IMC 2024: Sessions
Session 102: Afterlives and Legacies: Interventions in Medieval Hebrew Manuscripts
Monday 1 July 2024, 11:15-12:45
| Sponsor: | International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) |
|---|---|
| Organisers: | Laura Feigen, History of Art, Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London Reed O'Mara, Department of Art History & Art, Case Western Reserve University, Ohio |
| Moderator/Chair: | Laura Feigen, History of Art, Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London |
| Respondent: | Reed O'Mara, Department of Art History & Art, Case Western Reserve University, Ohio |
| Paper 102-a | From Ashkenaz to Italy: The Giant Masoretic Bible in the Berio Civic Library of Genoa (Language: English) Index terms: Archaeology - General, Art History - General, Biblical Studies and Hebrew and Jewish Studies |
| Paper 102-b | Andalusi Prestige and Magical Migration: The Ritual and Diasporic Legacy of the Sefer Ahavat (Language: English) Index terms: Art History - General, Hebrew and Jewish Studies and Manuscripts and Palaeography |
| Paper 102-c | Reimagining Visual Narratives: Interventions in Illustrations of Medieval Hebrew Manuscripts (Language: English) Index terms: Art History - General and Hebrew and Jewish Studies |
| Abstract | The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries witnessed a particular efflorescence in the creation of decorated Hebrew manuscripts in Europe. Many of these manuscripts, made for Jewish patrons, are known for their beautiful micrographic designs, exceptional calligraphy, and elaborate illuminations. More importantly, they are also immediately recognizable for the interventions they have sustained over time; the panoply of censored passages, abraded images, and prominent signs of use, such as stains and tears, set this corpus apart. How did these interventions, whether intentional or accidental, shape Jewish visual and written culture in both the period when these manuscripts were made and beyond? What can these interventions reveal about the manuscripts' provenance, namely, the diversity of viewers, readers, and owners who beheld these manuscripts, especially during times of forced relocation, persecution, and crisis? What do these interventions suggest about changes to this rich material culture over time and, more broadly, what insight can they provide into Jewish life, ritual, and thought across historical periods? In this session, three speakers will deliver twenty-minute papers addressing these questions and more in their examinations of these fraught codices. |