The Autobiography of a Seventeenth-Century Venetian Rabbi: Leon Modena's Life of Judah

339 Pages·1988·27.685 MB·English

by  Mark R. Cohen, Theodore K. Rabb, Howard E. Adelman, Natalie Zemon Davis, Benjamin C. I. Ravid

The Autobiography
of a Seventeenth-Century
Venetian Rabbi

The Autobiography of a
Seventeenth-Century
Venetian Rabbi
Leon Modena's
Life ofjudah
TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY
Mark R. Cohen
WITH INTRODUCTORY ESSAYS BY
Mark R. Cohen and Theodore K. Rabb,
Howard E. Adelman, and
Natalie Zemon Davis
AND HISTORICAL NOTES BY
Howard E. Adelman and
Benjamin C. I. Ravid
Princeton University Press
Princeton, New Jersey
Copyright © 1988 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street,
Princeton, New jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
Chichester, West Sussex
All Rights Reserved
Second printing, 1989
Library oj Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Modena, Leone, 1571 — 1648
The autobiography of a seventeenth-century Venetian rabbi.
Translation of: Haye Yehudah.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Modena, Leone, 1571-1648. 2. Rabbis—-Italy—Venice-—
Biography. 3. Venice (Italy)-—Biography. 4. jews—Italy—
Venice—History. 5. Venice (Italy)—Ethnic relations. I, Cohen,
Mark R., 1943- . II. Title. III. Title: Leon Modena's Life of
judah. IV. Title: Life of Judah.
BM755.M546A3 1988 296'.O92'4 [B] 88-4190
ISBN 0-691-05529-7 ISBN 0-691-00824-8 (pbk.)
Publication of this book has been aided by the Whitney Darrow
Fund of Princeton University Press
This book has been composed in Linotron Bembo type
Princeton University Press books are printed on acid-free paper
and meet the guidelines for perinanence and durability of the
Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the
Council on Library Resources
Printed in the United States of America
FRONTISPIECE: Portrait of Leon Modena, detail enlarged
from the title page of the 1638 Venice edition of his
Historic! de'riti hebraici.
JACKET AND COVER ILLUSTRATION: Leon Modena's portrait,
with the Rialto Bridge in Venice in the background.
5 7 9 10 8 6 4
To Hanan and Taniar
and to the students in
History/Near Eastern Studies 442
"I thought that it would be of value to ... the fruit
of my loins, and to their descendants, and to my students
—from The Life ofjudah

Contents
List of Illustrations, ix Preface by Mark R. Cohen, xv
Acknowledgments, xxiii Abbreviations, xxv
Currency Equivalents, xxv
Introductory Essays
The Significance of Leon Modena's Autobiography for Early Modern
Jewish and General European History MARK R. COHEN
AND THEODORE K. RABB J
Leon Modena: The Autobiography and the Man
HOWARD E. ADELMAN Jp
Fame and Secrecy: Leon Modena's Life as an Early Modern
Autobiography NATALIE ZEMON DAVIS 50
The Life ofjudah
Translation, with textual notes MARK R. COHEN 73
Historical Notes
HOWARD E. ADELMAN AND BENJAMIN C. I. RAVID l8l
Excursus 1: The Venetian Ghetto in Historical Perspective
BENJAMIN C. I. RAVID 2J()
Excursus 2: Who Wrote the Ambrosiana Manuscript
of Hay yd yehudah? MARK R. COHEN 284
Index 2g5
Vll