XIVth century CE

theologian and rabbi

Sicilian scholar from Catania, kabbalist and astrologer active between 1400 and 1450, educated in Treviso, son-in-law of Don Moïse Gabbaï and the youngest of five brothers all rabbinical scholars. A…

French ritualist from a family of scholars of Narbonne, victim of the expulsion of Jews in 1306, he emigrated to Majorca. There he composed, before 1327, a ritual work entitled « Orḥot Ḥayyim », a…

Italian merchant of Hebrew and ancient manuscripts, active in the early 14th century; after seven years spent in Toledo searching for Arabic and Hebrew books, he distributed among young students in…

Talmudist, philosopher, physicist and astronomer active in the fourteenth century in Salonica, already very old in 1335. Author, according to his contemporary Isaac de Lattes, of commentaries on the…

Born in Lunel, from which his surname Yarḥi derives, and a descendant of Meshullam ben Jacob of Lunel, he settled in Montpellier where he led the opposition to the rationalism of the Maimonideans…

Disciple of Rabbi Ḥasdaï ben Solomon of Valencia and Tudela (1378). He maintained correspondence with Isaac ben Sheshet and the poet Solomon da Piera.

French Talmudist active at the end of the thirteenth and beginning of the fourteenth century, he was the master of Abraham ben Nathan, author of the « Ha-Manhig », a work in which Abigdor is cited…

Hebrew translator born in Provence in 1384. Aided by his father, Abraham Bonet ben Meshoullam, he translated from the age of fifteen, from Latin into Hebrew, the work of Arnaud de Villeneuve "De…

Son of Don Juceph, born in the village of Ablitas, near Tudela, from which he took his name, and died in 1342; he was called « the rich Jew of Ablitas ». He maintained business relations with the…

Spanish scholar born in Barcelona around the middle of the fourteenth century, author of a commentary on the Psalms preserved in manuscript in Oxford. Forced to leave his native city by the…

Spanish Talmudist and author born in Barcelona in the early fourteenth century, died in Narbonne in October 1393. Religious poet and leader of the Jewish community of Gerona, in Catalonia, he was…

cartographer from Palma, Majorca

Talmudic commentator established in Niort, France, in the second half of the fourteenth century. Isaac de Lattes mentions him as a notable scholar and commentator of the Talmud in his chronicle…

Rabbi of Fès, active in the 2nd century of the Hebrew era (1340–1439). Son of Shlomo. Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 12-2.

Renowned philanthropist and financier, member of the famous Spanish family of whom the Sassoon claim descent. He lived in Spain, probably in Toledo, in the fourteenth century. He is mentioned several…

Crimean rabbi

Rabbi, active in the second century of the Hebrew era (1340–1439). Registered in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 14-2.

Rabbi of Fès, 14th century. Died in 5142 of the Hebrew era (1382). Son of Yosef. Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), p. 9-4.

The wealthiest Jew of Valencia, he was forced to embrace Christianity during the persecution of 1391; the jurors of the city reported his baptism, celebrated with great solemnity on 14 July 1391 in…

Commentator on synagogal liturgy, he lived in Seville, Spain, around 1340, and was the student of Jacob ben Asher. In his untitled work, known as «Ḥibbour Peirouch ha-Berakhot we-ha-Tefillot», he…

Originally from Catalonia, active in the 14th century, he composed in the Catalan dialect a rhymed treatise on chess, which opens with an evocation of the creation of the world and urges glorifying…

Keeper of the royal lions in Saragossa, he led in 1384 or 1385, at the order of King Peter of Aragon, lions to Navarre as a gift to King Charles II; a certain Abraham Azen is mentioned in 1408 as his…

Rabbi of Fès, 14th century. Mentioned in 5137 of the Hebrew era (1377). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 20-2.

Mathematician and physician active in Arles in the second half of the fourteenth century. According to Nostradamus, an excellent mathematician versed in Arabic, Greek and Latin, he was appointed…

Spanish physician active in Castile in the first half of the fourteenth century, contemporary of Abraham ibn Zarzal, physician to Peter the Cruel, king of Castile. He wrote a supercommentary on the…

Spanish Talmudist active in the first half of the 14th century, student of Solomon ben Adret and master of Jeroham ben Meshullam. Author of numerous novellæ and responsa known mainly through the…

Wealthy Jewish notable from Frankfurt established in Worms, he bought back in 1307 the remains of the great decisioner Meir of Rothenburg (died in captivity in 1293), giving for this all his…

Chief Spanish rabbi of the communities under the archiepiscopal see of Toledo. The Archbishop Don Pedro Tenorio removed him from his functions for negligence in 1388 and appointed in his place Ḥayen…

Physician who, in 1379, treats with such success the English knight Sir Thomas Trivet that the latter obtains for him, from the king of Navarre, the gift of a house in the Jewish quarter of Pamplona.

Personal physician to King John II of Castile and "alcalde examinador" (director) of the surgeons' corporation. He is the author of two medical treatises in vernacular Castilian, including the famous…

Portuguese Jew who, with Isaac Belamy, was appointed tax farmer to King Alphonse IV in 1353. This position exempted them both from wearing the badge and gave them authority to enforce the collection…

Catholic bishop

Marrano born in Burgos, Spain, in 1385. Baptized in 1391 with his father, Salomon ha-Lévi (who became Paul of Burgos), and his brothers and sisters, he devotes himself early to philosophy and law and…

Collector of royal taxes in Tudela, in Navarre, from 1380 to 1391, charged in particular with the rights paid by the Jews and Moors of the city on real estate sold to Christians. At the Navarrese…

Spanish poet, active in Soria at the beginning of the 14th century. He is the author of the « Milḥamot ha-'Am weha-Mispariim » (Wars of the People and Numbers), short literary and poetic articles,…

Spanish liturgist of the fourteenth century, author of the « ha-Pardès » (The Orchard), whose ten sections deal in detail with blessings, summarized in an extract entitled « Teroumot ha-Pardès ».…

French ritual writer of the fourteenth century, author of a work on the various rites in use among Jews, the « Sefer ha-Minhagot », preserved in manuscript at the library of Cambridge University. He…

Spanish rabbi

Spanish physician

Provost of Paris, born in Dijon, died in Burgundy in 1382. In office at the accession of Charles VI (1380), he witnessed a popular movement demanding, under the weight of taxes, that "Jews and…

Czech rabbi

Exegete and kabbalist from Saragossa, disciple of the Rashba, author of a fourfold commentary on the Torah. His work was widely circulated.

Rabbi of central France at the end of the thirteenth and beginning of the fourteenth century, nicknamed « Ha-Gadol » (the Great) in the responsa of Isaac b. Immanuel of Lattes, he first studies in…

Rabbi of Fès, fourteenth century. Mentioned in 5093 of the Hebrew era (1333). Recorded in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 24-2.

Benjamin ben Joab, also called De Synagoga according to Zunz, is a liturgical poet (payyan) active in Montalcino in the fourteenth century. His printed poems include a metrical introduction to…

Prominent citizen of Girona

Isaac Bonastruc is a rabbi of Palma de Majorca, probably born in Barcelona, active at the end of the fourteenth century. Having lost his entire fortune during the persecutions of 1391, he went to…

Moses (Ḥefeẓ) Bonavoglio of Messina is a Sicilian physician born in the late fourteenth century and died in 1447, renowned for his learning and eloquence. Deputized in 1428 by seventeen Jewish…

Bondavi is a translator active in Tarascon in the first half of the fourteenth century, brother of Samuel of Marseille, whom he helped revise the Hebrew translation, due to Jacob ben Makhir, of the…

Bonjudes Bondavin is a physician active in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, who practiced in Marseille from 1381 to 1389 before settling in 1390 in Alghero, Sardinia. His thorough…

Bonenfante de Milhaud, also called Ezekiel ha-Miliabi, is a French physician of the fourteenth century, author of a medical treatise entitled « Gabriel », preserved in manuscript, and translator into…

Bonet de Lunel, called Sen (« Senior »), is a French author of the Middle Ages who wrote a supercommentary on the biblical commentary of Ibn Ezra, mentioned by Nathaniel Caspi in his commentary on…

Salomon ben Reuben Bonfed is a rabbi of Saragossa and poet active in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, whose divan, preserved in manuscript, is of great historical interest. Present…

Bongodas Cohen is a Provençal physician active in 1353, author of a Latin work on obstetrics preserved in manuscript in Turin; according to a hypothesis by Steinschneider, « Cohen » would be an error…

David ben Yom-Ṭob Bongoron, or Bonjorn — Provençal equivalent of the Hebrew name Yom-Ṭob — is an astronomer active in Perpignan in the mid-fourteenth century, cited by Juda Mosconi in his…

Salomon Bonirac (perhaps identical to Bon Isaac) is a Spanish translator active in Barcelona in the middle of the fourteenth century, who translated from Arabic into Hebrew the medical work of Galen…

Astruc Bonsenyor, grandson of the dragoman Astruc Bonsenyor and father of Juda Bonsenyor, is a physician of Barcelona who received in 1334 the same privileges that his grandfather had enjoyed.

Juda (Jaffuda) Bonsenyor is the chief notary of Aragon and translator from Arabic, son of the eldest of the Astruc, interpreter first of Alfonso III then of Jaime II, died around 1334. After…

Jacob ben Juda Cabret (or Cabrit) is a Spanish translator active in Spain toward the end of the fourteenth century. He translates from Latin into Hebrew, abridging it, the work of Arnaldus de…

Spanish rabbi, born in 1360 and died in Penafeel in 1463, at a time marked by the violence of Ferran Martinez and Vicente Ferrer and by the decline of talmudic learning among Spanish Jews. Surnamed…

Franciscan friar born in Capistrano, Italy, in 1386 and died in 1456. Sent by Pope Nicholas V as legate to Germany, Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia to preach against the Hussites and, in accordance with…

Spanish astronomer of the fourteenth century, commissioned by King Peter IV of Aragon to translate from Catalan into Hebrew the astronomical tables known as the Tables of Don Pedro, begun by Maestre…

Physician and poet, active in Avignon in 1327. He is the author of a liturgical poem for Purim, whose signature, found in a manuscript, led Neubauer — followed by Zunz — to connect him to the Yiẓhari…

Austrian rabbi, active in Wiener Neustadt in the second half of the 14th century, reputed for his talmudic learning and first to receive the title « Morenou ». Like his Viennese colleagues Meïr…

Provençal philosopher of the mid-14th century, disciple of Samuel of Marseille and relative of Shelemiah of Lunel, at whose request he composed a commentary on Averroes' middle commentary on the…

Moralist who lived in Germany, probably in Coblence, in the second half of the fourteenth century. He is the author of an ethical work titled Sefer Ḥasidim (Book of the Pious), written in 1473 and…

Burgomaster of Strasbourg at the time of the Black Death, in 1348. With counselors Goffe Sturm and Peter Schwarber, he opposes the crowd which, accusing the Jews of having poisoned the wells, demands…

Provençal scholar, probably lived in Perpignan in the fourteenth century. Samuel, son of Salomon Shalom of Perpignan, consulted him on a halakhic question relating to a complex case of marriage;…

Religious philosopher, born in Barcelona in 1340, died in 1410, from an illustrious and learned family. A disciple of the Talmudist and philosopher Nissim ben Reuven, he becomes a Talmudic authority…

French Talmudist, active in the first half of the fourteenth century, probably originating from Spain, established in Perpignan shortly before the Maimonidean controversy. Although rigorously…

Cartographer active in Majorca and Barcelona at the end of the fourteenth century. In 1381, the prince John of Aragon sent to Charles VI of France a world map that he had created, probably the famous…

Liturgical poet established in Rome in the mid-14th century, grandfather of Daniel ben Samuel ha-Rofé, rabbi of Tivoli, Daniel ben Juda is, according to Luzzatto, the author of the famous hymn «…

Martyr established in Barcelona, probably related to Isaac of Piera, baptized in the same city in 1391 under the name of Guillermo Vidal Puiol, Astruc Dapiera is accused of witchcraft and imprisoned…

Spanish rabbi

Compiler of Midrash ha-Gadol, a vast midrashic collection on the Torah.

Author of the famous Sefer Abudarham, a systematic commentary on Jewish blessings and prayers, completed in Seville in 1340. To explain variations in customs among communities (Spanish, Provençal,…

Convert to Christianity from Catalonia, active in the second half of the fourteenth century and held to be the son of the astronomer Jacob Poel, David Bonet Bonjorn embraced Christianity during the…

In 1386, among the six ambassadors sent to Venice to conclude negotiations was a Jew, David of Semo (Jewish Encyclopedia, art. Corfu). Testifies to the antiquity and rank of the Semo family in the…

Rabbi, active in the 2nd century of the Hebrew era (1340–1439). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 26-1.

Astronomer active in the second half of the fourteenth century, disciple of Emmanuel de Tarascon, Salomon Davin of Rodez translated from Latin into Hebrew, under the title "Sefer Mishpeṭe…

French physician established in Carcassonne in the 14th century, contemporary of physician Jacob de Lunel, who later practiced in Tarascon in 1424. Dolan Bellan would be identical to the surgeon…

Jewish dignitary of Toledo, « chief secretary to the king of Castile Don Alfonso XI », attested by documents from 1331–1339; his epitaph in Toledo mentions his death in 1355. He illustrates the rise…

Rabbi of Fès, 14th century. Mentioned in 5160 of the Hebrew era (1400). Son of Shlomo. Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 23-3.

Rabbi of Valencia in the second half of the 14th century, contemporary of Nissim ben Reuben, rabbi of Barcelona, and of Simeon ben Tzémah (RaSHBaTz), whom he consulted on rabbinical questions. He…

Italian physician born in Germany at the end of the 14th century, established in Italy, where the Senate granted him citizenship in Viterbe and then, in 1405, in Rome, confirmed by Pope Innocent VII…

Learned Jew at the court of Murad I, at Brousse then Adrianople, in the second half of the fourteenth century, before falling into disgrace and being exiled. Franz Delitzsch identifies him as the…

Physician and rabbi, founder of the Jewish community of Tlemcen.

Student of R. Nissim of Girona, rabbi in Palma and teacher of Simeon Duran. Highly esteemed by Isaac b. Sheshet, he was renowned for his mathematical knowledge and died a martyr to his faith.

Jucefe (Joseph) Faquin was a Spanish Jewish traveler of the fourteenth century, who first lived in Barcelona before settling in Majorca after traveling the known world. Summoned by the…

Liturgical poet born in Avignon, grandson of Vitalis Farissol, one of the three principal Jewish bailiffs of Avignon in 1400. Student of Salomon ben Menahem, called Frat Maïmon, he composed in 1422,…

Spanish rabbi, son of Abraham Galipapa, born in Monzón around 1310, died around 1380. Rabbi in Huesca then in Pamplona, where he directs a talmudic school, he belongs to the liberal school,…

Physician, astronomer and Provençal grammarian, active in Beaumes in the late fourteenth century and early fifteenth. He is the author of several treatises, including one on grammar and Masorah,…

Philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer of Bagnols-sur-Cèze (Provence). His philosophical work The Wars of the Lord (Milhamot Hashem) treats metaphysical questions with Aristotelian rigor. He…

Gonzalo García de Santa María is a Spanish bishop and adversary of the Jews born in Burgos in 1379, baptized at eleven years old with his father Paul of Burgos. Appointed archdeacon of Briviesca in…

Gonzalo Martinez, also known as Martin de las Castillas, is a Spanish knight of modest extraction, promoted to high office through Joseph de Ecija, whose master he eventually brought down by accusing…

Salomon ben Moses Gracian, called Ḥen, is a Talmudist of Barcelona active at the turn of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, died in 1307. He appears among the signatories, alongside Salomon ben…

Ḥasdaï ben Salomon was a Spanish rabbi probably born in Tudela, disciple of R. Nissim Gerondi in Barcelona, whom his friend Isaac ben Sheshet called the "worthy one of Spain". Rabbi until 1379, the…

Philosopher and rabbi of Barcelona, author of The Light of the Lord (Or Hashem), a major critique of Maimonides' Aristotelianism. His philosophy of free will and divine love influenced Spinoza. He…

Ḥayyim ben Jehiel Ḥefeṣ Zahab is a talmudist of the fourteenth century who died in 1314, brother of Asher ben Jehiel (the Roch), trained by their father Jehiel and by Samuel d'Évreux. Several of his…

Ḥayyim ha-Lévi is a physician and grand rabbi of the united communities of the archbishopric of Toledo, appointed in 1388 by archbishop Pedro Tenorio, of whom he was the personal physician, to…

Henry II, called of Trastamare, is king of Castile born in Seville in 1333 and died in 1379, illegitimate brother of Peter I, toward whom he was as hostile to Jews as the latter had been favorable to…

Portuguese philosopher of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, perhaps father of the astronomer Jacob Poel. Most of his numerous works are known only through citations, including a commentary on…

Spanish philosopher active in Spain or Africa in the middle of the fourteenth century, steeped in Neoplatonism. He wrote in Arabic an important philosophical work in three parts: a dialogued…

Spanish philosopher, physician and polemicist born in Tudela in the middle of the fourteenth century, often confused with a homonymous physicist from Tortosa. While still young, he had to publicly…

Spanish Kabbalist, determined opponent of rationalist philosophy, president of a yeshiva and active around 1390-1440, father of Joseph and Isaac ibn Shem-Ṭob. He wrote the "Sefer ha-Emunot",…

Preacher and kabbalist active around 1328, disciple of Salomon ben Adret and master of Menahem ibn Zerah. He was accused, together with Shem-Ṭob ben Abraham ibn Gaon, by Isaac the Blind of Acco, of…

Spanish physician who died before 1372, father of Joshua ben Joseph ibn Vives al-Lorqui. He revised the translation by Tibbon of Maimonides' « Millot Higgayon », dedicating this revision to his…

Spanish physician active around 1400 in Alcañiz. In 1408, on the order of the rich and influential Benveniste ben Salomon b. Labi, he wrote in Arabic a treatise on the value and effects of simple and…

Tax collector, representative and traveling companion, around 1320, of the infant Don Juan Manuel, author of the « Conde Lucanor ». A very pious man and admirer of R. Jehiel b. Asher of Toledo, he…

Physician of King Alphonse XI of Castile, astronomer and astrologer active in the fourteenth century. Favorite of the king, he obtained influence over the finances of the kingdom and the privilege of…

Biblical commentator probably of Italian origin, active in the 14th century. He is the author of the "Imre No'am", allegorical, cabalistic and grammatical commentary on the Pentateuch annotated with…

Italian Jewish poet, author of the Mahbarot, blending satirical verve with Italian forms (the sonnet). He was a contemporary and reader of Dante.

14th century Spanish Talmudic scholar

French physician established in Avignon in the second half of the fourteenth century, student in 1373 of the astronomer Immanuel ben Jacob of Tarascon and Orange. Versed in rabbinic literature,…

Spanish grammarian of the 14th century, author of « Sefer ha-Riḳmah », a grammar treatise preserved in manuscript at the National Library of Paris. He composed it for a Babylonian scholar, Aaron ben…

Decisor of Barcelona then of Algiers after the pogroms of 1391, famous for his responsa. He played a key role in the organization of the communities of North Africa.

Born in Valencia in 1326, he studied in Barcelona under Nissim ben Reuben (RaN), became rabbi of Saragossa and then, after the persecutions of 1391, settled in Algiers where he died in 1408. He is…

Liturgical poet active in Germany in the first half of the 14th century, author of the seliḥah "Ani hu ha-Geber" on the martyrs of the persecutions of 1337, of which he was the witness. The signature…

Spanish rabbi

French Talmudist of the first half of the 14th century, rabbi in Manosque, in the Basses-Alpes. His contemporaries considered him a great Talmudist, although he appears to have written nothing. A…

Spanish Jewish philosopher of the first half of the 14th century, defender of rationalist Judaism (Ezer ha-Dat) against the convert Abner of Burgos; « Policar » is an attested spelling of his name.

Austro-Hungarian historian

French rabbi of the second half of the 14th century, also called Astruc of Savoy, remembered for his controversies and the divisions he provoked among French communities. Provided with a mandate from…

Jew converted to Islam, active in Ceuta, Morocco, in the first half of the fourteenth century. He wrote in Arabic a polemical work against the Jews, in which the passages of the Bible he cites are…

Rabbin et moraliste de Castille, auteur du Menorat ha-Maor — le Chandelier de la lumière —, recueil de morale juive bâti sur l'aggada et rangé par vertu, composé vers 1380. Un ouvrage homonyme…

Czech rabbi

French Talmudist of the first half of the fourteenth century, apparently established in Tarascon, one of the few Jews who remained in France after the expulsion of 1306. Student of Emmanuel of…

rabbin allemand

Spanish astronomer, active in Toledo in the first half of the fourteenth century, student of Asher ben Yehiel, at whose request he wrote in 1310 the « Yesod 'Olam », the finest Hebrew contribution to…

Spanish scholar who died in Toledo in 1326, probably identical to Israel ben Joseph of Toledo, brother of the astronomer Isaac Israeli. A student of Asheri, for whom he translated from Arabic the…

Jewish financier of Ulm in the fourteenth century, married to the daughter of the « Grossjude » Moses of Ehingen and probably president of the Jewish community of Ulm for many years, he lent…

Biblical commentator and Kabbalist active in the fourteenth century, author of the « Minḥat ha-Bikkurim », whose first part, the « Torat ha-Minḥah », gathers homilies on Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus…

Provençal theologian of the second half of the fourteenth century, having lived successively in Salon, Avignon and Argon, Jacob ben Moïse of Bagnols is the author of a casuistic and philosophical…

Medieval Spanish astronomer

Tax farmer for the Jews in France in the fourteenth century, Jacob de Pont-Sainte-Maxence was appointed in 1360, with Manecier de Vesoul and his brother Vivant, by King Charles V to collect the tax…

German rabbi

Spanish physician and writer born in Uclés in the second third of the fourteenth century, personal physician to D. Lorenzo Suárez de Figueroa, Master of Santiago, for whom he translated from Limousin…

German rabbi

Juan de Valladolid, a Jew converted to Christianity born in 1335, persuaded King Henry of Castile that he could convince the Jews of the truth of Christianity if they were compelled to listen to him.…

Jekuthiel ben Salomon, also called Maestro Bonsenior, is a French physician active in Narbonne in the second half of the fourteenth century. In 1387, he translated into Hebrew, under the title «…

Jeroham ben Meshullam was a French Talmudist who lived in the first half of the fourteenth century. Originally from the Languedoc, he settled in Toledo after the expulsion of the Jews from that…

Joab ben Jehiel was a liturgical poet who lived in Rome in the fourteenth century and belonged to the Beth-El family. He composed five piyyutim inserted in the Roman Mahzor, intended for Passover,…

Joseph ben Johanan, French rabbi of the fourteenth century from Trier, was the first to bear this name as a surname ; he was nicknamed « the Great » for his erudition. Emigrated to France in 1306, he…

Member of an ancient and illustrious Spanish family, student of Rabbenou Asher ben Yehiel (the Rosh) in Toledo. He commented on much of the Bible (Esther, Proverbs, Jeremiah), the Pirké Avot and a…

Joseph ben Sheshet Latimi, Spanish liturgical poet, lived in Lérida in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In 1308, he composed the prayer Elef Alfin, a thousand words all beginning with the…

Spanish rabbi

Chief rabbi of the Jews of Portugal and treasurer of King Denis I, whom he enjoyed with great favour; died before 1304. Very wealthy, he lent in 1298 six thousand pounds to Don Raimond de Cardona for…

Treasurer of King Ferdinand I of Portugal, appointed in 1378, he became after the death of the sovereign the favorite of Queen Leonore of Meneses, whom he accompanied as a page when she had to flee…

The Encyclopaedia Judaica (via encyclopedia.com), in its entry on Sijilmassa, mentions "R. Judah b. Joseph Sijilmassi" who lived in Sijilmassa in the late 14th century, shortly before the city's…

Bulgarian rabbi

Italian poet of the 14th century, who lived from poetry lessons and occasional poems — none of his poetic works have come down to us. He composed a dictionary of rhymes preserved in manuscript in…

French translator, active in the first half of the 14th century. He translated, after 1328, from Arabic into Hebrew, under the title "Happalat ha-Happalah", the treatise by Averroes against the…

French astronomer of the 14th century, known in Provence under the name Samiel Astruc d'Escola or Dascala, Samuel Kansi writes the introduction to the astronomical work « Shesh Kenafayim » by…

Rabbi in Nuremberg toward the end of the 14th century. In 1406, the rabbi Israël came to teach in Nuremberg, first alongside Koppelmann; their disagreement, which rabbi Jacob Weil pressed the…

Physician, active in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, who devoted himself to translating medical works from Latin into Hebrew. Three of his translations survive in manuscript: a…

Rabbi of Draa Valley, active in the 2nd century of the Hebrew era (1340–1439). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 80-3.

Influential Jew of Estella, in Navarre, from 1380 to 1391. Charged from 1380, with Samuel Amarillo, with collecting the five percent tax on real estate sold or leased by Jews to Christians or Moors…

Head of the Jewish community of France, originally from Vesoul, probably of the family of Héliot of Vesoul. He negotiates around 1358 the return of Jews to France and is appointed by the king…

Italian statesman and Christian Hebraist, born in Florence in 1396, died in Naples on October 26, 1459. Secretary to Pope Nicholas V, he learns Hebrew from a Jew named Manuel and translates the…

Archdeacon of Ecija in the 14th century, one of the most bitter opponents of the Jews, active in Seville where he stirs up hatred against them through his preaching and arrogates to himself…

Chief Rabbi of Paris and of France from 1360 to 1385, son of Joseph ben Johanan of Trier, rabbi of Marseille, and disciple of Perez ben Isaac ha-Cohen and Nissim ben Reuben of Gérone. Appointed in…

Spanish Talmudist, active at the end of the fourteenth century and beginning of the fifteenth, member of the Yiẓhari family of Narbonne, whose ancestors, banished from France in 1306, had settled in…

Scholar of the 14th century, also known as Ibn Ḥarṭon, who translated into Hebrew verse Maimonides' « Moreh Nebukim » in 1363; the work, now lost, may not be distinct from that of a certain Mattithia…

Rabbi of Vienna from 1360 to 1390, originally from Fulda, whose authority extends throughout Germany and even to Spanish rabbis. He introduces to Germany the system of rabbinic ordination, requiring…

Spanish rabbi

German scholar of the fourteenth century, native of Bingen, author of the « 'Aruk Goren », dictionary of the Talmud with German translations of difficult words, notably of Arabic and Greek origin,…

Talmudist of Perpignan, author of the Beth ha-Behira, a vast encyclopedic commentary on the Talmud. His tolerant view of other monotheistic nations remains famous.

German rabbi

French scholar, settled in Perpignan, where he died in 1306. His relative Abba Mari mourned his death in a condolence letter to the community of Perpignan and in a liturgical piece; Gross believes he…

Moses Navarro was personal physician to King Peter I of Portugal and arrabi mór (chief rabbi) of the Portuguese Jewish communities, as well as tax collector, for some thirty years. Highly esteemed,…

Student of Meïr ben Baruch of Rothenburg (Maharam), he compiled a collection of the traditions and decisions of his master. Almost nothing is known of his life. His work became known to the great…

Sephardic rabbi

French Talmudist, active in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, living in Carpentras during the religious controversies of 1303-6, esteemed correspondent of Abba Mari of Lunel. Wrongly confused…

Physician and translator of the fourteenth century, active in Avignon, Toledo and Seville. In Toledo, before 1358, he composed a satirical poem against Shemariah of Negropont, who claimed to be…

Physician, philosopher and Italian poet, born in Rieti in 1388, died in Rome around 1460. Trained in the Talmud by his father and then in medicine, he practised in Rieti, sojourned in Perugia in…

French writer, active in Salon in the early fourteenth century, master of Kalonymos ben Kalonymos of Arles, who described him as a "learned scholar" and an "ornament of the wise." He translates into…

French Talmudist, active in Perpignan in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, whose influence, along with that of his father, obtained from King Jacques Ier of Mallorca the authorization for the…

Liturgical poet of the fourteenth century, perhaps identical to the Catalan parnas Moses Nathan, still alive in 1354. His liturgical poems appear in the maḥzorim of Avignon and North Africa.

15th-century rabbi

Italian physician and poet

Spanish commentator and translator, active in the second half of the 14th century in Guadalajara, where he probably was born. He is best known for his "Megillat Setarim" (Venice, 1554), a…

Hispano-Arab poet, active in Seville in the first half of the 14th century. He is the author of a didactic Arabic poem entitled « Al-Sab'aniyyah », later translated into Hebrew under the title «…

Ḥayyim ibn Musa is a Spanish controversialist, physician and biblical commentator born in Béjar, near Salamanca, around 1390, and died in 1460. His medical reputation opened the princely courts of…

German liturgist who lived in the early fourteenth century. He is the author of a liturgical work entitled "Sefer Mahkim", sometimes cited under the name "Sefer ha-Minhagim"; remaining unpublished,…

Spanish physician active, it seems, at the beginning of the fourteenth century. He left a commentary on the Pentateuch, the « Zikkaron Tov », written around 1307, of which an abridged version, «…

Talmudist who lived in the second half of the fourteenth century. He is the author of the "Hilkhot Shehita u-Bedika", a compendium of the laws concerning the slaughter of animals and the examination…

Provençal physician of the fourteenth century, probably from Avignon, also known by the Provençal names En Bongodas and Bonjues. He devoted himself especially to the translation into Hebrew of Arab…

Yemenite commentator and poet of the fourteenth century, author of a homiletic commentary on the Pentateuch, the "Nur al-Zulm wa-Masbah al-Hikm", composed in a mixture of Arabic and Hebrew and of a…