Contracts as Weapons: Notarial Power and Jewish Agency in the Late Medieval Crown of Aragon
Contracts as Weapons: Notarial Power and Jewish Agency in the Late Medieval Crown of Aragon Paper by Sarah Ifft Decker Given at The…
Abraham ibn Ezra: A Medieval Philosopher and Poet’s Words for Today
He left behind a legacy of poetry, humor, original biblical scholarship in Hebrew, works on grammar, scientific oeuvres and more meditational works, all of which are imbued with his philosophy.
The Washington Haggadah and 33 other Medieval Manuscripts digitized by the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress has released some 230 newly digitized manuscripts written in Hebrew and similar languages such as Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Persian and Yiddish. It includes 34 manuscripts dating between the 11th and 16th centuries.
New Medieval Books: Jewish Life in Medieval Spain
Focusing on mostly the later medieval period, this book examines the Jewish community in Spain, covering a turbulent period that saw much happen within the community as well as in their relations with their Christian and Muslim neighbours.
In Between Two Worlds: Jewish Women and Conversion in Late Medieval Catalonia
Blanca de Banyoles’ life is in many ways emblematic of the experiences of many Jewish women who converted to Christianity following the violence of 1391.
Codex Sassoon sells for $38 million at auction
An 1100-year-old manuscript has sold for $38,126,000 (US), making it the most valuable medieval manuscript to be auctioned. The Codex Sassoon, which contains an almost complete version of the Hebrew Bible, was purchased by Alfred H. Moses and will be donated to the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Israel.
The Story of Moses at the Mongol Court
The extant paintings prominently feature the life of Moses in a synthesis of stylistic sources, reflecting a unique cosmopolitan union of history and religion.
Hostility Against the Jews in Medieval France
In France, as in other European regions, the medieval era saw changing and contradictory attitudes towards the Jews, who were alternately tolerated and persecuted.
The Rhineland Massacres of the First Crusade
Around the mid-twelfth century, a Jewish chronicler named Solomon bar Simson penned an account of events that had happened 50 years earlier – events that were devastating for his fellow Jewish community in parts of Europe.
Women’s Work in Catalonia with Sarah Ifft Decker
We know that women in the Middle Ages worked and contributed in vital ways to their families and communities, but where do we find the evidence? And what can it tell us? This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Sarah Ifft Decker about women’s work in medieval Catalonia, how we can trace it, and how it differed from city to city and faith to faith.
The Kidnapping of Baby Bonafilla: Jewish guardianship, conversion, and mixed families in the aftermath of 1391 in Girona
In early 1417, the Jewish guardians of Bonafilla, the daughter of Nacim Roven, kidnapped the young toddler to prevent her conversa mother and stepfather from converting the child
What we learned from a medieval Jewish cemetery in Erfurt
Last month we released a study examining the remains of the medieval Ashkenazi Jewish community in Erfurt, Germany. Our research has given us a better understanding of how this community lived in the Middle Ages.
Medieval Well Poisoning Accusations with Tzafrir Barzilay
Medieval antisemitism flared up most famously and tragically during the Black Death when Jews were accused of deliberately poisoning wells, and thousands were executed for this wholly imagined crime. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Tzafrir Barzliay about what made well poisoning conspiracy theories so powerful, and how they started.
Insiders, Outsiders and In Between: The Jews of Medieval Europe
The talk will examine instances of business partnerships, neighborly interactions and religious ritual and attempt to provide a complex understanding of the dynamics of daily life.
Scriptural Reasoning, Medieval Style: Interfaith Dialogue in Twelfth-Century Paris
Andrew of Saint Victor’s commentary on Isaiah caused a scandal almost as soon as it was written, around 1150. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Andrew often spurned the Christian meaning of the text, in favor of interpretation he found in contemporary Jewish commentators.
‘It’s Set Your Eyes Aflame’: Two Poems from the 14th century
Two beautiful poems from the 14th century, one called ‘Love’s Cure’ and the other ‘My Religion—My Wine’
The Cairo Geniza: What it tells us about Jewish Medieval Life in the Middle East
Benjamin Outhwaite discusses what the Cairo Genizah is, what can be found in it, and what it can tell us about the medieval past.
Medieval manuscript to be auctioned off for as much as $6 million, but not without controversy
The Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor, created around the year 1300, is set to sell for between $4 million to $6 million (US) at an auction next week, despite calls to keep the medieval manuscript in France.
Christians and Jews in 13th-century England, with Adrienne Williams Boyarin
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Adrienne Williams Boyarin about the ways in which Christians and Jews dealt with similarity and difference in thirteenth-century England.
The Greatest Bible Ever Written: Kennicott no. 1, La Coruña, Spain, 1476
The Kennicott Bible is the crown jewel of all medieval Hebrew manuscripts, expertly written by a skillful scribe and beautifully illuminated by an ingenious artist.
800-year-old medieval pottery fragments reveal Jewish dietary practices
A team of scientists have found the first evidence of a religious diet locked inside pottery fragments excavated from the early medieval Jewish community of Oxford.
Conversion, Circumcision, and Ritual Murder: A Medieval Mystery, Unravelled
Paola Tartakoff of Rutgers University discusses her new book, Conversion, Circumcision, and Ritual Murder in Medieval Europe, which explores the “Norwich Circumcision Case” from multiple perspectives.
Jews and Crime in Medieval Europe
Drawing on a variety of legal, liturgical, literary, and archival sources, Ephraim Shoham-Steiner examines the reasons for the involvement in crime, the social profile of Jews who performed crimes, and the ways and mechanisms employed by the legal and communal body to deal with Jewish criminals and with crimes committed by Jews.
A Thirteenth-Century Polymath Considers the Jews
William Chester Jordan speaking about the 13th-century polymath John of Garland and his views about the Jews.
British Library reopens with new exhibition on Hebrew Manuscripts
The British Library has reopened its galleries and other areas to the public, and has a launched a new exhibition for those interested in medieval manuscripts.