Annotated Bibliography of Primary Sources and Translations of Primary Sources

Adler, Ellkan Nathan (editor); Jewish Travellers in the Middle Ages – 19 Firsthand Accounts. Dover Publications, Inc. New York, 1987.

Translations of portions of 19 actual medieval accounts, all together in one book. Accounts used in this spreadsheet were:

• ca. 817: Abu’l Kasim Obaidallah ibn Khordadhbeh: The Book of Ways and Kingdoms. Describes Jewish trade and trade routes.
• ca. 880: Eldad the Danite (native of East Africa near Aden): The Letter of Eldad the Danite to the Jews of Spain. Eldad said he came from eastern Africa. Includes the medieval investigation into Eldad’s authenticity for his claims, saying “Chisdai in the 11th century and Maimonides at the end of the 12th quote him with confidence.”
• ca. 960: The Epistle of R. Chisdai To The King Of The Khozars.
• ca. 960: The Answer of Joseph, King of the Togarmi, to Chisdai.
  • Note: “Togarmi” refers to the king’s claimed descent from the tribe of Japhet through his son Togarma, not the region ruled, since he later says “We are of Cusar” (Adler, p. 34).
• 1165-1173: Benjamin of Tudela. Actually visited and recorded conditions and populations of Jewish communities from Spain to Persia. Adler includes only excerpts, but even these are fascinating. Note: “Tudela” is not “Toledo” — same country, different place.
• 1170-1187: Rabbi Petachia of Ratisbon. Started at Prague, visited Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Mesopotamia, the Holy Land.
• 12??: The Cairo Geniza. A letter from a Jew in India to a business correspondent in Cairo.
• ca. 1216: Judah al-Harizi. Excerpts from several works.
• 1334: Isaac ben Joseph ibn Chelo, “The Roads from Jerusalem”. Conditions in Jerusalem and the roads leading out of it.
• 1434: Elijah of Ferrarah
• 1481: Meshullah ben R. Menachem
• 1490: The Letters of Obadiah Jare da Bertinoro
• 1525: The Diary of David Reubeni

Adler, Marcus Nathan; The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela. Philipp Feldheim, Inc., New York, 1907. Original was published in Castile in 1173.

This is the full document translated into English. Marcus Adler took A. Asher’s published translation (1840) and used other copies of the original manuscript (unavailable to Adler) to resolve “doubtful or divergent readings”. The full version includes much that was left out of “19 Firsthand Accounts” above. I downloaded it online from the “Online Books Page” and “Seforim Online” (http://www.teachittome.com/seforim2/seforim.html) Page numbers refer to Benjamin’s original pagination, which Adler notes in his text.

Ahimaaz ben Paltiel, The Chronicle of Ahimaaz, Southern Italy, 1054. Trans. by Marcus Salzman, New York, 1924.

Geneological work that includes much information on Jewish settlements in southern Italy, 850-1054. An excerpt is available online at the De Re Militari website (see listing below).

al-Makkari, Ahmed ibn Mohammed. The History of Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain, 1629; Pascual de Gayangos (trans.), W.H. Allen and Co., London, 1840.

Translated from originals in the British Library. A look at al-Andalus’ history from the Muslim point of view.

Al-Marrakushi, A’Abd al-Wahid. The Battle of Zallaqua. 1224. Translated text from Colin Smith (ed.), Christians and Moors in Spain, Aris & Phillips, 1989-92.

The battle itself was in 1086.

al-Mas’udi, Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali. Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems. Originally written in 332 AH (943 CE). Sprenger, Aloys translator. Parbury, Allen, and Co., London, 1841. Volume I only.

Al-Mas’udi has been called the “Arab Herodotus”, and this text is an extensive and detailed tome including both history and his knowledge of then current events. I used the Sprenger translation of Volume I, not the 1989 Lunde/Stone version because (1) the Sprenger version is available free online and (2) the Lunde/Stone version includes only part of the original text (with a focus on Abbasid history).

Augustine of Hippo, The City of God, Hippo Regius (modern Annaba in Algeria), 426.

Saint Augustine codified much of official Catholic doctrine. Some of the key points regarding Jews were that Jews should serve Christians ( Book 16, Chapter 35), not to be slain but kept dispersed and weak as witnesses (Book 18, chapter 46).

Basola, Rabbi Moses. In Zion and Jerusalem. Original written 1523. Trans. by Dena Ordan & edited by Abraham David, Jerusalem Project Publications, Bar-Ilan University, Jerusalem, 1999.

Rabbi Moses Basola’s record of his travels 1521-1523. Notes describe Basola’s life and provide commentary.

Benisch, Dr. A.; Travels of Rabbi Pesachia of Regensburg, London, 1856.

A different, earlier translation of the ca. 1187 Petachia text also in “19 Firsthand Accounts” above. Includes the original Hebrew text. I downloaded it online from “Seforim Online” (http://www.teachittome.com/seforim2/seforim.html)

Budge, Sir E. A. Wallis (translator). Kebra Nagast (The Queen of Sheba and her only son Menyelek). In Parentheses Publications, Ethiopian Series, Cambridge, Ontario, 2000.

Translation of the Coptic Christian text, dating from the 500s. Used by the Ethiopians as justification for their claim that they descend from the Queen of Sheba and thus are the true heirs of the Prophets (Most of the text consists of these arguments). At the end, says it is Ethiopia’s religious duty to destroy the Jewish kingdom of “Nagran” (obviously Najran) and Rome’s duty to destroy the Jewish kingdom of Armenia. No mention of other Jewish kingdoms existing at the time.

Chazan, Robert. Church, State, and Jew in the Middle Ages. Behrman House, Springfield Township, 1980.

In addition to analysis, includes translated full texts of many documents. I have found these translations to sometimes be more complete than the free ones in the Internet History Sourcebook.

Constable, Olivia Remie, ed. Medieval Iberia: Readings from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Sources. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012.

Over 500 pages of translations of many key or illuminating documents from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish sources. Highly recommended if one is interested in Iberian history.

De Re Militari Website (www.deremilitari.org).

Not the military treatise by Vegetius of the same name, but the website of the Society for Medieval Military History. Many translated excerpts from primary sources, as well as articles, book reviews, and more.

Eidelberg, Shlomo. The Jews and the Crusaders – The Hebrew Chronicles of the First and Second Crusades. The University of Wisconson Press, London, 1977.

Translations into English of the four surviving medieval Hebrew chronicles of the Crusader attacks on the Rhineland Jewish communities. Three are from the First Crusade (The Chronicle of Solomon bar Simson, The Chronicle of Rabbi Eliezer bar Nathan, and The Narrative of the Old Persecution a.k.a. the Mainz Anonymous). The fourth is from the 2nd Crusade (Sefer Zekhirah, or The Book of Rememberence of Rabbi Ephraim of Bonn). These chronicles are our main or only sources for some of the events during and surrounding the attacks.

Farissol, Rabbi Abraham Ben Mordechai (scribe). The Woman’s Siddur (a.k.a. Siddur, Italian Rite), Northern Italy, 1471.

In the collection of the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York City, item JTS MS 8255. Image is online at http://www.jtslibrarytreasures.org/. Daily prayerbook that reverses the usual prayer so that the reader gives thanks that she was born a woman not a man. In the standard prayer, a man gives thanks that he was not born a heathen, a slave, or a woman. Many modern Jewish women have problems with this. The siddur was written for a wealthy bride from her new husband. Rabbi Farissol was a community leader. Manuscript and prayer change identified/confirmed by Dr. David Kraemer, professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary and head of its library,

Froissart, John. Chronicles of England, France, Spain, and the Adjoining Countries. 1400. Trans. Johnes, Thomas. London: William Smith, 1839.

Original was written ca. 1400, is a key primary source for events during the early Hundred Years’ War. Free Google eBook. Note that there are other translations, notably the Macaulay, but this one is more complete.

ibn Daud, Abraham. Sefer ha-Quabbalah – The Book of Tradition, 1161. Gerson D. Cohen (trans.), The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1967.

Written 13 years after the Almohad annihilation of the Jewish communities of Muslim Spain, this book was ibn Daud’s attempt to both record Jewish history for future generations and to argue that Rabbinic, not Karaite, Judaism was the “correct” form of Judaism. Useful for insight into the history and rabbinic mindset of Spanish Jewry during the Golden Age of Spain and its fall. A classic medieval source document.

ibn Yaḥya ben Joseph, Gedaliah. Sefer Shalshelet ha-Ḳabbalah (“The Chain of Tradition”), Venice, 1587.

Early (first printing 1587!) printed Hebrew book, scanned image downloadable from www.hebrewbooks.org/6618. Written in Italy by a refugee after the Expulsion to record the history of the ibn Yahya family before the scattered memories were lost forever. The author spent over 40 years on this. He recorded as fact what he was merely told in additional to using the research materials still available to him, so it has suffered academic criticism, but given his situation I consider this understandable and simply use this source with caution. Also has philosophical musings. Unfortunately I have been unable to find any translations into English.

Internet History Sourcebook (http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/index.asp)

Large online collection of public-domain and copy-permitted historical texts, subgrouped by theme (e.g. “Jewish”) and by time period, plus links to other sites. A great way of looking at key portions of many source texts, usually translated into English, for free. Always gives the original sources for posted documents.

Keil, Martha. “Business Success and Tax Debts: Jewish Women in Late Medieval Austrian Towns,” Jewish Studies at the Central European University, vol. II (1999-2001), ed. Andras Kovacs and Eszter Andor (Budapest: Central European University, 2002), pp. 103-123.

Detailed discussion on Jewish businesswomen of the time. For those interested in learning more on this topic, see the author’s other papers as well.

Leviant, Curt (trans). King Artus – A Hebrew Arthurian Romance of 1279. Syracuse University Press, 2003. Original text 1279.

An unknown Italian Jew’s 1279 telling of portions of the King Arthur story. Translated from the Hebrew text in the Vatican library. Also includes a discussion of the literary background and the tweaks the author made to make the story better appeal to a Jewish audience (e.g. removing all mention of Christian religious elements such as masses and baptisms, phrasing changes to refer to Biblical events, etc.). Proof that there were indeed medieval Jews who were interested in tales of knights and chivalry. A most unexpected document.

Marcus, Jacob Rader. The Jew in The Medieval World – A Source Book: 315-1791, Hebrew Union College Press, New York, 1990 (Revised edition, orig. 1938).

Reprints English translations of 137 medieval source documents (in whole or in part) on Jews in the Middle Ages, and is the source of many of the documents in the Internet Medieval Sourcebook’s Jewish section. When this spreadsheet cites Marcus as a reference it’s usually because Marcus included the document in his book. Page numbers refer to the paperback edition. I strongly recommend getting this if you plan to do more research — any summary loses some interesting details.

Master, Virgil. Chroniques de France ou de St. Denis, Folio: 55v, Origin: Paris, France. Dating: 1381-1400.

One of the few contemporary illustrations of medieval Jews (as opposed to Biblical scenes) in armor (Jews defending a Verdun tower in the 1320 Shepherds’ Crusade). Current Institution: British Library, BL Royal 20 C VII. Item number akg9FK-1320-0-0-A1 The illustration is online at http://manuscriptminiatures.com/chroniques-de-france-ou-de-st-denis-royal-20-c-vii/842/ , with links to the page containing the illustration at http://molcat1.bl.uk/IllImages/Ekta/big/E124/E124246.jpg

Pinkerton, John. A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Travels in Various Parts of Asia. London, 1819.

An 861 page collection of translations of various travelogues, such as Marco Polo’s, Benjamin of Tudela’s etc. Free Ebook. A table of contents listing the travelogues and their page numbers in Pinkerton’s tome would greatly improve this work’s utility.

Polo, Marco and Rustichello of Pisa. The Travels of Marco Polo – The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition. Project Gutenberg Ebook, 2004 (originally 1903, 1920).

Contains the unabridged third edition (1903) of Henry Yule’s annotated translation of Marco Polo’s travelogue, as revised by Henri Cordier; together with Cordier’s later volume of notes and addenda (1920). In two volumes.

Pope Stephen III, Epistle to Aribert, Archbishop of Narbonne, protesting Jews’ acquring the power to hold allodial lands, 768 CE.

Complete Latin text reprinted in Jacques Paul Migne, Patrologiae Cursus Completus. Series Latina. Volume CXXIX, col. 857. Papal complaint that Carolingian kings had given Jews allodial land, and demanding that the kings break their promise to do so. Available free online at latina.patristica.net

Procopius of Caesaria, History of the Wars, 7 vols., trans. H. B. Dewing (Cambridge, Mass., and London: Harvard University Press & Wm. Heinemann, 1914; Reprinted 1953-54).

Major primary source for Byzantine emperor Justinian’s reign. Originally written ca. 550 CE. Portions are available free online on the Internet History Sourcebook. Procopius’ full text (in English) is available online at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20298/20298-h/20298-h.htm.

Puylaurens, William. The Chronicle of William of Puylaurens: The Albigensian Crusade and its Aftermath. 1275. W.A. and M.D. Sibly (Trans), The Boydell Press, Woodbridge (in Suffolk, UK), 2003.

An eyewitness account of the Albigensian Crusade, from a pro-Crusader point of view.

Repgow, Eike von. Sachsenpiegel Landrecht. ca. 1230 (original version). Dresden Library manuscript ca. 1350 (1295-1363). Manuscript Dresd. M. 32, online at https://www.slub-dresden.de/en/collections/manuscripts/sachsenspiegel/

The oldest German law book, includes laws regarding Jews and two illustrations of armed German Jews. Very influential. Note that the text changed over time, so a particular manuscript may represent the law as of the time it was written, not as of 1230.

Rubruck, William of. The journey of William of Rubruck to the eastern parts of the world, 1253-55, as narrated by himself. Translated from the original Latin by William Woodville Rockhill (London: Hakluyt Society, 1900).

Posted to the Web at http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/rubruck.html by Janeen Richards (April, 2002).

William of Rubruck was a Flemish Franciscan monk who traveled through Mongol lands during 1253-55 and wrote a detailed account of what he saw there. Jews are briefly mentioned during his description of his return journey. Note that he was in only one city with Jews, and he “could learn nothing precise concerning them.” Note too that this is right before the Mongol attack on the Abbasid Caliphate and its capital Baghdad.

Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text & Image, University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Late Medieval and Early Modern Works.

A collection of online fascimiles of nearly 500 catalogued manuscripts and early printed books. http://sceti.library.upenn.edu/ljs/# Some of these documents have Jewish relevance.

Sergius the Sylite of Gusit. The disputation of Sergius the Stylite against a Jew. Hayman, Peter (ed/trans), Louvain: Secretariat du CorpusSCT, 1970.

Manuscript from the 8th century claiming to record an almost-certainly-invented debate between a rabbi and a Christian stylite. Includes the Syriac text.

Stillman, Norman A. The Jews of Arab Lands – A History and Source Book. The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1979.

A good resource book that covers the 600s through the 1800s. The first 110 pages provide a historical overview; then comes 317 pages of English translations of medieval Arab and Jewish documents. Medieval documents quoted in this spreadsheet include:

• ca. 810: Ibn Hisham, As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah. Editing of Ibn Ishaq’s biography of Muhammed (the unedited original no longer exists).
• 892: al-Baladhuri’s Futuh al-Buldan, describing the Battle of Yarmuk and events around it.
• 915: al-Tabari, Ta’rikh al-Rusul wa’l-Muluk.
• 1172: Maimonides, Epistle to the Jews of Yemen.
• 1202: Madmun b. Jacob, Geniza letter re forced converts of Aden returning to Judaism.
• ca. 1220: Chronicle of Obadiah, the Norman Proselyte. Section on treatment of Jews of Baghdat under al-Muqtadi 30 years before his visit.
• ca. 1291: Bar Hebraeus, the Chronography, from the E. A. Budge translation. Discrepancy need to resolve: the events excerpted are from 1291. The stores listing the original book say that Hebraeus died in 1286.
• ca. 1300: Moslem instructions on the supervision of dhimmis.
• 1354: Al-Malik Al-Salih’s Decree against the dhimmis.
• 1451: Nicholas Clenardus, letter describing the condition of the Jews of Fez.
• ca. 1465: Abd al-Basit b. Khalil, description of the massacre of Jews in Fez.

Talhoffer, Hans. Medieval Combat (1467 fechtbuch or “fighting-manual”). Translated/Edited by Mark Rector, Greenhill Books, London, 2000.

Key medieval how-to manual of lethal individual combat. The lethal unarmed combat techniques were borrowed from Otto, a Jewish wrestling master.