13909 - Hebrew Codicology and Palaeography

Learning outcomes

The course aims at imparting the fundamental elements of the Hebrew Codicology and Palaeography, offering to the students the ability to read the writings of the Hebrew medieval manuscripts, such as a knowledge of the Hebrew manuscript, of its peculiarities, of the techniques and methods of its production. The student will learn the various types and styles of script used by the Jewish copyists during one thausand and five hundred years from the scrolls of Qumran until the end of the Middle Ages, as well as its evolution. This will be reached through the study of specimina of Hebrew manuscripts, through a direct contact with codexes kept in the libraries of the Emilia Romagna and the use of the repertoires of the dated Hebrew manuscripts, with practical reading exercises on the various Hebrew scripts: square, semicursive and cursive.

Course contents

1. The birth of the Hebrew Codicology and Palaeography as a science: the "Hebrew Palaeography Project" (HPP) of Jerusalem-Paris and the "Sfar-Data" of the dated and located Hebrew manuscripts.

2. Codicological characters of the Hebrew manuscript in the geographical areas and their comparison with the non-Hebrew manuscript: toward a comparative Codicology and Palaeography.

2. The palaeographical traditions: 1) the Islamic-oriental branch: oriental writing, yemenite; 2) the western branch: sephardic, ashkenazic and Italian script. The evolution of the Jewish writing.

3. The styles of Hebrew script: square, semisquare, semicursive and cursive.

4. Reading exercises on the facsimilia of Hebrew dated manuscripts.

Readings/Bibliography

MANUALS

• Sirat C., Hebrew Manuscripts of the Middle Ages, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2002 (or the French original: C. Sirat, Du scribe au livre. Les manuscrits hébreux au Moyen Age, CNRS Edititons, Paris 1994);
• M. Beit-Arié, Hebrew Codicology, The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem 1981.

STUDIES

(the student has to arrange with the teacher three articles or a monograph among those listed below)

A.  MONOGRAFIE

• M. Beit-Arié, Hebrew Manuscripts of East and West. Towards a comparative codicology, The Panizzi Lectures 1992, London 1993;
• B. Richler, Hebrew Manuscripts: A Treasured Legacy, Ofeq Institute, Cleveland-Jerusalem 1990;
• B. Richler, Guide to Hebrew Manuscript Collections, The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem 1994;

B.   ARTICLES

• M. Beit-Arié, The Making of the Medieval Hebrew Book. Studies in Palaeography and Codicology, The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 1993 (reprint of various studies by the author);
• Engel E., Evolutionary Stages of Medieval Scripts as reflected in the “European Genizah”, in M. Perani e C. Ruini (eds.), “Fragmenta ne pereant”. Recupero e studio dei frammenti di manoscritti medievali e rinascimentali riutilizzati in legature, Longo Editore, Ravenna 2002, pp. 89-119.
• M. Perani, The ‘Italian Genizah’. An updated report on fifteen years of research, in European Association for Jewish Studies, EAJS Newsletter, Issue 2, october 1996-february 1997, pp. 15-22.

Teaching methods

Besides the theoretical study, the teaching is based on exercises for the learning of the fundamental notions of Codicology obtained examining some Hebrew manuscripts kept in some libraries of Emilia Romagna.

Assessment methods

Oral examination. Verification of the knowledge of the ancient Hebrew writings through reading of brief parts of manuscripts written in the different semicursive and cursive script.

 

Teaching tools

REPERTOIRES OF FACSIMILIA OF DATED HEBREW MANUSCRIPTS

• Colette Sirat and M. Beit-Arié, Manuscrits médiévaux en charactères hébraïques portant des indications de date jusqu’à 1540, Part I-III, Jerusalem-Paris 1972, 1980, 1986;
• M. Beit-Arié, Specimens of Mediaeval Hebrew Scripts, Vol. I, Oriental and Yemenite Scripts, The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem 1987;
• Beit-Ariè M. e Engel E., Specimens of Mediaeval Hebrew Scripts, in The Hebrew Paleography Project, Vol. II, Sefardic Script, The Israel Academyof Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem 2002;
• Monumenta palaeographica Medii Aevi - Series Hebraica, M. Beit-Arié, C. Sirat, M. Glatzer, Codices hebraicis litteris exarati quo tempore scripti fuerint exhibentes, I-III, Brepols, Turnhout, tom. I 1997, tom. II 1999, tom. III 2002.