Details
MAHZOR - Important daily and festival prayer-book for the entire year according to the rite of Rome, with additional texts. ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
Northern Italy, 15th century
CODICOLOGY:
282 x 202 mm, 380 unnumbered leaves. On vellum with clearly distinguishable hair and flesh sides, quires arranged according to Gregory's rule, i.e. flesh sides facing flesh sides and hair sides facing hair sides, quires opening on the flesh sides. Brown ink in various shades, numerous pen flourishes and rubrics in red, brownish, blue and green inks., different layouts, usually 29 lines per page, written alternately within and without the last ruled line, horizontal (text area) and vertical (also in the marginal areas) lines ruled per page, by plummet, no signs of prickings. Collation: 1-14 (10), 15 (8), 16 (10), 17 (8), 18-19 (10), 20 (8), 21-22 (10), 23 (8), 24-30 (10), 31 (8), 32-34 (10), 35 (8), 36-38 (10), 39 (8, 2+6) + four unbound leaves, 380 unnumbered leaves in total. Vertical single or double catchwords, in the text letter, written along the inner vertical marginal line appearing in the bottom margins in red and brown ink by scribe 1, partly preserved, and in brown ink with some decorative flourishes by scribe 2, mostly preserved.
At least two different semi-cursive Italian hands, with square opening words and certain text parts by scribe 2 in square mode as well. Scribe 2 started his work from the twelfth quire onward, wrote a more slanted semi-cursive script and used a number technical devices not employed by scribe 1. There are some variations in scribal practices between scribes 1 and 2, which will not be differentiated here, but generally scribe 2 tends to use such scribal devices more often. Both scribes set store to a well-justified text, although occasionally they do allow a few letters to be written through the left-hand marginal line. Filling the line is usually achieved by anticipation of one or more letters of the next word in the line. Exceeding lines are usually prevented by the use of vertical last words, by writing the last letter of a word directly above that word, by writing the continuation of words within the marginal area, preceded by an open space or by simply compressing the words toward the end of the line. All major prayer and piyyut texts with infra-linear vocalization.
BINDING:
Still preserved in its old worn and wormed leather over cardboard binding, the front cover detached from the book block, the original binding ribs partly broken, but the actual book block generally in good condition, three wormed, blank paper flyleaves preserved at the back, paper pastedowns preserved at back and front.
CONDITION:
Generally fine condition, some worming and other flaws in the first and last quires, with loss of some text, a few natural holes in the parchment. Other minor usage flaws.
DECORATION:
This Mahzor is a fine example of illuminated liturgical books that became fashionable in Northern Italy in the 15th century. Most of the decorations appear in the initial word panels opening various liturgical sections. The decoration was done in two stages. The first stage is from the time of the production of the manuscript in the 15th century, while the second stage belongs to the end of the 15th century or perhaps somewhat later.
Numerous delicately and skilfully executed pen-work decorations of initial word panels in red, blue, green and brown ink, rubricated words and simple red decoration above certain words appear in the first part of the manuscript. They are clearly original fifteenth-century decorations and were executed by scribe 1. This is confirmed by the appearance of catchwords in this same red ink. The panels are usually small and surrounded with delicate pen-work of strung beads motifs with extensions along the outer margins. The panels at the end or beginning of sections are more elaborate and occupy the width of the text space. It seems that the scribe left space for a common illustration in the Italian mahzorim, that of the moon illustrating the benediction of the new moon, which was never filled.
The second stage includes many initial word panels with fine drawings of animals, hybrids and floral decoration interspersed with the panels or depicted in the lower margins. Especially interesting are two simple text illustrations of a small decorated mazzah and a bunch of leaves held by a hand for maror. These text illustrations follow other Northern Italian 15th-century manuscripts such as the Mordechai Farisol Haggadah, Northern Italy, 1485 (formerly, London, Jews' College, Montefiore Lib. Ms. 228, fols. 21v, 22v). In addition, there are two naked putti (covered with loincloth only) flanking the title for the Day of Atonement prayer.
The initial words are enclosed within rectangular, cartouche, banderol and medallion frames. Sometimes there are panels that allude to the text included, such as the frames in the form of a crown enclosing the corresponding word keter (crown) and the basket of flowers enclosing the initial word shoshan (rose). The panels are mainly decorated with fleshy acanthus leaves and less frequently with a spray of delicate flowers and fruits, all extending from the panel along the margin. Some panels are decorated with a human face in profile, with a protruding tongue depicted from the sides of the panel. Sometimes incorporated into the pen flourishes are heads in profile, an eagle head, a bird, a stork, fish, a hare and a winged dragon. Most panels and the foliate extensions are tinted mainly with red, brown and green colours, except for some which are also painted with opaque colours.
The fine drawings of animals in the lower margins include, for instance, a bird in an open landscape, two birds, an heraldic display eagle, a running deer, a dragon-like duck, a running lion in the open landscape and a lion running after a panther in the landscape. Amongst the floral decorations in the lower margins are, for instance, a branch of large flowers with thorns and a stylized floral motif in the shape of a candelabrum.
Some later stamped Hebrew texts and french-lily decorations, appear in the text spaces and the margins.
CONTENTS:
The manuscript includes daily services and services for Sabbath, New Moon, special Sabbaths, fast days and holidays and festivals from Hanukkah until Simhat Torah, with the readings from the Torah and Haftarot for the festivals and other special occasions, as well as the reading from Canticles in the Minhah service for the Eighth Day of Passover and Lamentations for the Ninth of Av. Brief instructions and laws (halakhot) precede the festival services. Special prayers for events from birth until death including circumcision, redemption of the firstborn, weddings and funerals are copied towards the end of the Mahzor. They are followed by a collection of non-liturgical topics often found in Italian-rite prayer books, including auspicious days for bloodletting, signs to predict rainfall for the entire year, divinations according to thunders and earthquakes, refafot, i.e. divination based on body movements, interpretation of dreams and other matters.
In general, the order of services copied in the manuscript is similar to the edition published by Samuel David Luzzatto (Leghorn 1856), but there are many interesting differences and additions to the printed Mahzor, inter alia:
- The morning benedictions include the blessing 'shelo asani bur' ('blessed be He who did not create me ignorant').
- The yotzer for Sabbath includes a piyyut for Shabbat Bereshit by Benjamin b. Zerah, beginning 'elokenu elokim emet'.
- Several zemirot were provided for the Sabbath meal and others were added after the services for the termination of the Sabbath.
- The havdalah service includes two different versions.
- The yotzerot for the Second Day of Passover include 'Shir asher no'amu' by Leonte ben Abraham and 'Or yesha m'eusharim' by Solomon ha-Bavli for the Shabbat Hol ha-Moed.
- The kinot for the Ninth of Av include the unexpurgated version of 'Edom omra ein ketz' by Eleazar ha-Kallir.
- The tahanunim include a large selection of selihot.
- At the end of the Mahzor later hands added prayers for annulment of curses and 'mi sheberakh', both in a mixture of Hebrew and Judaeo-Italian in Hebrew characters.
PROVENANCE:
- There are numerous owners' entries at the beginning and end of the manuscript, not all clearly legible. It seems that for much of the 17th and 18th centuries the manuscript was in the possession of Jews residing in the Piedmont area.
- Raphael b. Solomon Forti (Hazak) purchased the manuscript in 5275 (1515) from Judah ben Moses Olivetti. Joshua ben Judah Olivetti sold it to Immanuel Hai ben Jacob Monselice in June 5291 (1531).
- Asher b. Judah Carmi acquired the manuscript from Raphael b. Shabbetai of Mantua in Brescello at the end of December 5343=1582. Asher, or Anselmo Leon Carmi, was a prominent banker in Vercelli (cf. S. Simonsohn, History of the Jews in the Duchy of Mantua [Jerusalem 1977] p. 420 and R. Segre, History of the Jews in Piedmont [Jerusalem 1990] index).
- Moses Israel Carmi sold the manuscript to Gedaliah Levi in 5376 (1616).
- Other owners were Raphael b. Jehiel Levi and Jehiel Levi who sold the manuscript to David b. Judah Diena. Abraham ben Jehiel Ottolenghi purchased the manuscript from Abraham ben David Diena in Ellul 5472 (1712).
- One of the owners recorded births and deaths in his family in the early 17th century, among them the death of Gedaliah Levi in 1617.
- Another entry by Abraham b. Jehiel Ottolenghi records a natural disaster that damaged or destroyed the baths on the Bormida river, possibly in Acqui, in 1679. He seems to have written this entry in the manuscript some years before he acquired it in 1712.
- The manuscript was reviewed by the censors Dominico Irosolomitano in 1597 and by Paulus Vicecomes Alexandris (of Alessandria) by commission from the Inquisition of Turin. The anti-gentile expression in the alenu prayer was expurgated in one part of the manuscript but left untouched in another part.
.jpg?w=1)