Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Jewish History
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Recent papers in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Jewish History
Petrus Alfonsi was an important and unusual figure in the "twelfth-century renaissance" whose interests embraced polemical theology, astronomy, and literature, each an area in which he made important contributions to the development of... more
The Arch of Titus, constructed circa 81 CE under the emperor Domitian, commemorates the victory of the general, then emperor Titus in the Jewish War of 66–74 CE. Located on Rome’s Via Sacra, the Arch has been a “place of memory” for... more
This is an extract from my new book, Messiah ben Joseph. It's the largest book ever written—and the first ever in English—on Messiah ben Joseph, the slain messiah of Rabbinic Judaism. It traces Messiah ben Joseph, from his origins in the... more
"An essay looking at the role that the cults of devotion to the saints played in Christian life in medieval europe. It looks at areas such as the development of saints in the early church, the grown of localised sacred space and in... more
In the first century of Islam, most of the former Christian Roman Empire, from Syria to Spain, was brought under Muslim control in a conquest of unprecedented proportions. Confronted by the world of Islam, countless medieval Christians... more
Everyone has a theory about the Voynich Manuscript… so here is mine. The Voynich Manuscript was written in the 15th century, and so far to date, no other example, in this form of writing exists in the world. My theory is that it is... more
While we might and should concede that the Marxist analysis of the greed driven early capitalist systems, which, at least to some extent, is also true for today's free-market economies, is right about its conclusion that the underlying... more
The principle of majority rule is considered to have deep roots in Jewish tradition. The present article reexamines its development as a principle of decision-making and as a political principle as well. The article takes the reader on a... more
Abstract The discovery of pawned objects in treasure troves attributed to Jews enables investigation of the use and understanding of these objects by Jews, especially regarding those of a more secular nature, i.e. objects that have little... more
""Dear reader, are you really hoping for a book of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’? Do you want gentle ideas and a comfortable corner in which to rest your half-formed prejudices? Alas, you have come to the wrong place. The truly employable in this... more
"a) "David von Augsburg als Meister der traditionellen Stilkunst" - kurze Einführung in das literarische Werk und die Stilkunst des franziskanischen Novizenmeisters David von Augsburg (gest. 1272). b) David von Augsburg: „Die sieben... more
Resumo: Este artigo discutirá a visão do trabalho no texto bíblico que tende a ser idealizada, mas mantém certa dose de coerência com os valores sociais aceitos e praticados pela sociedade. O trecho inicial do Pentateuco, inserido nos... more
Resumo: A história pode servir para entender a permanência e a continuidade de determinadas crenças e comportamentos sociais. O propósito deste artigo é refletir sobre os primórdios do preconceito antijudaico e sobre como, a partir de sua... more
Drawing on rabbinic sources redacted in the early third and late fourth/early fifth centuries, this paper tracks the intertwined lives of divine image-things and rabbis living in late Roman and Byzantine period Palestine. The paper argues... more
הכתר של מרת צמח בת ר' אהרן: תפיסות של מלכוּת מעמד ובתולין בקרב כלות אשכנזיות בימה"ב תקציר: עניינו של מאמר זה הוא כתר הפלורינים שחובשת דמותה המצוירת של מרת צמח בת רבי אהרן, גיבורת הכתובה מקרמס. הממצאים החומריים וחזותיים ועדויות כתובות... more
Abstract: This article is part of the scholarly revival in Angela of Foligno (c.1248-c. 1308) studies in relation to images. With the exhibition entitled "Dal visibile all’indicibile. Crocifissi ed esperienza mistica in Angela da Foligno"... more
This volume consists of an edition, translated into English and with an extensive introduction, of the Arabic translation and commentary on the book of Esther by one of the preeminent litterateurs of the Karaite “Golden Age” (10th–11th... more
The objective of this study is to analyze the conflict presented in a less known saga: the Saga of the Men of Svinafell (Svínfellinga saga). Until now none of the studies dealing with conflict in Iceland took this saga into consideration.... more
Published in Al-Qantara XV (1994), 163-199
If you wish to get a PDF e-mail me directly. This article deals with the various medieval versions of belief in the possibility of conception without sexual relations – either in a bath, from the semen of a man who had bathed there, or... more
In contrast to Samuel ibn Tibbon's naturalistic exegesis, should Meiri's moderate Maimonidean commitment to a cosmogony involving Divine volition be characterized as "fideistic"? I argue in the negative.