Zajalesque

Long ago Julian Ribera pointed out that the majority of the cantigas (up to 90 percent) are zajalesque in form, and that in them the matla', which is repeated in writing after every stanza, functions as a refrain, as the musical notation proves.

Although the notion of a pivotal position of the culture of Toledo is difficult to resist, and may explain the way zajalesque rhymes are to be found in the Cantigas, it does not directly explain the earlier interchanges: but it does provide a model whereby the conditions of receptivity, mentioned earlier, might well have prevailed at various stages in the history of the zajal, muwashshah and Occidental lyric.

The zajalesque rhyme-scheme (aa bbba [aa] ccca etc.) is further typical of the Portuguese and Italian songs with initial refrain and vuelta.

The first four strophes of the poem exhibit a remarkably zajalesque structure, including an initial refrain, mudanzas/ghuṣns with rhymes that differ from the refrain, and vueltas/ simṭs with rhymes that coincide with the latter, the only exception being that of the fourth strophe, which, due to a lacuna, lacks a vuelta/simṭ.