‘Sanarvos há con xarope de violas e de rosas’: Men's Beards and Doctrinal Error: The Physical and Spiritual Properties of Scents in the 'Cancionero de Baena'

This article examines three perfumed substances, and their healing properties, which appear in the Cancionero de Baena: balsam, syrup of violets and roses, and beards perfumed, or rather fumigated, with spikenard. The first two are obscure; the third seems clear to interpret. Using a range of medical and other sources, the article suggests interpretations for the different perfumed cures.