☕Maharam was a rabbi of rabbis, a pietist and Tosafist, the towering authority of all Ashkenazi—who witnessed the Disputation of Paris, endured royal power struggles, and kept writing through it all.
Thanks for the very cool chart on influences. I know that during the same time period, Provence had a very active Jewish community that often acted as a bridge between Sephardi thought and the non-Arabic speaking Ashkenaz world (e.g., the ibn Tibbon family's famous translations). Is there much back and forth between the Northern French/German Ashkenaz world that you've been detailing and the Provencal/Southern French world that straddles between Ashkenaz and Sepharad?
This is one of my very favorite medieval topics! (It's what I wrote my dissertation about.) So, yes to everything! in its earlier period, through about mid 1100s, Provence was influenced primarily by the thought-world of Tzarfat and Ashkenaz, though very much having its own proud regional culture. Over the course of the next two centuries, it came to be the crossroads of Sefarad and Ashkenaz with Sefardi cultural influences in the ascendency - so much so that even in Rambam's lifetime, he considered Provence the last great hope of Jewish philosophy in Europe. There will (BS"D) be a newsletter series on Provence, so stay tuned.
Thanks for the very cool chart on influences. I know that during the same time period, Provence had a very active Jewish community that often acted as a bridge between Sephardi thought and the non-Arabic speaking Ashkenaz world (e.g., the ibn Tibbon family's famous translations). Is there much back and forth between the Northern French/German Ashkenaz world that you've been detailing and the Provencal/Southern French world that straddles between Ashkenaz and Sepharad?
This is one of my very favorite medieval topics! (It's what I wrote my dissertation about.) So, yes to everything! in its earlier period, through about mid 1100s, Provence was influenced primarily by the thought-world of Tzarfat and Ashkenaz, though very much having its own proud regional culture. Over the course of the next two centuries, it came to be the crossroads of Sefarad and Ashkenaz with Sefardi cultural influences in the ascendency - so much so that even in Rambam's lifetime, he considered Provence the last great hope of Jewish philosophy in Europe. There will (BS"D) be a newsletter series on Provence, so stay tuned.