Hebrew fragments at the University of Bari – Department of Law
PSL-EPHE
The Biblioteca “Gennaro Maria Monti” of the former Istituto di Storia del Diritto Italiano, now Department of Law of the University of Bari hosts one the richest collections of juridical sources and studies on Southern Italy dating from the late 15th to the first half of the 19th century.
In 2017, during the first cataloguing campaign of the 451 printed volumes dating from the 16th century, two Hebrew fragments were discovered in the binding of the same item[1]. The discovery was made due to the bad state of preservation of its binding. This was found to be a feature of some 40 volumes belonging to the same fond, that revealed a certain number of re-used Latin and vernacular manuscripts as well. That was the start of a wider systematic campaign whose aim was to collect all the fragments recovered from book bindings for further analysis[2].
In the framework of this conservation campaign and study, the Italian research team in charge of the project agreed to contribute to the “Books within Books” research on the Hebrew fragments by giving me access to the still unpublished printed volumes from the 17th and 18th centuries, kept in the same library[3]. In November 2021, six other Hebrew fragments were found in two books printed in the first decades of the 17th century. So far, these are the only materials from Apulia that have been described in the “Books within Books” database, which contains now their full transcription and bibliological details.
There are no explicit mentions of the exact origin or provenience of the six fragments. Any attempt to define them is solely based on their paleographical and material features, both suggesting an Ashkenazi origin.
The first two fragments were used to create the binding of the Commentary on the 4th Book of the Codex Iustiniani by Hugues Doneau printed in Frankfurt in 1602 (Inv. no.: Zc.50.VIII.II) (fig. 1: Zc.50.VIII-II, Fr. 1-2: 2 Samuel). While the ink is almost completely (and intentionally) erased, the original text disposition in three columns per page is still visible on both fragments. On the front cover (= Fr. 1), two written lines in Ashkenazi square script are preserved at the top of the 3rd column. They appear in mirror writing, since they are written on the inner side of a thin sheet of parchment that is glued to the cardboard cover of the volume. As the page is disposed upside-down, they correspond to the actual last two lines of the text. Three more lines in the same mirror writing are partially preserved at the top of the first column on the back cover (= Fr. 2). Although erased and incomplete, the text transmitted can be identified respectively as the incipit of 2 Samuel 19:23 and some portions of 2 Samuel 19:25.
The rest of the fragments form the binding of a copy of the Decisiones Sacri Regi Consilii Neapolitani collected by Matteo d’Afflitto and printed in Venice in 1612 (Inv. no.: R.7.84) (fig. 2: R.7.84, Fr. 1-4, Daniel and Nehemia with Rashi’s Commentary). The front and back covers contain two fragments each: they are glued together, so that the fragments used at the corners (= Fr. 1-2) partially overlap and cover the ones closer to the back strap (= Fr. 3-4). Also in this case, the preserved texts are written on the side of the parchment which is glued to the cardboard covers of the volume and therefore appear in mirror writing. The text on the outer side has been completely erased. All these fragments are written in a 13th-14th century Ashkenazi square script[4].
Fr. 1 on the back cover and Fr. 2 on the front cover show the original layout of the text, consisting of two main columns of 26 lines of text each[5].The columns of the Biblical text are accompanied with the commentary, written in smaller script in a parallel column. The preserved texts correspond to Daniel 4:33-34 (= Fr. 1.col.1.1-6), Daniel 5:1-9 (= Fr. 1.col.1.7-14; Fr. 1.col.2) and Daniel 5:3-9 with Rashi’s Commentary on Daniel 5:5:3-5:7 (= Fr. 2). While Fr. 1 and 2 complement each other and restore the same column of text, Fr. 3 and 4 belong to two separate consecutive columns, containing respectively, Nehemiah 12:24-30 with Rashi’s Commentary on Nehemiah 12:25-31 and Nehemiah 12:31-38 with Rashi’s Commentary on Nehemiah 12:34-38.
By Elena BARILE
[1] F. Mastroberti, A. Trombetta 2017, La Biblioteca “Gennaro Maria Monti” del Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza. Incunaboli e cinquecentine, Bari: Cacucci Editore, scheda n. 154; tav. XXIV, fig. 28. Inv. no.: CIN 268 (Venise 1578).
[2] The results of this survey are now available in: M. Pepe 2021, Due inedite pergamene tra i materiali di “riuso” nella Biblioteca “Gennaro Maria Monti” dell’Università degli Studi di Bari, «International Journal of Legal History and Institutions» 5, 373-427.
[3] My deepest thanks go to the Head of the Department Prof. R. Voza, Prof. F. Mastroberti Professor of history of Italian law and Delegate for University Archives, Dr. M. Pepe (with whom I worked during the research of the fragments), and Dr. M. Liberio for their precious trust and support in this study.
[4] The script attested in these fragments shows some similarities with AD MS 9403 of the British Library, also containing Pentateuch, Haftaroth and Five Scrolls with massora magna and parva, and Rashi’s commentary on Genesis. The manuscript is dated to 12th-13th centuries, according to the technical record available on the BL website (http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Add_MS_9403 ; last visit: February 18, 2022). The comparison between the two scripts depends on the online HD images of AD MS 9403 and further analysis on this matter are required.
[5] The original length of the columns is also visible in Fr. 4 on the front cover.
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
BwB magazine (March 27, 2022). Hebrew fragments at the University of Bari – Department of Law. Books within Books. Retrieved October 6, 2024 from https://doi.org/10.58079/m63a
