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MS. Canonici Or. 4

Oriental Manuscripts Canonici Oriental Collection

Contents

Livnat ha-Sapir

ff. 10r-130v
Judah ben Jehiel, active 15th centuryנתן בן יחיאל, מרומה, Livnat ha-Sapir (The Pavement of Sapphire) לבנת הספיר

Grammatical work divided into two parts.

"לבנת הספיר, אשר חבר ... החכם הגדול מהר"ר יהודה יזי"י המכונה מיסיר ליאון" ‬ (fol. 6v)

Two book lists on fol. 131r, published by N. Allony, Sefer Asaf (Jerusalem, 1943), 33-39.

Language(s): Hebrew

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: paper (watermarks similar to Briquet no. 2669 (?), dated 1459), outer and inner sheets of quires made of parchment.
Extent: ff. 131
Dimensions (leaf): 234 × 160 mm.
Foliation: Foliation in Arabic numerals.

Collation

Quires of mostly 12 leaves, Hebrew/Arabic characters catchword on 116v; signatures in Hebrew characters at the end of quire 2, 3, and 5.

Condition

Good condition.

Hand(s)

Italian semi-cursive script, unpunctuated.

Decoration

Not decorated.

Binding

Quarter bound.

History

Origin: [Italy]; [late 15th century]

Provenance and Acquisition

"יצחק צורף ... מווירונה", "משה מירי"(?) (fol. 2r); "שמשון כהן מודון יצ"ו ממנטובה ... ה’תנ"ט" (fol. 2v)

Matteo Luigi Canonici's (1727-1805) collections passed to his brother Giuseppe, and on his death in 1807 to Giovanni Perissinotti and Girolamo Cardina, who divided them. To the former fell the MSS., then about 3550 in number, and, after many attempts to sell them, the Bodleian became the purchaser of the greater part in 1817, for £5444 5s. 1d., or including incidental expenses about £6030, the largest single purchase ever made by the Library. The formal list of volumes handed over was signed on May 18, 1817, and the books probably arrived later that year.

Record Sources

Manuscript description based on Catalogue of the Hebrew Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, vol. I, by Adolf Neubauer, Oxford 1886, No. 1491, Catalogue of the Hebrew manuscripts in the Bodleian Library; Supplement of Addenda and Corrigenda to Vol. I, No. 1491, and on the data of the Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts, National Library of Israel with additional enhancements by the cataloguer.

Availability

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card (for admissions procedures contact Bodleian Admissions). Contact specialcollections.enquiries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk for further information on the availability of this manuscript.

Digital Images

Digital Bodleian (full digital facsimile)

Microfilm

MSS R.R. Film No. F 16410

Bibliography

    Neubauer, Adolf, Catalogue of the Hebrew Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library (Oxford, 1886), no. 1491.
    Hava Tirosh-Rothschild, Between Worlds: The Life and Thought ofRabbi David ben Judah Messer Leon (Albany, 1991), 24–33.
    Beit-Arié, Malachi and R.A. May (eds), Catalogue of the Hebrew manuscripts in the Bodleian Library; Supplement of Addenda and Corrigenda to Vol. I (A. Neubauer’s Catalogue) (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994), no. 1491.
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