The Jews In Calabria

This volume of the Documentary History of the Jews in Italy illustrates the history of the Jews in Calabria from the end of the fourth century, where the first archaeological evidence of their presence appears, to 1541. Between the fourth and tenth centuries, there is a gap in the evidence while the first documentary records appear in the eleventh century, dating from Norman times. The Normans were succeeded by the Hohenstaufen, who were subsequently replaced by the Angevins and, in 1438, by the Aragonese. Under the Aragonese the Jewish community grew and flourished, reinforced by refugees from the Iberian Peninsula and Sicily. It was at that point that the Jewish population of Calabria reached its maximum expansion and there was a Jewish presence in most townships and many villages until their expulsion by Emperor Charles V in 1540. The documents in this volume describe the political, economic, and social aspects of Jewish life in Calabria primarily between 1438 and 1540. The documents are preceded by an introduction, outlining the history of the Jews in Calabria and have been furnished with summaries and references, providing a useful tool for further research. In addition a bibliography, list of sources, abbreviations, and indices are included.

This volume of the Documentary History of the Jews in Italy illustrates the history of the Jews in Calabria from the end of the fourth century, where the first archaeological evidence of their presence appears, to 1541.

The rise of printing had major effects on culture and society in the early modern period, and the presence of this new technology—and the relatively rapid embrace of it among early modern Jews—certainly had an effect on many aspects of Jewish culture. One major change that print seems to have brought to the Jewish communities of Christian Europe, particularly in Italy, was greater interaction between Jews and Christians in the production and dissemination of books. Starting in the early sixteenth century, the locus of production for Jewish books in many places in Italy was in Christian-owned print shops, with Jews and Christians collaborating on the editorial and technical processes of book production. As this Jewish-Christian collaboration often took place under conditions of control by Christians (for example, the involvement of Christian typesetters and printers, expurgation and censorship of Hebrew texts, and state control of Hebrew printing), its study opens up an important set of questions about the role that Christians played in shaping Jewish culture. Presenting new research by an international group of scholars, this book represents a step toward a fuller understanding of Jewish book history. Individual essays focus on a range of issues related to the production and dissemination of Hebrew books as well as their audiences. Topics include the activities of scribes and printers, the creation of new types of literature and the transformation of canonical works in the era of print, the external and internal censorship of Hebrew books, and the reading interests of Jews. An introduction summarizes the state of scholarship in the field and offers an overview of the transition from manuscript to print in this period.

Calabria is one of the oldest civilised regions of Europe. In antiquity, the philosophy, science, literature and poetry of the Greek Pythagoreans flourished here; in the Middle Ages, the Norman Kingdom was the most cultured and opulent civilisation in the world. However, in modern times, Calabria has suffered from the almost complete neglect of its multi-facetted cultural legacy by dominant foreign ruling powers, declining into a third world region at the toe of the Italian peninsula. This book directs the attention of the world to those immense disregarded riches, through a collection of essays on the region’s history, arts and crafts, its philosophy and substantial intellectual legacy and especially its rejuvenation among the younger generations of today. Each of the 16 chapters was written by a scholar with unique experience in their field of research. They will be immensely useful for academics as well as students interested in Mediterranean culture.

This book is perhaps the first to describe the active involvement of the individual Italians, the government and the military in saving the lives of many of the Jews of Italy, Yugoslavia, and the German-occupied south of France in 1942 and 1943.

This book explores the events that marked the last decades of Jewish presence in the kingdom of Naples from 1492 to 1541. It employs a comparative approach in the examination of the mass conversion of the Jews in the Kingdom of Naples in 1495, the failed attempt to establish a Spanish‐style inquisition, and the expulsions of 1510 and 1541. By relying on a variety of sources, including Hebrew literary works and rabbinic Responsa, this study sheds new light on the reception of the refugees of 1492, the evolvement of the political and military crisis of 1495, the attacks on the Jewish communities, and Jewish reaction, all aspects that have never before been subject to systematic analysis. The Spanish victory of 1503 and the transformation of southern Italy into a Spanish‐ruled dominion bring this discussion closer to the Iberian model of mass conversions and expulsions. The unprecedented expulsion of the New Christians along with the Jews offers a unique opportunity for drawing a parallel with the much later expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain. By highlighting these aspects, this book offers insights for understanding the larger issues of the integration of refugees and rejection of minority groups, questions that are as relevant to present concerns and politics as they were on the eve of the modern era.

The Jewish population of early modern Italy was characterised by its inner diversity, which found its expression in the coexistence of various linguistic, cultural and liturgical traditions, as well as social and economic patterns. The contributions in this volume aim to explore crucial questions concerning the self-perception and identity of early modern Italian Jews from new perspectives and angles.