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Harley MS 5716

Record Id:

040-003948133

Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:

040-003948133

MDARK:

ark:/81055/vdc_100124337741.0x000001

LARK:

ark:/81055/vdc_100145089941.0x000001

SLARK:

Format:

ISAD(G)

Reference (shelfmark):

Harley MS 5716

Title:

Arba'ah Ṭurim by Jacob ben Asher

ארבעה טורים

Scope & Content:

Language: Hebrew

Arba'ah Ṭurim of Jacob ben Asher.

Author: Jacob ben Asher (יעקב בן אשר)

Arba'ah Ṭurim.

ארבעה טורים

Note: In two volumes: The British Library, n.d.. Harley MS 5716 (vol. 1) and The British Library, n.d.. Harley MS 5717 (vol. 2). For the colophon, see volume 2 (The British Library, n.d.. Harley MS 5717). Both Margoliouth and the catalogue of the National Library of Israel date it to 1475, accepting the later addition to the colophon. Oraḥ ḥayim begins on folio 8r, Yoreh de῾ah begins on folio 151r.

Decoration note: 2 decorated initial-words accompanied with a full floral border inhabited by birds, puttos and decorated with medallions containing figures and a coat of arms, in colours and gold. (Fols 8r, 151r)

Decoration note: Numerous initial-word panels decorated with penwork and pen-flourishing, in red and blue ink.

Decoration note: Vertical bands with penwork decoration. (Fols 8v-17v)

Decoration note: 1 manicula. (Fol 100r)

Colophon: אני חיים ברבוט צעיר הלבלרים/ כתבתי אלו הארבעה טורים / בעזרת אל אדיר שבאדירים / ברוך הוא הנותן כח לעיפים. / כתבתים אל הנשא והנעלה/ ממשפחה רמה ומעולה / עושה צדקות אין קץ ותכלה / כפיו פורש להחזיק ידי רפים. / שמו הר' יואב עמנואל/ לא יכבה נרו מישראל / ויזכה לבנות מקדש ההראל / כי דבריו מתקו מנופת צופים. / השם למען רחמיו וחסדיו / יזכהו להגות בו זרעו ועבדיו / ולהבין סתריו מצפוניו וסודיו / כי הם יושיעו נשמות וגופים. / סיומו בפרש' וימלאו בי ארבע' טורי אבן / אם יהיו חטאים כשנים בם לברר וללבן / ובהם תגמול ושכר כל איש וכל בן / ובזכות למודו ביאת הגואל שואפים. / ראשי תיבות מהפסוק הכתו' לעיל עם טורי כלו בו הפרט מהשנה. (Fol 265v)

Halakhah

Arba'ah Ṭurim of Jacob ben Asher

Colophon : folio 265v: אני חיים ברבוט צעיר הלבלרים (scribe) / כתבתי אלו הארבעה טורים / בעזרת אל אדיר שבאדירים / ברוך הוא הנותן כח לעיפים. / כתבתים אל הנשא והנעלה/ ממשפחה רמה ומעולה / עושה צדקות אין קץ ותכלה / כפיו פורש להחזיק ידי רפים. / שמו הר' יואב עמנואל (patron) / לא יכבה נרו מישראל / ויזכה לבנות מקדש ההראל / כי דבריו מתקו מנופת צופים. / השם למען רחמיו וחסדיו / יזכהו להגות בו זרעו ועבדיו / ולהבין סתריו מצפוניו וסודיו / כי הם יושיעו נשמות וגופים. / סיומו בפרש' וימלאו בי ארבע' טורי אבן / אם יהיו חטאים כשנים בם לברר וללבן / ובהם תגמול ושכר כל איש וכל בן / ובזכות למודו ביאת הגואל שואפים. / ראשי תיבות מהפסוק הכתו' לעיל עם טורי כלו בו הפרט מהשנה

In two volumes: Harley 5716 (vol. 1) and Harley 5717 (vol. 2). For the colophon, see volume 2 (Harley 5717). Both Margoliouth and the catalogue of the National Library of Israel date it to 1475, accepting the later addition to the colophon

Oraḥ ḥayim begins on folio 8r, Yoreh de῾ah begins on folio 151r

On the manuscript's history see C. E Wright editor, and Ruth C. Wright editor. The Diary of Humfrey Wanley 1715-1726. London: Bibliographical Society, 1966, page 227 n. 6; C. E. Wright, (Cyril Ernest). Fontes Harleiani : A Study of the Sources of the Harleian Collection of Manuscripts Preserved in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum / Cyril Ernest Wright. London: British Museum, 1972, page 254, 461 ; Thérèse Metzger. Jewish Life in the Middle Ages: Illuminated Hebrew Manuscripts of the Thirteenth to the Sixteenth Centuries / Thérèse and Mendel Metzger. New York: Alpine Fine Arts Collection, 1982, page 304 ; Bezalel Narkiss. Kitve-yad ʿIvriyim metsuyarim / me-et Betsalʾel Narḳis ; mavo me-et Sesil Rot ; [ʿIvrit, Daliyah Shaḥaḳ ; ʿarikhah, Daliyah Ṭesler]. Mahad. ʿIvrit ḥadashah u-metuḳenet. Yerushalayim: Keter, 1984, page 296-307 ; Ilana Tahan. Hebrew Manuscripts: The Power of Script and Image / Ilana Tahan. London: British Library, 2007, page 116

Decorations

Initial: folio 8r, 151r: 2 decorated initial-words accompanied with a full floral border inhabited by birds, puttos and decorated with medallions containing figures and a coat of arms, in colours and goldInitial: Numerous initial-word panels decorated with penwork and pen-flourishing, in red and blue inkBorder: Vertical bands with penwork decoration.folios 8v - 17v folios 151v - 158r Table: folio 100r: 1 manicula

Collection Area:

Western Manuscripts

Project / Collection:

Harley Collection
Hebrew Manuscripts Digitisation Project

Hierarchy Tree:

[{ "id" : "040-003948133", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Harley MS 5716: Arba'ah Ṭurim by Jacob ben Asherארבעה טורים" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]

Hierarchy Record Ids:

032-002045828
040-003948133

Is part of:

Harley MS 1-7661 : Harley Manuscripts

Harley MS 5716 : Arba'ah Ṭurim by Jacob ben Asherארבעה טורים

Hierarchy:

032-002045828[7886]/040-003948133

Container:

View / search within Archive / Collection: Harley MS 1-7661

Record Type (Level):

File

Extent:

270 folios

Digitised Content:

http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100145089941.0x000001 (digital images currently unavailable)

Thumbnail:

Languages:

Hebrew

Scripts:

Hebrew

Start Date:

1475

End Date:

1475

Date Range:

1475

Era:

Access:

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User Conditions:

Physical Characteristics:

Parchment codex of the 15th century.

270 folios. Dimensions (leaf): 368 x 260 mm. Dimensions (written): 239 x 170 mm.

Format: codex. Material: parchment.

Foliation: 270 folios (+ 1 unfoliated paper flyleaf at the beginning and at the end).

Collation: 27 quires: i6 (folios 1-6), ii-xiv10 (folios 7-136), xv14 (folios 137-150), xvi-xxvii10 (folios 151-270).

Layout: Columns: 2. Ruled lines: 37. Written lines: 37. Uniform layout. Visible pricking and horizontal ruling in ink, page by page, and vertical ruling with plummet, also page by page. Hair side and flesh side of the folios distinguishable. Last line written outside ruling. Initial words in larger semi-cursive script. Horizontal decorated leaf catchwords.

Additions: Italian inscription of the content and the date of the codex, undated (folio 1r).

Hand note: Hebrew.

Number of hands: 1.

Script: Sefardi semi-cursive script, unpunctuated. Hayim Barbut (scribe): inscribed with his name in the colophon of volume 2 (Harley 5717, folio 265v). Decorated by Florentine artists.

Binding: BM in-house. Spine title: 'Compend. Leges et Institut Mosaic. Tom I (Hebrew). Brit. Mus. Bibl. Harl. 5716 Plut. XXXI P.'

Dimensions [leaf]: 368x260mm

Dimensions [written]: 239x170mm

Parchment codex of the 15th century

Script (summary): Sefardi semi-cursive script, unpunctuated. Hayim Barbut (scribe): inscribed with his name in the colophon of volume 2 (Harley 5717, folio 265v). Decorated by Florentine artists

Layout: Columns: 2. Ruled lines: 37. Written lines: 37. Uniform layout. Visible pricking and horizontal ruling in ink, page by page, and vertical ruling with plummet, also page by page. Hair side and flesh side of the folios distinguishable. Last line written outside ruling.Initial words in larger semi-cursive script. Horizontal decorated leaf catchwords

Collation: 27 quires: i6 (folios 1-6), ii-xiv10 (folios 7-136), xv14 (folios 137-150), xvi-xxvii10 (folios 151-270)

Foliation: 270 folios (+ 1 unfoliated paper flyleaf at the beginning and at the end)

Binding: BM in-house. Spine title: 'Compend. Leges et Institut Mosaic. Tom I (Hebrew). Brit. Mus. Bibl. Harl. 5716 Plut. XXXI P.'

Additions: Yo'av Emmanuel Finzi (patron) (da Arezzo?), patron: inscribed with his name in the colophon (volume 2, Harley 5717, folio 265v): [5]235, that is, 1475: date of production added by a later hand, probably by Shimshon Kohen Modon (owner) (Harley 5717, folio 265v). Luigi da Bologna (censor), a converted Jew working for the Inquisition as censor (active at the end of the sixteenth, beginning of seventeenth century): inscribed with his name as censor, 1598 (folio 269r); see William POPPER. The Censorship of Hebrew Books ... Introduction by Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger. New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1969, page 104, and appendix § 112-117. Frater Giovanni Montifal. di Modena (censor): inscribed with his name, undated (folio 269r); see William POPPER. The Censorship of Hebrew Books ... Introduction by Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger. New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1969, appendix § 88. Hippolite of Ferrara (censor), Franciscan censor (active at the end of the 16th century-beginning of 17th century, in Cremona?): inscribed with his name, 1603 (folio 269r); see William POPPER. The Censorship of Hebrew Books ... Introduction by Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger. New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1969, appendix § 18-19, 93. Giovanni Domenico Vistorini (censor): inscribed with his name, 1610 (folio 269r); see William POPPER. The Censorship of Hebrew Books ... Introduction by Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger. New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1969, appendix § 85-87. Shimshon Kohen Modon (owner), the young: inscribed with his name in an ownership's note, he bought the codex for 3 dukats on 25 Nisan [5]457 [1697] (folio 7r). Italian inscription of the content and the date of the codex, undated (folio 1r)

Format: Codex

Material: Parchment

Custodial History:

Provenance: Yo'av Emmanuel Finzi (patron) (da Arezzo?), patron: inscribed with his name in the colophon (volume 2, Harley 5717, folio 265v): [5]235, that is, 1475: date of production added by a later hand, probably by Shimshon Kohen Modon (owner) (Harley 5717, folio 265v). Luigi da Bologna (censor), a converted Jew working for the Inquisition as censor (active at the end of the sixteenth, beginning of seventeenth century): inscribed with his name as censor, 1598 (folio 269r); see William POPPER. The Censorship of Hebrew Books ... Introduction by Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger. New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1969. page 104, and appendix § 112-117. Frater Giovanni Montifal. di Modena (censor): inscribed with his name, undated (folio 269r); see William POPPER. The Censorship of Hebrew Books ... Introduction by Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger. New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1969, appendix § 88. Hippolite of Ferrara (censor), Franciscan censor (active at the end of the 16th century-beginning of 17th century, in Cremona?): inscribed with his name, 1603 (folio 269r); see William POPPER. The Censorship of Hebrew Books ... Introduction by Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger. New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1969, appendix § 18-19, 93. Giovanni Domenico Vistorini (censor): inscribed with his name, 1610 (folio 269r); see William POPPER. The Censorship of Hebrew Books ... Introduction by Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger. New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1969, appendix § 85-87. Shimshon Kohen Modon (owner), the young: inscribed with his name in an ownership's note, he bought the codex for 3 dukats on 25 Nisan [5]457 [1697] (folio 7r).

Place of origin: Italy, N. E. (Ferrara?).

Source of Acquisition:

Acquisition: Edward Harley (owner): bought by him through Nathaniel Noel (bookseller) (b. 1681, d. 1753), for £20 1s (price of the two volumes, see C. E Wright editor, and Ruth C. Wright editor. The Diary of Humfrey Wanley 1715-1726. London: Bibliographical Society, 1966; Wright, (Cyril Ernest) C. E. Fontes Harleiani : A Study of the Sources of the Harleian Collection of Manuscripts Preserved in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum / Cyril Ernest Wright. London: British Museum, 1972); inscription by Harley's librarian, Humfrey Wanley, 18 January 1723/4 (folio 1r). The Harley Collection, formed by Robert Harley (owner) (b. 1661, d. 1724), 1st earl of Oxford and Mortimer, politician, and Edward Harley (b. 1689, d. 1741), 2nd earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and patron of the arts. Edward Harley bequeathed the library to his widow, Henrietta Cavendish, née Holles (owner) (b. 1694, d. 1755) during her lifetime and thereafter to their daughter, Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (owner) (b. 1715, d.1785), duchess of Portland; the manuscripts were sold by the Countess and the Duchess in 1753 to the nation for £10,000 (a fraction of their contemporary value) under the Act of Parliament that also established the British Museum; the Harley manuscripts form one of the foundation collections of the British Library.

Date of origin: 1475.

1753 Edward Harley (owner): bought by him through Nathaniel Noel (bookseller) (b. 1681, d. 1753), for £20 1s (price of the two volumes, see C. E Wright editor, and Ruth C. Wright editor. The Diary of Humfrey Wanley 1715-1726. London: Bibliographical Society, 1966; C. E. Wright, (Cyril Ernest). Fontes Harleiani : A Study of the Sources of the Harleian Collection of Manuscripts Preserved in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum / Cyril Ernest Wright. London: British Museum, 1972); inscription by Harley's librarian, Humfrey Wanley, 18 January 1723/4 (folio 1r). The Harley Collection, formed by Robert Harley (owner) (b. 1661, d. 1724), 1st earl of Oxford and Mortimer, politician, and Edward Harley (b. 1689, d. 1741), 2nd earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and patron of the arts. Edward Harley bequeathed the library to his widow, Henrietta Cavendish, née Holles (owner) (b. 1694, d. 1755) during her lifetime and thereafter to their daughter, Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (owner) (b. 1715, d.1785), duchess of Portland; the manuscripts were sold by the Countess and the Duchess in 1753 to the nation for £10,000 (a fraction of their contemporary value) under the Act of Parliament that also established the British Museum; the Harley manuscripts form one of the foundation collections of the British Library

Administrative Context:

Date of origin: 1475.

Origin: 5235 Hebrew (1475-1475)

Italy, N. E. (Ferrara?)

Finding Aids:

Record history: Manuscript description based on Margoliouth, G.: Catalogue of the Hebrew and Samaritan Manuscripts in the British Museum, London 1965.

For a more detailed catalogue entry see

British Museum. Department of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts. Catalogue of the Hebrew and Samaritan Manuscripts in the British Museum. By G. Margoliouth, Etc. (pt. 4. Introduction, Indexes, Brief Descriptions of Accessions and Addenda and Corrigenda. By J. Leveen.) [The Preface to the Reprinted Edition Signed: K. B. Gardner.]. London-77, 1965: number.544

British Museum. A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in 1-4 the British Museum Vols 1 and 3. Sl: sn, 1808: number.5716

Sacred (Exhibition) (2007 : British Library). Sacred : Books of the Three Faiths : Judaism, Christianity, Islam / Edited by John Reeve ; Essays by Karen Armstrong, Everett Fox, F.E. Peters ; Catalogue Contributions by Colin F. Baker ... [et al.]. London: British Library, 2007: p.94

Publications:

George Margoliouth, Catalogue of the Hebrew and Samaritan Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: British Museum, 1899-1935; vols I-III repr. 1965); IV, Introduction, Indexes, ed. by Jacob Leveen (London: British Museum, 1977), no. 544.

A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Eyre and Strahan, 1808-12), III (1808), no. 5716-17.

The Diary of Humfrey Wanley 1715-1726, ed. by Cyril Ernest Wright and Ruth C. Wright, 2 vols (London: Bibliographical Society, 1966), II: 1723-1726, p. 227 n. 6.

Cyril Ernest Wright, Fontes Harleiani: A Study of the Sources of the Harleian Collection of Manuscripts in the British Museum (London: British Museum, 1972), pp. 254, 461.

Thérèse and Mendel Metzger, Jewish Life in the Middle Ages: Illuminated Hebrew Manuscripts of the Thirteenth to the Sixteenth Centuries (New York: Alpine Fine Arts Collection, 1982), p. 304.

Bezalel Narkiss, 'Three Jewish Art Patrons in Mediaeval Italy', in Festschrift Reuben R. Hecht (Koren Publishers Jerusalem Ltd., 1984), pp. 296-307 (pp. 306-7).

Ilana Tahan, Hebrew Manuscripts: The Power of Script and Image (London, British Library, 2007), p. 116.

Sacred: Books of the Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam (London: British Library, 2007), p. 94 [exhibition catalogue].

Illumination: Hebrew Treasures from the Vatican and Major British Collections (London: Jewish Museum, 2010), no. 10, pp. 24-25 [exhibition catalogue].

William Popper. 'The Censorship of Hebrew Books ... Introduction by Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger.' New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1969.

C. E Wright editor, and Ruth C. Wright editor. 'The Diary of Humfrey Wanley 1715-1726.' London: Bibliographical Society, 1966.

Wright, (Cyril Ernest) C. E. 'Fontes Harleiani : A Study of the Sources of the Harleian Collection of Manuscripts Preserved in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum / Cyril Ernest Wright.' London: British Museum, 1972.

Source: Manuscript description based on Margoliouth, G.: Catalogue of the Hebrew and Samaritan Manuscripts in the British Museum, London 1965.

Credit: The Polonsky Foundation Catalogue of Digitised Hebrew Manuscripts.

Material Type:

Archives and Manuscripts

Legal Status:

Not Public Record(s)

Notes:

Credit: The Polonsky Foundation Catalogue of Digitised Hebrew Manuscripts.

Names:

Jacob ben Asher, 1269-1340