, has the entry for the ‘Festum niuis’ [Feast of the Snow] in red letters (Madrid, BNE, MS 9538, fol. 11v). Other feasts in August in the same missal which are marked as red-letter days are the feast of St Peter ad Vincula, St Laurence, St Augustine, and the Assumption, including its vigil and octave. In the same missal, there is no entry in the proper of saints. At 5 August, it accords an entry to the feast of St Dominic but not the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows (fol. 140r–v). In a fifteenth-century Franciscan breviary (BNE, MS Vitr. 21.6, fol. 4v), the feast of the Virgin of the Snows, ‘festum domine quod dicitur niuis’ [the feast of Our Lady which is called of the snow] is accorded red-letter status. The feast of the Virgin of the Snows is added in a later hand to some earlier calendars.11

As in Castile, Italian calendars dated twelfth or thirteenth century do not include the feast day of the Virgin of the Snows.12 Over a hundred years ago, Pelaez (1923, p. 217) had already made the point that Roman breviaries and missals do not contain the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows before the late fourteenth century. As in Castile, in several thirteenth-century Italian liturgical books, the feast of Holy Mary of the Snow has been added to the calendar.13 By the time fourteenth- and fifteenth-century calendars were compiled, such as the manuscript missals or the missal incunable, dated 1476, the feast of ‘Sancte Marie ad nives’ [Holy Mary at the snow] has become a red-letter day (Rome Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana 1476, fol. 4v).14 An Augustinian breviary, following the Roman rite, contains a miniature of the snowfall (Oxford, Bodleian Canon. Liturg. 388, fol. 344r).15 Despite the presence of the feast in the calendar, the feast of ‘Holy Mary of the Snows’ has no place in the proper of the saints in certain missals, whilst in one Roman missal there is an entry for the feast day which indicates the feast is to be said as at other feasts of the Virgin from the latter part of the liturgical year, in other words bringing the feast in line with the Nativity of the Virgin and, in some calendars, the Conception feast.16 It is hardly surprising that the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows should be accorded a place in the proper of saints, as this missal was printed for the use of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (1476).

The Castilian Hieronymite calendar (BNE MS 9082) seems to indicate the feast is celebrated with seven readings.17 Because the feast day is shared with the feast of St Dominic, the solemnity of the feast may have been set to mark the founder of the Dominican Order and bring it into line with the ranking of the feasts of, for example, St Bernard and St Augustine (fol. 20v), both of which are ‘duplex minus’ [double feast, minor category]. However, the feast of St Francis in the same breviary is ‘duplex maius’ [double feast, major category] and is celebrated with an octave (fol. 21v).

In the Zamora breviary, the feast of St Mary of the Snows is entered in the calendar in black ink, indicating it is not a major feast day. The most important Marian feast days in the Zamora breviary calendar are entered in red. These include the Purification (fol. 1v), the Annunciation (fol. 2r), the Assumption (fol. 4v), and the Nativity of the Virgin (fol. 5r). Each of these Marian feasts is also marked with a red cross encircled with blue. The Assumption, the principal Marian feast, has a red cross encircled in red. In the Zamora calendar, the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows, though accorded an entry, is ranked as less important than other major Marian feasts. In the Franciscan breviary (BNE, MS 713), the feast of the Virgin of the Snows takes precedence over that of St Dominic.

The level of solemnity of the feast varies in each of these calendars. The feast day for Holy Mary of the Snows in the Hieronymite calendar (BNE MS 9082) is marked as ‘duplex minus’ [ordinary double feast], although the entry is unclear because of the binding. The breviary was adapted for the use of the Hieronymite Order and, since the Hieronymites were given approval by the Avignon Pope only in 1373 (Sigüenza 1907, vol. I, p. 47), the breviary seemingly dates to the end of the fourteenth century.

By the fifteenth century, the Mass of Holy Mary of the Snows can be found as a red-letter feast day in many Iberian calendars. As an example, this is the case for the Toledo missal (BNE, MS Vitr. 4/4, fol. 4v). The missal was copied and illustrated in Spain, probably by Toledo artists. Only the most important saints have a special entry in the Toledo missal proper of the saints. Holy Mary of the Snows does not. The missal does have an entry in the proper of the saints ‘in commemoratione Beate Marie’ [on the Commemoration of the Blessed Mary] (BNE, MS Vitr. 4/4, 45v). Unusually, in this missal, all the feast days of the Virgin are clustered together. The Assumption has its own Mass (fol. 43r) as does the Nativity of the Virgin (fol. 33v). The Conception of the Virgin also has its own place in the proper of saints (fol. 30v). Since the proper of the saints has no entry for certain feasts of the Virgin, including the Annunciation and the Purification, the above Commemoration appears to be used for such feast days of the Virgin, and no doubt it was also said at the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows. The layout of the Missal is a little unusual because it sets the feasts of the Virgin in life order rather than in liturgical year order. For this reason, the Nativity of the Virgin, celebrated in September, precedes the Assumption, celebrated in August.

4. Liturgies in Fourteenth-Century Castilian and Leonese Breviaries for Holy Mary of the Snows

The close correlation between liturgy and legend is key to Donkin’s (2018) argument in her study of the foundation of Santa Maria Maggiore and how it is illustrated in the Middle Ages. She argues that the Pope laying the first stone, as he did in an illustration of Santa Maria Maggiore in a thirteenth-century Lateran pontifical, was intended as an example for churches across Europe (Donkin 2018, p. 246).18 As mentioned earlier, laying a foundation for the conversion of a mosque into a church dedicated to St Mary in Seville brought laying foundations, papal participation, and dedicating churches to the Virgin into sharp relief for Alfonso.

Turning to the liturgy for the feast, the readings for the feast day vary in length from breviary to breviary. The first reading in the Franciscan breviary (BNE MS 713) begins by outlining some Old Testament prefigurations of the Virgin, particularly the ladder of Jacob:

Cum ad omnium sanctorum reuerentiam christianorum cunctorum debeat deuotio excitari ad beatam Mariam semper uirginem laudem et preconia excellenda eo magis debet se humanus sensus erigere. quantum magis certum est per ipsam nobis reparationis nostre remedia peruenisse et celestis regni nobis aditum reseratum fuis[s]e quam primi parentis culpa sera dire mortis obstruxerat.

(BNE, MS 713, fol. 358r)

[Since the devotion of all Christians to the Blessed ever-Virgin Mary should stir up reverence to all the saints and enhancing her praise and exaltation should arouse the human senses. It is even more certain that, through her, the remedies for our reparation have been given us and the entrance to the heavenly kingdom has been opened to us, which the sin of our first parent had too late obstructed by dire death.]

A far shorter version of the same reading is spread across three readings in the fourteenth-century Zamora breviary. Nevertheless, the outline of each reading is similar to those in the Franciscan and Hieronymite breviaries. The readings which the Zamora breviary includes often hint obliquely at the miracle story. For example, the first reading is about increasing devotion to the Virgin:

Cum ad omnium sanctorum reuerenciam christianorum cunctorum debeat deuocio excitari ad Beate Marie semper uirginis laude[m] et preconiam excollendaque magis debet se humanus sensus erigere.

(Zamora, Archivo de la Catedral, MS 209, fol. 463v)

[Since the devotion of all Christians to the Blessed ever-Virgin Mary should stir up reverence to all the saints and enhancing her praise and exaltation should arouse the human senses.]

The second reading still follows the wording of the first reading in the Franciscan breviary (BNE MS 713) and proclaims the Virgin the ladder of Jacob: ‘Hec siq[ui]dem est illa scala celestis qui eximius ille p[at]riarcha Iacob de t[e]r[r]a usque ad celorum summitatem erecta’ (Zamora, Archivo de la Catedral, MS 209, fol. 464r) [For she is that heavenly ladder which that chosen patriarch Jacob saw raised from the earth to the heights of heaven]. The third reading also continues to extract from the first reading in the Franciscan breviary: ‘Ha[n]c et sanctissimam uirginem uirga illa signauit que a sue radicis uiriditatem conuulsa tempestiue maturitatis flores et poma produxerat’ (Zamora, Archivo de la Catedral, MS 209, fol. 463v)

[that rod signified the holy Virgin who, having retained her fecundity, from her root, produced flowers and apples of ripeness in due season].

In the Hieronymite breviary (BNE MS 9802), the readings are fuller. The second reading, therefore, opens with the signs and wonders which occurred in Rome prior to the start of the miracle of the snows. It then goes on to recount precise details of when the miracle took place:

[Tamen] qualiter inter Romane urbis Maria beatissime dei genitrix sibi spiritualem locum ac singularem domum elegerit atque patrocinium sue dignationis alme urbe prestere uoluerit quia id racio flagitat dignum [duximus] ignorantibus reseruare. Sicut enim ex gestis antiquoribus et temporum in serie legis et reperitur a temporibus Constantini qui primi inter augustos pro construendis ecclesiis licencia relaxauit usque ad temporis honoris pape Liberii in honorem perpetue uirginis dei genitricis Marie nulla unquam intra urbem fuerat ecclesia fabricata.

(Madrid BNE MS 9802, fol. 721v)

[(…) as within the city of Rome, Mary the most blessed Mother of God was to choose for herself a spiritual place and a singular dwelling and she was wishing to grant her patronage in the noble city, because reason demands we bring the ignorant to uphold it. Just as from the deeds of the ancients and in the custody of the law of the times, it has been remarked that, from the time of Constantine, who was first of the Emperors, permission was granted for building churches but, up to the time of Pope Liberius, none had been built inside the city in honour of the blessed ever-Virgin Mary Mother of God.]

This extract from the second reading in the Hieronymite breviary sets out the period when the miracle was to take place. In the second reading in the Franciscan breviary (MS 713), the papacy of Liberius (352–367) and the lack of churches within the city walls are detailed in a similar manner:

Sic enim et gestis antiquorum et temporum serie legitur et reperitur a temporibus Constantini qui primus inter augustos, pro construendis ecclesiis licenciam relaxauit usque ad tempora iunioris [?] pape Liberii in honorem perpetue uirginis dei genitricis Marie nulla umquam intra urbem fuerat ecclesia fabricata.

(BNE, MS 713, fol. 358v)

[Just as it is read in the deeds of the ancients and the series of time and it is noted in the period when Constantine ruled, who was first among the Emperors, he relaxed permission for building churches. Up to the time of his successor, Liberius, no church in honour of the ever-Virgin Mary Mother of God was built anywhere within the city walls.]

The wording in the Hieronymite and the Franciscan breviary is similar, indicating that standardization of the liturgy for the feast existed.19 Although readings are shorter in the Salamanca breviary, the narrative is similar. The readings are sharp and to the point and it is the first reading in the Royal Palace breviary that sets the miracle in the time of Constantine:

In temporibus Constantini qui primus inter augustos pro construendis ecclesiis licenciam relaxauit usque ad tempora temporis pape Liberii in honore perpetue uirginis dei genitricis Marie nulla intra urbe fuerit ecclesia fabricata.

(Madrid, Palacio Real, II/20, fol. 137r)

[in the time of Constantine, who was first of the Emperors to relax permission for building churches but, up to the time of Pope Liberius, there was no church built in honour of the ever-Virgin Mary Mother of God.]

Both the Franciscan breviary (MS 713) and the Hieronymite breviary give details of the Governor, John. In the words of the Franciscan breviary:

Tempore quo praefacto pape Liberii beati Petri sedem prouida gubernatione regebat quidam Iohannes Rome urbis patricipatus [sic] curam gerens, tam morum quam nobilitatis generositate praeclarus […].

(BNE MS 713, fol. 359r)

[At the time when the aforesaid Pope Liberius occupied the throne of Blessed Peter, there ruled a certain John, of patrician rank, providing care of the city of Rome. He was a man outstanding in character and in noble generosity.]

It is in the fourth reading of the Hieronymite breviary (BNE MS 9802, fol. 722v) where the events turn to the nature of the Governor and his pious lifestyle, character, and nobility, all of which equip him for the forthcoming vision:

Tempore quo prefacto pape Liberius in beati Petri sedem prouida gubernatione regebat a quidam Iohannis nomine alme urbis patriciatus curam gerens tam morum quam nobilitatis generositate preclara possessione ac diuitiarum multarum opulencia locuplex. Cum filium non haberet, una cum coniuge que sibi prouidencia diuina tam morum que nobilitatis similitudine fuerat associata beatissimam dei genitricem sibi in precipuam et specialem dominam preelegerit.

(Madrid BNE MS 9082, fol. 722v–723r)

[At the time when the aforesaid pope Liberius occupied the seat of Blessed Peter, there ruled a certain man named John, of patrician rank, providing government of the fair city. He excelled both in character and in nobility, distinguished by his excellent possessions and the opulence of many riches. As he had no son, with his wife, a lady similar to him in both character and nobility, he chose for himself the Blessed Mother of God as a special and exceptional lady.]

The Franciscan breviary (BNE, MS 713) and the Hieronymite breviary (BNE, MS 9082) continue in tandem with a declaration to the Virgin Mary. In the Hieronymite breviary it is the fourth reading which contains all this information. In the Franciscan breviary, the details are split between readings three and four. The fourth reading begins:

Hec simul uno ore parique deuotione beatissime uigini uota soluentes, ‘Regina celorum, domina angelorum, saluatrix omnium, tibi tanto deuocius fragiles supplicamus quanto uiscera pietatis tue copiosus erga homines benignius impendis [propendis]. Accipe igitur sanctissima mater que tibi sincera deuotione persoluimus et ita uitam nostram et omnia que in terris ut homines possidemus solita miseratione dispone […].

(BNE, MS 713, fol. 359v)

[At once, with one voice, they uttered a vow to the Blessed Virgin with equal devotion: ‘Queen of the heavens, ruler of the angels, lady and saviour of all, we, weak people, plead with you in as much as your heart of piety most generously offered to humans and with most propitious cost.’]

The details of the miraculous snowfall then make up the fifth reading in the Franciscan breviary (BNE, MS 713):

Et enim tempore uolens beata uirgo dei genitrix locum hedificandum sibi basilicem hominibus demonstrare quadam nocte dicti iam mensis i nonis Augusti subito contra naturam temporis aer nimia fragoris [frigoris, BNE 9082, fol. 722v] congelationis constringitur et tanta nubilium constipacione densatur.]

(BNE, MS 713, fol. 359v)

[and, at that time, the Blessed Virgin Mother of God, wanting to show men the place where the basilica should be built, that same night on the said month on the first day of the nones of August [5 August] suddenly, contrary to the nature of the season, cold air, freezing beyond measure [frigoris, BNE 9082, fol. 722v], settled and heavy clouds thickened over it.]

In both the Franciscan and Hieronymite breviaries, the sixth reading is dedicated to the Virgin appearing to the Pope: ‘Apparens [Aperiens, BNE, MS 9082, fol. 723v] igitur beata uirgo pronominato uero pontifici celeriter eum admonitio miraculo [oraculo, BNE, MS 9082] uoluit edocere’ (BNE, MS 713, fol. 359v) [Therefore, the Blessed Virgin, appearing to the aforesaid Pope quickly wished to present a miracle to him]. Even though the wording in the Hieronymite breviary is slightly confused, the readings follow the exact structure of the Franciscan breviary. In the Hieronymite breviary, it is the fifth reading which gives evidence of the snowfall:

Quidam nocte dicti menssis contra naturam temporis aer nimia frigor congelacione constringitur et tanta nubilium constipacione densatur ut imber de super suso in ipso casu niuium multitudo defluens que soluta locum hedificande basilice coperiens miraculum pariter et [aliquorem] suministrauit.

(Madrid BNE MS 9082, fol. 723r–v)

[On a certain night of the said month, contrary to the nature of the season, the air is congested by excessive cold, and the cloud thickens with such density that the rain falling from the sky in the very fall of a multitude of snow, which, having been loosened, covered the place where the basilica was to be built, and provided a miracle as well.]

The reading in the Hieronymite breviary outlines the intemperate nature of the snowfall, together with details of the connection of the fall of snow with the place where the basilica is to be built.

The sixth reading in the Hieronymite breviary then brings the Pope’s corroboration of the miracle into play:

Et ipsa denique nocte per nominato pontifici atque iam dicto patriarco et uxori suo scilicet uisionem sancta dei genitrix uoluit diuertare que res miraculi reuelacione firmaretur aspectu et subitanei temporis occultate uisionis reuelatio nosceretur. Apariens igitur beata uirgo prenominato uero pontifici taliter eum admonicionis oraculo uoluit edocere operum tuorum intentio et circumspecte solicita diuis uigilancia que omnipotenti Deo plurimum placere cognosceris [de modo in hoc] commendabilem reddiderunt. Ita ut quod actenus erga mei nominis deuocione ab aliis non fuerit acceptatum per te nunc michi placuerit consumari.

(BNE MS 9082, fol. 723v–724r)

[And finally, at night, through the offices of the aforesaid pontiff and the aforesaid patriarch, and his wife, the holy Mother of God desired to convey a vision, that is to say, that the matter might be confirmed by miraculous revelation, and that the revelation of the vision might be made known suddenly, when before it was hidden. Therefore, the Blessed Virgin, appearing to the said pontiff, desired to inform him in such a way with a miracle of a divine announcement. Attention on your works and careful vigilance might be known to please God. So that what has so far not been accepted by others with regard to the devotion to my name has now pleased you to fulfil for me.]

On the other hand, the full first reading from the Palacio Real breviary gives only brief information to frame the story of the Virgin of the Snows. The second reading, although much shorter than the readings in the Franciscan breviary or the Hieronymite breviary, nevertheless, is recognizably from the same version of the story: ‘Tempore uero quo dicto pape Liberius in beati Petri sedem prouida gubernatione regebat uir quidam Iohannes nomine nobilis generositate plenus possessione multarum ac diuitiarum opulencia locuplex’ (Palacio Real RB II/20, fol. 137r) [At the time when the aforesaid Pope Liberius occupied the seat of Blessed Peter, governance was provided by a certain man by the name of John, noble in generosity, distinguished by his excellent possessions and the opulence of many riches].

Part of the second reading as recounted in the longer versions (BNE MS 713 and BNE MS 9082) and becomes the third reading in the Palacio Real breviary: ‘Cum filium non haberet, una cum coniuge sua que sibi prouidencia diuina tam morum que nobilitatis similitudine fuerat associata beatissimam dei genitricem sibi a precipuam et specialem dominam preelegerit’ (Palacio Real, RB II/20) [As he had no son, with his wife, similar to him in both character and nobility, he chose for himself the blessed mother of God as a special and exceptional lady].

However, the Zamora breviary does not anchor the miracle to the time of Pope Liberius, nor does it include any details about how the Virgin appeared nor about the legend of the snow falling in August:

Uerum qualiter infra Romane urbis Maria beatissima d[e]i genitrix sibi speciale[m] ac singulare[m] dom[um] elegerit atque patrocinium sue dignacionis alme urbi prestare uoluerit quia id racio flagitat dignum duximus ignora[n]tibus reseruare.

(Zamora, Archivo de la Catedral, MS 209, fol. 464v)

[In truth, how Mary the most blessed Mother of God was to choose for herself a singular resting place within the city of Rome and was wishing to grant her patronage in the noble city. Because reason demands this, we thought it worthy to retain it for the ignorant.]

In the above short sixth reading, which recounts the miracle in Rome, the time frame is lost but the detail about there being no church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin is retained. The position of these details in the sixth reading in the Zamora breviary is a surprising feature. Finally, the Zamora breviary does not provide any details about the appearance of the Virgin, whether to the Governor or to the Pope.

A different approach is taken in the Salamanca breviary (Palacio Real [Biblioteca], MS II/20). The breviary begins vespers with an antiphon based on a verse from the Song of Songs: ‘Iam yemps transiit, ymber abiit et recessit. Surge, amica mea, et ueni’ (Palacio Real [Biblioteca], MS II/20, fol. 136v). It captures the wintry feel of the miracle of St Mary of the Snows. The remainder of the antiphons are verses from Wisdom literature or from other parts of the Song of Songs. For example the second antiphon is: ‘Ueni electa mea et ponam in te thronum meum’ [Come my chosen one and I will place you on my throne], whilst the third antiphon refers to the exemplarity of the Shulamite girl: ‘Ista est speciosa inter filias Hierusalem’ [this is the one who is beautiful among the girls of Jerusalem] (Palacio Real, MSII/20, fol. 136v). Many of the responses are verses which are often found in Nativity and Conception liturgies. For example, the short scripture for vespers at the feast day is: ‘Ab initio et ante secula’ [from the beginning and before time] (Palacio Real, MSII/20, fol. 136v; Zamora, Archivo de la Catedral, MS 209, fol. 463v), a verse regularly used in Conception and Nativity liturgies.20 Much as in the sixteenth century, the feast of the Virgin of the Snows is connected to the holiness and perfect purity of the Virgin. The antiphons chosen are not fixed. For example, the Hieronymite breviary does not apply the same antiphons or short scripture. The first antiphon instead is a plea to the Virgin, a plea often found in offices of the Virgin, such as the Nativity office in Zamora (MS 209, fol. 440r):

Sancta Maria succurre miseris, iuue pusillanimis, refoue flebiles, ora pro populo, interueni pro clero, intercede pro deuoto femineo sexu. Sentiant omnes iuuamen quicumque celebrant tuam commemorationem.

(Madrid BNE, 9082, fol. 721v)

[Holy Mother, aid the unfortunate, help the poor in spirit, comfort those who mourn, pray for your people, intercede for your priesthood, intervene on behalf of your faithful feminine sex; let all recognize your help, whosoever keeps your feast.]

The opening antiphon becomes a regular feature of the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows. This antiphon is at the Magnificat in the Zamora breviary (Zamora, Archivo de la Catedral, MS 209, fol. 373v). The same antiphon which opens the Hieronymite breviary opens the celebration of the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows later composed by Tomás Luis de la Victoria’s (1548–1611): ‘(Victoria 1913, p. 19). As Negri (2017, p. 350) argues, with regard to the Italian liturgical versions of the miracle: ‘L’elevato grado di concordanza tra i testimoni fa dunque pensare ad una tradizione già stabilmente consolidata e compatta in pieno XIV sec.’ [the high degree of agreement among the witnesses thus suggests a tradition already firmly established and cohesive in the mid-fourteenth century].

The final two readings in the Hieronymite breviary reveal how the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows is close to arguments about the Incarnation and the nature of the Virgin:

Tunc auditi sunt qui legem deputant ex muliere non factum alio filius uerus hominis non esset nec ex matre carnem traxisse sed quoque prop[ter] hereticos ex eodem lacte nutrendis et semen prouocandis primus manat. Ergo de semine uirginis potuit concipi qui ex eius lacte potuit nutriri.

(BNE MS 9082, fol. 724v)

[Then there were those who represent the law heard saying that he was not born of a woman; in that case he would not be a true son of man nor would he have taken flesh from his mother but also he may be first to live on earth, being nourished from the same milk and brought forth from the seed. Therefore, he could be conceived from the seed of a virgin and could be nourished from her milk].

The words in the Hieronymite breviary reading seem to relate to the arguments put forward by St Ambrose in his De Incarnatione Dominicae or St Augustine against Nestorius, such as his sermon 186, ‘In natale domini’.21

The Franciscan breviary (BNE MS713, fol. 361r) informs the cleric that the final readings may be replaced by three excerpts from sermons of St Jerome. St Jerome wrote homilies on Ezekiel and on Jeremiah.22 He also wrote a translation of Origen’s homilies on Isaiah.23 Much as in the Hieronymite breviary, Jerome’s translation of Origen’s homilies contains much material on the Incarnation of Christ. In the second sermon, Jerome discusses signs, the house of David as a resting place for Christ, and Christ descending from heaven.24

5. Conclusions

It has not been possible to establish with absolute certainty whether the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows was known in the Peninsula before Alfonso X’s CSM. However, none of the extant liturgical books from the thirteenth century or earlier contain it in either liturgy or calendar. In addition, the feast was not incorporated in Rome’s liturgical books until the late fourteenth century. During the fourteenth century, four Castilian or Leonese breviaries contain versions of the feast. The earliest of these might date from fewer than twenty years after the death of Alfonso X (BNE MS 713). Whilst Alfonso X’s version of Holy Mary of the Snows is the earliest witness in the Peninsula, his CSM places the miracle under the auspices of the Assumption and his courtly songs and miracles were little known outside the court (Ferreira 2016, p. 298). By the very end of the thirteenth century, Castilian liturgies accord the feast of Holy Mary of the Snows a place in calendars and an office for the day on 5 August.

Given Alfonso’s political interest in Rome, it would be an attractive theory that the feast relating to Santa Maria Maggiore was brought to his attention by one of the Italian refugees at his court, or by one of his Italian advisers, scribes or translators (Mettmann 1988, p. 77). However, this theory cannot be proven either. It is certainly the case, however, that Alfonso’s decades-long desire to become Holy Roman Emperor underpins his interest in the miracle of Holy Mary of the Snows and he or his poets adapt it to provide an important connection between the Pope and Emperor to suit Alfonso’s own purposes. Alfonso adapts the legend to omit the patrician’s wife. He also omits any reference to the plan of the basilica in the snow. Alfonso wished to link the miracle to his own imperial ambitions, whether as Holy Roman Emperor, abandoned only in 1276 (Valdeón Baruque 2004–2005, p. 244), or as Emperor of a Mediterranean empire. He pays attention to certain aspects of the miracle which correlate to his own situation and ignores others. It is of course the case that Alfonso sought to present a miracle in which a Pope and Emperor worked together to honour the Virgin by building a new church in a city which did not have any place of worship with the advocation of the Virgin. In the case of Seville, conquered by Alfonso’s father, the mosque turned cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin.

Cantiga 309 retains the miraculous snowfall in August and links it to the Assumption feast. When writing about the Assumption, which he terms the principal feast of Holy Mary in August, he explains how the feast is about the Virgin being lifted into heaven. In the case of miracle 309, he indicates the miracle took place in mid-August.

The similarity between the readings in each of the liturgies closest to Alfonso’s day, whether from Zamora Cathedral or from one of the religious Orders, is striking. The version of the story in each of the liturgies, with the exception of the short readings included in the Zamora breviary, contains the outline of signs and wonders which precede the miracle, the history of the foundation of churches in Rome, the vision to the patriarch and his wife, the story of the snow marking out the ground where the church was to be built. In peninsular liturgies, the Assumption was a feast of major importance in August but never liturgically connected to Holy Mary of the Snows (5 August). The standard form the miracle takes in all the early liturgies is in marked contrast to Alfonso X’s version, where the patrician’s wife is not accorded the vision. Instead, only the Pope and patrician, John, who becomes an Emperor in the CSM, meet to discuss the vision each receives.