This monograph presents a selection of incantation texts, mostly amulets, from Box K1 of the Taylor-Schechter Genizah collection. These texts, mostly published here for the first time, like Genizah as a whole, reflect the medieval Jewish community of the Mediterranean world in the Middle Ages and early modern times. The texts included reflect the magical traditions of eighth- to thirteenth- century Mediterranean Jewry, even if written later. These texts abound in parallels to the Palestinian and Babylonian magical materials already known and are full of references to ideas and rituals found in Rabbinic literature, Hellenistic magical materials, and Merkavah text. As such, these texts provide a window on the popular religion of an important segment of Jewry at the close of Late Antiquity and the onset of the Middle ages. Hardcover, 183 pages. |
