77889 - Hebrew Epigraphy and Palaeography

Learning outcomes

The course aims to illustrate the characteristics of the Hebrew language, starting from the history of writing when human beings used the pictographic signs up to the alphabet, developed by the Phoenician people applying the principle of acrophony, according to which the name of a figure in a pictographic writing is abandoned (dag = fish) maintaining only the initial letter "d" with a consonant value. We will also examine the graphic and acoustic sign that can be found in the syllabic ideographic, hieroglyphic, cuneiform and therefore in the consonant signs of the Phoenician alphabet. A part of the course is devoted to the study of the few initial Hebrew inscriptions, useful for the oldest phase to illustrate the position of Hebrew between the Semitic languages. Another part will be a study of the Italian corpus of Hebrew inscriptions for the first millennium CE, which is a unique treasure Worldwide. Some lessons will be devoted to the material and to the evolution of the forms of the book, (clay tablet, papyrus, scroll, code). At the end of the course, the student will acquire the necessary skills to read and translate Hebrew inscriptions. The student will also be able to read the Jewish sources of the medieval manuscript.

Course contents

History and development of the Hebrew language. Hebrew among the Semitic languages. The archaic Hebrew alphabet of the pre-exile period (X-VI centuries B.C.): Phoenician alphabetic signs used by the Jews. The passage of Qumran's square writing through the semi-cursive writing of the Aramaic papyrus of Elephantine of the fifth century BCE to the Dead Sea scrolls of Qumran (3rd century BCE - I e.v.).

History of the Hebrew book. The forms of the book: from the Ebla clay tablets (III millennium B.C.E.), from the papyrus, to the scrolls and the codex, which in the Jewish world spread only from the eighth century C.E. Characteristics of the Hebrew manuscript compared to that of the Christian and Arab world.

Epigraphic documentation. Semitic and Jewish epigraphs from Palestine, Sinai and the Mediterranean basin.

The handwritten documentation. The Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran in 1947 and subsequent years. The eight-century void documentary from I to IX C.E. The oldest surviving Hebrew manuscripts.

Elements of Jewish Paleography. The Italian, Sephardic and Ashkenazi Hebrew writings, in their square, semi-square, semicursive and cursive typologies.

Expected skills. The student will acquire the ability to know the history of the Hebrew language and book.

Readings/Bibliography

A. Yardeni, The Book of the Hebrew Script. History, Palaeography, Script Styles, Calligraphy & Design, Jerusalem 1997.

M. Perani, Lo sviluppo delle scritture ebraiche di tipo italiano nell’Italia meridionale dal Tardo-antico alle scuole pugliesi dei secoli IX-XIII e le vicissitudini dei manoscritti ebraici, in Mariapina Mascolo (cur.), Mauro Perani responsabile scientifico, Ketav, Sefer, Miktav. La cultura ebraica scritta tra Basilicata e Puglia. Studi sull’ebraismo nel mediterraneo, SEM 2, edizioni di pagina, Bari 2014, pp. 271-311.

G. Lacerenza, L’epigrafia ebraica in Basilicata e Puglia dal IV secolo all’alto Medioevo, in Mariapina Mascolo (cur.), Mauro Perani responsabile scientifico, Ketav, Sefer, Miktav. La cultura ebraica scritta tra Basilicata e Puglia, cit.,pp.189-267: 192.

M. Perani, Lettere ebraiche come simboli. Ideologia e simbolica della lingua parlata da Dio nel suo viaggio da simbolo a lettera e ritorno, in P. Degni (cur.), Lettere come simboli. Aspetti ideologici della scrittura tra passato e presente, Udine, Forum, 2012 (Libri e Biblioteche, 29), pp. 119-170.

G. Nahon, Inscriptions hébraïques et juives de France médiévale, Paris 1986.

F. Cantera - J. M. Millas, Las inscripciones Hebraicas de España, Madrid 1956.

Teaching methods

Reading exercises on epigraphs; Epigraphy and Hebrew Codicology in the Laboratory. Frontal lessons; visit and study of some important Hebrew manuscripts held in the Romagna libraries. Visit to collections of Jewish manuscripts and epigraphs of various collections.

Assessment methods

Oral examination.

Teaching tools

Photographic databases of Hebrew epigraphs. Corpus Epitaphiorum Hebraicorum Italiae. Electronic tools for epigraphs. Books within Books Proget: www.hebrewmanuscript.com

Links to further information

https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/mauro.perani/cv

Office hours

See the website of Mauro Perani