Mahzor

Tripartite Mahzor

Description of the manuscripts This is a tripartite Jewish festival prayer book, with Hebrew term: Mahzor, according to the German rite. It was produced in Southern Germany around 1320. Its scribe was a certain Hayyim.

Volume I Vellum, 31×21,5cm It contains the special Sabbaths, Purim, Passover, with Song of Songs and commentary. There are fourteen initial-word panels at the beginning of the prayers and eleven zodiac sign with the labors of the months in medals, and several border decorations. The folio 142 was cut, therefore the sign of the taleh, that is, Aries and labor of Nisan are missing.

Volume II Vellum, 31,5×22cm It contains the Shavuot and the Succot with commentary. There are eight initial-word panels at the beginning of the prayers and a zodiac cycle. The scribe’s signature is at the end of the Shavuot (fol.80v).

Volume III Vellum, 34×24,5cm It contains the first two days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. There are nine initial-word panels at the beginning of the prayers.

Animal-headed figures in the three volumes

Volume I

fol.143r Twins, zodiac cycle in the Prayer for Dew, Pesah

fol.183v The Throne of Solomon, at the beginning of the Song of Songs

fol.197r Crossing the Red Sea, at the beginning of a piyyut belonging to the morning prayer of the seventh day of Pesah

Volume II fol.3v Receiving the Law, at the beginning of a piyyut belonging to the morning prayer of the first day of Shavuot

fol.71r two scenes from the Book of Ruth, at the beginning of the Book of Ruth, the second day of Shavuot

fol.85v a bird headed figure stands next to the word, at the beginning of a piyyut belonging to the morning prayer of the first day of Succot

fol.139v Twins, zodiac cycle in the Prayer for Rain, Shemini Atzeret

The volume III does not contain zoocephalic figures.

Reproductions of the animal-headed images

Vol.I, fol.183v Narkiss, Bezalel. Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, 1978. 106-7, Pl.33.

Vol.I, fol.143r Ormos István. Kaufmann Dávid és gyűjteménye (David Kaufmann and his Collection). Különlenyomat az Örökségünk a múltunk. Gyűjtemények a Magyar Tudományos Akadémia könyvtárában. Budapest: MTA Könyvtára, 2001. 248, fig.9.

Vol.II, fol.3r Mellinkoff, Ruth. Antisemitic Hate Signs in Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts from medieval Germany. Jerusalem: Center of Jewish Art–The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1999. 88, fig.9.

Vol. II, fol.71r Mellinkoff, Ruth. Antisemitic Hate Signs in Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts from medieval Germany. Jerusalem: Center of Jewish Art–The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1999. 105, fig.302.

Documentary notes

Places of preserving:

Volume I: Budapest, MTA Kaufmann Collection, Ms A384

Volume II: London, British Library Add. Ms. 22413

Volume III: Oxford, Bodleian Library Ms. Michael 619

References

Buda,Zsófia. Animals Gazing at Women: Zoocephalic Figures in the Tripartite Mahzor, in: Animal Diversities. Ed. by Gerhard Jaritz and Alice Choyce (Medium Aevum Quoditianum Sonderband 16), Krems 2005, p. 136-166.

Narkiss, Bezalel. Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, 1978.

Narkiss, Bezalel. ”On the Zoocephalic Phenomenon in Medieval Ashkenazi Manuscripts” in: Norms and Variations in Art. Essays in Honour of Moshe Barasch, ? Jerusalem, 1983, 49-62.

Narkiss, Bezalel. ”A Tripartite Illuminated Mahzor from a South German School of Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts around 1300.” in Fourth World Congress of Jewish Studies Papers, ? Vol. 2, Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 1968.

Ormos István. Kaufmann Dávid és gyűjteménye (David Kaufmann and his Collection). Különlenyomat az Örökségünk a múltunk. Gyűjtemények a Magyar Tudományos Akadémia könyvtárában. Budapest: MTA Könyvtára, 2001.

Sharit, Shalev-Eyni. Ha-Mahzor ha-Meshullash (The Tripartite Mahzor). PhD Dissertation.

Contributor: Buda, Zsófia, m04buz01@student.ceu.hu, Central European University