THE SACRED SPACE OF THE VIRGIN MARY IN MEDIEVAL HISPANIC LITERATURE - From Gonzalo de Berceo to Ambrosio Montesino

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn

A study of how the Virgin Mary is constructed through sacred places and spatial imagery in medieval Hispanic literature, tracing developments from Gonzalo de Berceo to Ambrosio Montesino. It examines the relationship between liturgy and place, miracle collections and foreign spaces, hortus conclusus themes of virginity and fruitful space, and Marian wells, fountains, and their architecture. The book also analyzes liminal entry and exit spaces, the temple and tabernacle as sites of devotion, Mary as protective defense, perfumed spaces in Montesino, and related hymns and indexes that map places, objects, containers, plants, and fragrances.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages498

Reading Time12 h 47 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction: Sacred Spaces and Places: Constructing the Virgin Mary in Hispanic Literature

Liturgy and Place

1 A Feast of Miracles: Foreign Places, Foreign Spaces in Hispanic Miracle Collections

2 Hortus conclusus? Virginity and Fruitful Space in Gonzalo de Berceo’s Los Milagros de Nuestra Señora

3 Holding and Reflecting the Water of Life in Gonzalo de Berceo’s ‘fuent’

4 Fountains and their Architecture: Situating Fountains in the Poetry of the Marqués de Santillana and Other Fifteenth-century Poets

5 The Temple Gate, the Lions’ Den, and the Furnace: Liminal Spaces in Gonzalo de Berceo’s Marian Poetry

6 The Sacred Temple, the Tabernacle, and the Reliquary in the Poetry of Late Medieval Poets

7 Home is where the Heart is: Christ’s Dwelling Place from Gonzalo de Berceo’s Loores de Nuestra Señora to Isabel de Villena’s Vita Christi

8 Mary as a Strong Defence: The Protective Space of the Virgin

9 ‘Más olías que ambargris’: Perfumed Spaces of the Virgin in Fray Ambrosio Montesino’s Poetry

Afterword

Appendix: Peninsular Hymns to the Virgin

Bibliography

Index of Places as Marian Figures

Index of Objects and Containers

Index of Plants, Medicinal Substances and Perfumes

General Index

THE SACRED SPACE OF THE VIRGIN MARY IN MEDIEVAL HISPANIC LITERATURE from Gonzalo de Berceo to Ambrosio LESLEY K. TWOMEY Montesino Colección Támesis SERIE A: MONOGRAFÍAS, 381 THE SACRED SPACE OF THE VIRGIN MARY IN MEDIEVAL HISPANIC LITERATURE Tamesis Founding Editors †J. E. Varey †Alan Deyermond General Editor Stephen M. Hart Series Editor of Fuentes para la historia del teatro en España Charles Davis Advisory Board Rolena Adorno Andrew M. Beresford John Beverley Efraín Kristal Jo Labanyi Alison Sinclair Isabel Torres LESLEY K. TWOMEY THE SACRED SPACE OF THE VIRGIN MARY IN MEDIEVAL HISPANIC LITERATURE FROM GONZALO DE BERCEO TO AMBROSIO MONTESINO TAMESIS © Lesley K. Twomey 2019 All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner The right of Lesley K. Twomey to be identified asthe author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 First published 2019 Tamesis, Woodbridge ISBN 978 1 85566 323 7 Tamesis is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester NY 14620-2731, USA [website: www.boydellandbrewer.com](website: www.boydellandbrewer.com) The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence of accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library This publication is printed on acid-free paper Typeset by [www.thewordservice.com](www.thewordservice.com) To Derry, for a lifetime of support and love Contents List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xii Introduction: Sacred Spaces and Places: Constructing the Virgin Mary in 1 Hispanic Literature Liturgy and Place 1 A Feast of Miracles: Foreign Places, Foreign Spaces in Hispanic Miracle 35 Collections Places of Growth and Irrigation 2 Hortus conclusus? Virginity and Fruitful Space in Gonzalo de Berceo’s 73 Los Milagros de Nuestra Señora 3 Holding and Reflecting the Water of Life in Gonzalo de Berceo’s ‘fuent’: 119 Wellsprings and Fountains as a Figure of the Virgin 4 Fountains and their Architecture: Situating Fountains in the Poetry of 147 the Marqués de Santillana and Other Fifteenth-century Poets Places of Entry and Exit 5 The Temple Gate, the Lions’ Den, and the Furnace: Liminal Spaces in 179 Gonzalo de Berceo’s Marian Poetry 6 The Sacred Temple, the Tabernacle, and the Reliquary in the Poetry of 205 Pedro de Santa Fé, Fernán Pérez de Guzmán, Juan Tallante, and Other Late Medieval Poets viii CONTENTS 7 Home is where the Heart is: Christ’s Dwelling Place from Gonzalo de 247 Berceo’s Loores de Nuestra Señora to the Vita Christi of Isabel de Villena Spaces of Protection 8 Mary as a Strong Defence: The Protective Space of the Virgin from 287 Alfonso X’s Cantigas de Santa Maria to Jaume Roig’s Siege Engine 9 ‘Más olías que ambargris’: Perfumed Spaces ofthe Virgin in 327 Fray Ambrosio Montesino’s Poetry Afterword 377 Appendix: Peninsular Hymns to the Virgin 385 Bibliography 429 Index of Places as Marian Figures 467 Index of Objects and Containers 470 Index of Plants, Medicinal Substances and Perfumes 471 General Index 473 Illustrations 1 ‘Helsinus saved from a Shipwreck and (below) a French Canon drowned 63 by Devils’, London, National Gallery, NG 4520.4. © The National Gallery, London. 2 Fountain in the cloisters, La Seu d’Urgell. Reproduced with permission 81 of the Museu Diocesà d’Urgell, Bisbat de La

FAQs

How does the book link liturgy and place in constructing the Virgin Mary?

It studies how devotional practices and spatial settings work together, treating sacred spaces as a key mechanism for shaping Mary’s meaning within medieval Hispanic texts.

Which Marian locations and spatial motifs are examined across the chapters?

The analysis covers miracle collections and foreign spaces, enclosed gardens of virginity, wells and fountains, architectural settings, liminal gates and furnaces, and the temple-like space of devotion.

How does the study treat protection and sensory atmosphere in Mary’s space?

It presents Mary as a protective defense and explores perfumed spaces in Ambrosio Montesino’s poetry, focusing on how atmosphere and senses intensify Marian presence.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn