LOS MILAGROS DE NUESTRA SEÑORA, de BERCEO

These legends teach us how Santa Maria always helps those who seek help. But they also show her sometimes angry; striking the devil or scolding a proud bishop. Reading these stories we'll hear an image of Christ, speak as a witness, and we'll see how the insensitive Teófilo gives his soul to the devil in a letter. Or how the Virgin saves a woman from drowning in stormy seas, and helps her to give birth. These stories are tender, wonderful and shine a light on everyday life from long, long ago. Gonzalo was born in 1195 in Berceo and educated at the monastery San Millan de Suso in La Rioja. He was a cleric and the first known poet to write in the Spanish language. His final poem, La Vida de Santa Oria was composed in 1260 and soon after he died. (c.1264). Milagros de Santa María was written over many years, and based in part on notes taken from accounts of the virgin's miracles in Latin Texts.