DOCSLIB.ORG

Chinese Porcelain Ordered by Portuguese Jews in the Diaspora*

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Chinese Porcelain Ordered by Portuguese Jews in the Diaspora* Chinese Porcelain Ordered by Portuguese Jews 473 Chapter 21 Chinese Porcelain Ordered by Portuguese Jews in the Diaspora* Roberto Bachmann For a better understanding of the subject referred to in the title, we have to look into the historical background of the Jews in Portugal and the Jewish fam- ilies that originated from there. The Jews in Portugal around the year 1500 were a minority, numbering between 80,000 and 100,000 in a population of about one million inhabitants. This number included about 40,000 Portuguese Jews and about 50,000 Jews exiled from Spain after 1391, but mainly after August 1492, the date when their expulsion was implemented by Isabel and Fernando, the “Catholic Kings,” rep- resenting around ten per cent of the total population of Portugal at the end of the fifteenth century. This Jewish minority lived in harmony with the local powers, and was to a large degree tolerated under the protection of the kings of Portugal, whom they served in the fiscal administration, in the economy and in the sciences. They contributed from the beginning with their scientific knowledge to the Portuguese discoveries, with leading figures such as Rabbi Abraham Zacuto, mathematician to the King and author of the Perpetual Almanac, his disciple, Master José Vizinho, physician and astrologer to King João II. A probable great- great grandson of Zacuto, by the name of Manuel Álvares de Távora, called Zacuto Lusitano, was a doctor of great prestige, who left an important collec- tion of writings. However, the break came in 1496 when the Edict of Expulsion of the Jews from Portuguese territory was signed in Muge (Ribatejo) by King Manuel I, supposedly for dynastic reasons, followed a year later by the decree of forced conversion of the entire Jewish population, now transmuted into “conversos,” in Portugal called New Christians, and then in 1499 when their emigration from the country was forbidden, whether as individuals or in groups. Earlier, in 1493, King João II ordered the deportation of about 2,000 young New Christians aged between 10 and 15 years old to the island of São Tomé, * This text was originally published in Portugal in Porcelain from China: 500 Years of Trade, ed. A. Varela Santos (Lisbon: Artemágica, 2010, vol. IV). © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2018 | doi 10.1163/9789004364974_022 474 Bachmann which had been discovered only a few years earlier. They were the children of Jews from Spain who had been exiled in Portugal in 1492, and this second forced relocation was done under the pretext of wanting to educate them in the Catholic faith and as an attempt to populate São Tomé, known as the “Lizard Island” in Jewish chronicles of the time. The massacre of 1506, which began in Largo de São Domingos in Lisbon, aggravated the discomfort of this numerically and socially important segment of the population of the kingdom, now converted into New Christians. Even so, they were unable to escape the fury of the population, incited by Dominican friars, costing the lives of some 4,000 New Christians, sacrificed in the public square just yards away from the Church of São Domingos. Recently, a small monument was erected in the square where the killings started. In 1536, under King John III, with the implantation in Portugal of the Inqui- sition – officially known as the Holy Office Court – finally approved in Rome by Pope Clement VII, the exodus escalated, and the New Christians emigrating to the four corners of the then known world, leaving the country with little or no luggage and in most cases, with just their knowledge and the determination to rebuild their lives abroad. The first auto-da-fé in Portugal took place in September 1540, followed by another one in 1541, with nine people executed and 23 condemned to death in their absence. This spread panic amongst the New Christians, who were afraid of being accused, justly or, in most cases, unjustly of secretly still practicing Judaism. And so, seeking a less hostile environment, there were Portuguese New Christians in Hamburg, Antwerp, Bordeaux, Venice, Ferrara and Livorno, as well as in North Africa, in the Ottoman empire and in all the recently discov- ered lands of the New World. Important figures originating from Portugal were or became outstanding in the field of medicine, occupying chairs at the Universities of Pisa and Padua, as was the case of the illustrious medical doctor Rodrigo da Fonseca born in Lisbon. In Venice, and later in Amsterdam, Fernando (Isaac) Cardoso, born in Trancoso (Portugal), after his exile from Spain, where he was physician to Philip II of Spain, wrote medical and philo- sophical works of great interest, as well as a vindication of the Jews in response to attacks and calumnies made to them. In Italy there was also Jehuda Abravanel, the physician and philosopher also known as Leão Hebreo, born in Portugal of the noble lineage of the Abravanel family. He wrote the Dialogues of Love, a neo-Platonist work, the first edition being published in 1535. The sec- ond edition (Venice 1541) mentions in the title page that the author is “of the Hebrew nation and later converted to Christianism.” It is not known whether Leão Hebreo abandoned the Jewish faith at any time, and it is assumed that the .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Global Form and Fantasy in Yiddish Literary Culture: Visions from Mexico City and Buenos Aires
    Global Form and Fantasy in Yiddish Literary Culture: Visions from Mexico City and Buenos Aires by William Gertz Runyan A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Comparative Literature) in the University of Michigan 2019 Doctoral Committee: Professor Mikhail Krutikov, Chair Professor Tomoko Masuzawa Professor Anita Norich Professor Mauricio Tenorio Trillo, University of Chicago William Gertz Runyan [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3955-1574 © William Gertz Runyan 2019 Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to my dissertation committee members Tomoko Masuzawa, Anita Norich, Mauricio Tenorio and foremost Misha Krutikov. I also wish to thank: The Department of Comparative Literature, the Jean and Samuel Frankel Center for Judaic Studies and the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan for providing the frameworks and the resources to complete this research. The Social Science Research Council for the International Dissertation Research Fellowship that enabled my work in Mexico City and Buenos Aires. Tamara Gleason Freidberg for our readings and exchanges in Coyoacán and beyond. Margo and Susana Glantz for speaking with me about their father. Michael Pifer for the writing sessions and always illuminating observations. Jason Wagner for the vegetables and the conversations about Yiddish poetry. Carrie Wood for her expert note taking and friendship. Suphak Chawla, Amr Kamal, Başak Çandar, Chris Meade, Olga Greco, Shira Schwartz and Sara Garibova for providing a sense of community. Leyenkrayz regulars past and present for the lively readings over the years. This dissertation would not have come to fruition without the support of my family, not least my mother who assisted with formatting.
    [Show full text]
  • Columbus: Mystic, Zionist
    1 COLUMBUS: MYSTIC, ZIONIST José Faur Netanya Academic College Columbus (died in Valladolid in May 20, 1506) is a man shrouded in mystery. On the one hand, he is the most important individual in modern history: single handedly he changed the face of the globe. On the other hand, little is known about his background and early life. There is a twofold reason for this mystery. First, Columbus and his contemporaries deliberately clouded highly signficant biographical data. Second, modern historians went out of their way to exclude key phrases used by Columbus and his contemporaries, and glossed over documentary evidence concerning crucial aspects of his biography and beliefs. What is commonly taught about him is neither consistent with, nor stands up to, critical investigation. The data offered by historians do not jive with the information given by Columbus about himself or with what his contemparies in Spain said. To avoid asking plain questions about the history and life of the great Discoverer, specialists perform all type of mental acrobatics. Both, the cryptic character of Columbus’ life and modern scholarship coincide in their efforts to becloud his biography; the motivation springs from a single source: prejudice. An investigation of the documentary evidence, particularly what Columbus wrote, shows that the great Discoverer came from a Jewish background. Américo Castro had shown that at the time of Columbus and throughout much of Spanish history, to acknowledge the Jewish background of anyone credited with a major contribution was anathema. Steeped in deep Mentalities/Mentalités Volume 28, Number 3, 2016 ISSN- 0111-8854 @2016 Mentalities/Mentalités All material in the Journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated.
    [Show full text]
  • Important Portuguese of the Past
    Important Portuguese of the Past Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (Sines or Vidigueira, Alentejo, Portugal, around 1460 or 1469 – 24 December 1524 in Kochi, India) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. For a short time in 1524 he was Governor of Portuguese India under the title of Viceroy. Vasco da Gama's father was Estêvão da Gama. In the 1460s he was a knight in the household of the Duke of Viseu, Dom Fernando.[3] Dom Fernando appointed him Alcaide-Mór or Civil Governor of Sines and enabled him to receive a small revenue from taxes on soap making in Estremoz. Estêvão da Gama was married to Dona Isabel Sodré, who was the daughter of João Sodré (also known as João de Resende). Sodré, who was of English descent, had links to the household of Prince Diogo, Duke of Viseu, son of king Edward I of Portugal and governor of the military Order of Christ.[4] Little is known of Vasco da Gama's early life. It has been suggested by the Portuguese historian Teixeira de Aragão that he studied at the inland town of Évora, which is where he may have learned mathematics and navigation. It is evident that Gama knew astronomy well, and it is possible that he may have studied under the astronomer Abraham Zacuto.[5] In 1492 King John II of Portugal sent Gama to the port of Setúbal, south of Lisbon and to the Algarve to seize French ships in retaliation for peacetime depredations against Portuguese shipping - a task that Vasco rapidly and effectively performed.
    [Show full text]
  • The Astronomical Navigation in Portugal in the Age of Discoveries
    CAHIERS FRANÇOIS VIÈTE Série III – N° 3 201 7 History of Astronomy in Portugal Edited by Fernando B. Figueiredo & Colette Le Lay Centre François Viète Épistémologie, histoire des sciences et des techniques Université de Nantes - Université de Bretagne Occidentale Imprimerie Centrale de l'Université de Nantes Décembre 2017 Cahiers François Viète La revue du Centre François Viète Épistémologie, Histoire des Sciences et des Techniques EA 1161, Université de Nantes - Université de Bretagne Occidentale ISSN 1297-9112 [email protected] www.cfv.univ-nantes.fr Depuis 1999, les Cahiers François Viète publient des articles originaux, en français ou en anglais, d'épistémologie et d'histoire des sciences et des techniques. Les Cahiers François Viète se sont dotés d'un comité de lecture international depuis 2016. Rédaction Rédactrice en chef – Jenny Boucard Secrétaire de rédaction – Sylvie Guionnet Comité de rédaction – Delphine Acolat, Frédéric Le Blay, Colette Le Lay, Karine Lejeune, Cristiana Oghina-Pavie, David Plouviez, Pierre Savaton, Pierre Teissier, Scott Walter Comité de lecture Martine Acerra, Yaovi Akakpo, Guy Boistel, Olivier Bruneau, Hugues Chabot, Ronei Clecio Mocellin, Jean-Claude Dupont, Luiz Henrique Dutra, Fernando Figueiredo, Catherine Goldstein, Jean-Marie Guillouët, Céline Lafontaine, Pierre Lamard, Philippe Nabonnand, Karen Parshall, François Pepin, Olivier Perru, Viviane Quirke, Pedro Raposo, Anne Rasmussen, Sabine Rommevaux- Tani, Martina Schiavon, Josep Simon, Rogerio Monteiro de Siqueira, Ezio Vaccari,
    [Show full text]
  • 1 David Gans on the Gregorian Reform, Modern Astronomy, and The
    1 David Gans on the Gregorian reform, modern astronomy, and the Jewish calendar If we are to identify a uniting thread, or a common denominator, between in David Gans’ diverse works, – history on the one hand, and astronomy on the other – this must be an interest in the measurement of time. David Gans (1541-1613) was a leading Jewish historiographer and astronomer of the early modern period. Born in Lippstadt, he received a rabbinic education in Cracow under R. Moses Isserles, and in Prague, where he spent most of his life, under R. Loew b. Betzalel (the Maharal); but he also immersed himself in the study of history, mathematics, and astronomy. Both his major works, Tsemaḥ David (a Jewish and world chronography) and Neḥmad ve-Naim (a handbook of astronomy), assume in very different ways a range of notions about chronology, calendars, and the flow of time. Gans also wrote a specific treatise on the Jewish calendar, entitled Maor ha-Qaton (‘the smaller luminary’, i.e. the moon – Gen. 1:16); but unfortunately this work is lost. Nevertheless, a sufficient number of references are made to calendar and chronology in the works that are extant to convey his views on the Jewish calendar and, in particular, the Jewish calendar’s significance for the study of astronomy and its relationship with its Christian counterpart.1 By the late 16th century, when Gans was writing, there existed a rich tradition of scholarship on the Jewish calendar for him to draw on. The early 12th century had witnessed an eruption of monographic writing on the Jewish calendar, with books later to be known under the standard title ‘Sefer ha-Ibbur’ (‘Book of the intercalation’ or ‘calendar’), authored by Abraham b.
    [Show full text]
  • Columbus Sculpture Frank Meisler, 1994
    Columbus Sculpture Frank Meisler, 1994. Gifted by the Schalit Family 1492: Year of Expulsion and Exploration This two-sided sculpture panel tells the story of two simultaneous journeys, separate yet closely linked. The expulsion of the Jews from Spain, and Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the New World, occurred within a few days of each other in August 1492. On the right face, in dark bronze and gold, are navigational instruments, maps and writings of the Jewish scholars and mapmakers of Spain. In particular Rabbi Abraham Zacuto’s new design of astrolabe made the great voyages of the 15th Century possible. There is also a reference to the great Talmudic scholar Moshe ben Nahman (Ramban), born in Girona, who after the Disputation of Barcelona in 1263 settled in Jerusalem. On the left face, in contrasting bright silver, stands Columbus at the thrusting prow of his flagship the “Santa Maria”. This voyage led to a “New World” of much greater religious freedom and toleration. But the voyage almost ended in disaster. As Frank Meisler himself wrote: “I have placed Columbus at the prow of the “Santa Maria”, leaning out, desperate to detect land ahead. His mutinous crew had given him just two days grace to sight land, else they would force him to return on a home voyage which, even had they survived, would have branded him a charlatan and a failure. Before him - if land would indeed be found in those last hours - lay the total vindication of his life, immense rewards, and his assured place as one of the great men the world has known.
    [Show full text]
  • Uma Família De Cristãos-Novos Do Entre Douro E Minho: Os Paz Reprodução Familiar, Formas De Mobilidade Social, Mercancia E Poder (1495-1598)
    UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA FACULDADE DE LETRAS DEPARTAMENTO DE HISTÓRIA Uma Família de Cristãos-Novos do Entre Douro e Minho: Os Paz Reprodução Familiar, Formas de Mobilidade Social, Mercancia e Poder (1495-1598) Carlos Manuel Valentim DISSERTAÇÃO DE MESTRADO EM HISTÓRIA MODERNA ORIENTADA PELO PROFESSOR DOUTOR A. A. MARQUES DE ALMEIDA 2007 Para as estrelas do céu, que ao longo da minha existência me têm acompanhado nas meditações sobre a minha condição de ser mortal, e nas minhas simples reflexões sobre o mistério do Cosmos , e que dia após dia continuam brilhantes a muitos milhões de anos luz , intocáveis, repletas de uma beleza eterna, muito embora, porventura, já se tenham extinguido . ÍNDICE Pág. INTRODUÇÃO 1 I- COMPOSIÇÃO E REPRODUÇÃO 9 FAMILIAR 1- As questões antropológicas: estrutura familiar, 11 parentesco e consanguinidade 2- Mestre João: controvérsia e enigma 13 3- A Formação da Família em território português – a 43 reprodução familiar II- FORMAÇÃO DE UMA REDE MERCANTIL E APROPRIAÇÃO DO ESPAÇO 53 1- A Produção de um Espaço Familiar 55 2- O Espaço Vital: um Entre Douro e Minho Alargado 57 3- Uma Rede Familiar e Mercantil 69 3.1- Um Novo Ciclo de Negócios 69 3.2- As Boas Oportunidades de Negócio 78 3.3- Família e Negócios no Norte Atlântico 85 4- Apropriação e representação do espaço: O desígnio de uma 94 rede familiar III- MOBILIDADE SOCIAL E PODER 113 1- A Mobilidade Social Ascendente numa Sociedade de Ordens 115 2- Expansão Patrimonial e Poder Social 118 3- Ascensão Social e Poder Simbólico: uma Elite numa 127 Sociedade Corporativa 4- As Armas – o nome e o sangue gravados a ouro 139 IV- INQUISIÇÃO E INTEGRAÇÃO 143 1- Entre a integração e a assimilação forçada 145 2- A luta contra o estabelecimento da Inquisição – Duarte 152 de Paz um líder dos cristãos-novos em Roma (1532-1538) 3- Os Vizinhos que nos acusam.
    [Show full text]
  • Geraldo Barbosa Neto.Pdf
    PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DE SÃO PAULO PUC-SP GERALDO BARBOSA NETO AS CIÊNCIAS QUE OS ASTROS ASSINALARAM: uma abordagem histórico- filosófica do universo de conhecimento de Abraham Zacuto (1478-1496) MESTRADO EM HISTÓRIA São Paulo 2012 PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DE SÃO PAULO PUC-SP GERALDO BARBOSA NETO AS CIÊNCIAS QUE OS ASTROS ASSINALARAM: uma abordagem histórico- filosófica do universo de conhecimento de Abraham Zacuto (1478-1496) Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada à Banca Examinadora da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, como exigência parcial para a obtenção do título de MESTRE em História, sob a orientação da Professora Doutora Maria Odila da Silva Dias. São Paulo 2012 COMISSÃO EXAMINADORA ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ À minha esposa Michele e à minha filha Samya, de quem obtive inspiração para a realização deste trabalho. AGRADECIMENTOS À minha família pelo apoio, compreensão e paciência. Aos meus colegas que partilharam comigo as angústias e expectativas que cercam uma pesquisa histórica e cujo este estudo apresenta em alguns trechos o desenvolvimento de algumas de suas gentis contribuições e comentários. Aos professores que acompanharam esta investigação e a enriqueceram com sua experiência de pesquisa, em especial, à professora Maria Odila da Silva Dias, que com sua notável erudição, simplicidade, gentileza e admirável bom humor, me proporcionou o contato com uma historiografia que possibilitou abordar o tema desta pesquisa em uma nova perspectiva, e me despertou para um campo histórico no qual – acredito – me encontrei como historiador. “Vai-se falar de astrologia [...], e falar de astrologia comporta seus riscos, ou pelo menos o risco de quem nos ouve poder pensar, sem que lhe possa negar tal direito, que a escolha do tema denuncia quem a fez como astrólogo [...].
    [Show full text]
  • Making Jews Modern in the Polish Borderlands
    Out of the Shtetl Making Jews Modern in the Polish Borderlands NANCY SINKOFF OUT OF THE SHTETL Program in Judaic Studies Brown University Box 1826 Providence, RI 02912 BROWN JUDAIC STUDIES Series Editors David C. Jacobson Ross S. Kraemer Saul M. Olyan Number 336 OUT OF THE SHTETL Making Jews Modern in the Polish Borderlands by Nancy Sinkoff OUT OF THE SHTETL Making Jews Modern in the Polish Borderlands Nancy Sinkoff Brown Judaic Studies Providence Copyright © 2020 by Brown University Library of Congress Control Number: 2019953799 Publication assistance from the Koret Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. Open access edition funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities/ Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities Open Book Program. The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non- Commercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License: https://creativecom- mons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. To use this book, or parts of this book, in any way not covered by the license, please contact Brown Judaic Studies, Brown University, Box 1826, Providence, RI 02912. In memory of my mother Alice B. Sinkoff (April 23, 1930 – February 6, 1997) and my father Marvin W. Sinkoff (October 22, 1926 – July 19, 2002) CONTENTS Acknowledgments....................................................................................... ix A Word about Place Names ....................................................................... xiii List of Maps and Illustrations .................................................................... xv Introduction:
    [Show full text]
  • El Fenómeno De Los Cristianos Nuevos En Iberoamérica
    EL FENÓMENO DE LOS CRISTIANOS NUEVOS EN IBEROAMÉRICA Eva Alexandra Uchmany Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Investigadora Nacional Premio Universidad Nacional en Investigación en Ciencias Sociales 2007 México [email protected] RESUMEN El artículo trata de las persecuciones religiosas en la época goda en la Península Ibérica, se menciona la conquista árabe que libero a los judíos de la esclavitud que les preparaba el go­ bierno godo. Su liberación en la época árabe y una vez más la extensión del antisemitismo en la España cristiana, que se inició en la época moderna cn la que la emergente burguesía se negaba a compartir con los judíos las posibilidades que la modernidad les ofrecía. Las agresiones y ataques a las juderías se envolvían en un manto de una guerra santa o cruzada contra herejes asesinos de Dios. La introducción del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición por los Reyes Católicos y sus consecuencias tanto en España y Portugal como en las colonias ame­ ricanas. Así mismo se narran vidas de algunos cristianos nuevos y sus experiencias bajo la vigilancia del Santo Oficio que les cerraba todas las posibilidades para su subsistencia. A su vez se señalan casos individuales de grandes funcionarios de origen hebreo y su caída y aniquilación de sus nombres en los siglos XVI y XVII por el Santo Oficio. PALABRAS CLAVE: historia colonial, inquisición, judíos, cristianos nuevos. ABSTRACT The artiele deals with the religious persecution in the Iberian Peninsula during the Spanish­ Gothic govemment before the Arab Conquest. Sorne years later, after the Spanish Recon­ quest the formation of new religious order in Spain tried to made new converse in Spain and other European countries.
    [Show full text]
  • Perspicue Et Fideliter Conversus: Johannes Buxtorf the Younger's
    Yod Revue des études hébraïques et juives 22 | 2019 Medieval and Early Modern Translations of Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed Perspicue et fideliter conversus: Johannes Buxtorf the Younger’s Translation of the Guide of the Perplexed Perspicue et fideliter conversus : la traduction du Guide des égarés par Johannes Buxtorf le Jeune התרגום הלטינישל מורהנבוכים – יוהנס בוקסטורףהצעיר Saverio Campanini Electronic version URL: https://journals.openedition.org/yod/3765 DOI: 10.4000/yod.3765 ISSN: 2261-0200 Publisher INALCO Printed version Date of publication: 25 September 2019 Number of pages: 133-153 ISBN: 978-2-85831-317-4 ISSN: 0338-9316 Electronic reference Saverio Campanini, “Perspicue et fideliter conversus: Johannes Buxtorf the Younger’s Translation of the Guide of the Perplexed”, Yod [Online], 22 | 2019, Online since 20 September 2019, connection on 21 September 2021. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/yod/3765 ; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/yod. 3765 Yod est mis à disposition selon les termes de la Licence Creative Commons Attribution - Pas d’Utilisation Commerciale 4.0 International. Perspicue et fideliter conversus: Johannes Buxtorf the Younger’s Translation of the Guide of the Perplexed Perspicue et fideliter conversus : la traduction du Guide des égarés par Johannes Buxtorf le Jeune התרגום הלטיני של מורה נבוכים – יוהנס בוקסטורף הצעיר Saverio Campanini Università di Bologna חפצתי להדפיס ס' מורה נבוכים בשלש לשונות בשלש קולונאס או עמודים עברי וערבי ולטין J. Roman1 Since there are many ways to study a translation, it seems appropriate to state beforehand what the reader will not find in this contribution. I am not going to study Johannes Buxtorf the Younger’s translation of the Guide of the Perplexed from a strictly linguistic point of view.
    [Show full text]
  • SHABBETAI DONNOLO Great Jewish Doctors of Our European Past
    Jewish Roots Michael Nevins, M.D. Jewish Roots SHABBETAI DONNOLO Great Jewish Doctors of Our European Past One of the first prominent Jewish doc- Southern Italy was part of the Byzantine Em- planets and constellations. I copied out for tors was Shabbetai Ben Abraham Don- pire, which, from its capital of Constantinople, myself books by past Jewish scholars, bless- nolo (913 - c. 983 C.E.) who was born preserved Roman institutions in Italy, Greece, ings on their memory, but I did not find any in Oria in southern Italy. The name Don- and parts of Asia Minor. During the period that Jewish scholar in all these lands who under- nolo is the Italian form of domnulus, a Donnolo lived, Oria was at the crossroads of stood them. And, because they did not un- diminutive of dominus, or master, thus the Greco-Latin and Arab cultures. In 925 C.E., derstand them, a few said that indeed there "little master, " and it is this nickname the area was captured by Saracen raiders, and was nothing to be learnt from books by Jews which he favored. Donnollo's description of what followed, as on the constellations. This science, they said, reported by A. Sharf, is illuminating: was to be found among the nations, and their books were not written in accordance with the I, Shabbetai, was ransomed in Taranto with ideas in books by the Jews. my parents' money. I was twelve years old....My parents and my kinfolk were taken These were the reasons why my heart bade away to Palermo and to Africa, but I remained me explore the science of the Greeks, the in the lands under Roman rule.…There was no Arabs, the Babylonians, and the Indians….Af- hard work...that I did not turn to, and behold, ter careful study, I found that in everything of 'all was vanity and vexation of spirit and there the science of the planets and constellations, was no profit under the sun....Then I saw that these books were the same as those by Jew- wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness'.
    [Show full text]