Description
Book SynopsisThe Ma‘asé-Ester, “Esther’s affairs”, is a 14th-century Judeo-Provençal poem on the story of Esther, intended for a recital during the banquet for Purim. The short poem – recently discovered in the single manuscript that preserves it – is a new precious document that enriches a small corpus of medieval Judeo-Provençal texts. This book offers the first critical edition of the complete text accompanied by a detailed study of the sources and the language. It guides us in understanding why the story of Esther became such a popular theme in 14th-century Provence, and in what way the Avignon Papacy and the studies on Moses Maimonides influenced this literary novelty.
Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements Editor’s Note Introduction 1 Judeo-Provençal Texts on Queen Esther: Dates and Context 2 Narrating Purim in Medieval Provence: Wine Songs and Prayers 3 Esther, an Inspirational Example of Provençal Jews 4 Roman d’ Esther: Text, Author, Audience 5 Biblical Inspiration and Jewish Themes 6 Romanz and Romance Themes 7 The Omniscient Author, the Modernization and the Irony 8 Maʿasé-Ester or “Esther’s Affairs” 9 Text, Content and Style 10 Metrical Structure 11 Between Oral Tradition and Authorial Rearrangement 12 A Text in Search of an Author The Maʿasé-Esther: Text and Commentary 1 The Text 2 Alterations in the Manuscript 3 Maʿasé-Esther 1 Text 2 Notes to the Text 4 Linguistic Study 1 Phonetics: Vocalism 2 Phonetics: Consonantism 3 Morphology 4 Syntax 5 Vocabulary 5 Glossary of Provençal Terms 6 Glossary of Hebrew Terms 7 Transcription of the Manuscript Text 8 Transcription in Latin Letters 9 The Codex unicus 1 The ms. Rome, Casanatense 3140 2 Physical Description of the Manuscript and the Scripts 3 Structure 4 State of Preservation 5 Decorations, Notes and Annotations to the Text 6 A Composite Manuscript 7 Story of a Book and of the Person Who Wrote it 8 Watermarks 9 Ms. Rome, Casanatense 3140: Photo-Reproductions of Fols. 190v–192r Bibliography Index of Special Terms
