Maḥzor for the Rite of Carpentras

Artist Unknown

1540/1

Manuscript page with Hebrew text, with some words set apart in rectangular frames, surrounded by border of branches, flowers, and birds, and small illustration of boy and animal with tail in bottom margin.

This maḥzor (holiday prayer book) contains the festival prayers for the whole year, according to the rite of Carpentras, and was copied in Provence. The Jews of the former papal territory of Comtat Venaissin, whose largest communities were in Avignon, Carpentras, Cavaillon, and L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, had their own distinct rites of prayer, Judeo-Provençal dialect, and folklore. This beautifully illuminated page shows a piyyut (liturgical poem) for the second day of Passover. At the bottom of the page is a charming depiction of a childlike figure engaged in conflict with a fantastical animal, an illustration repeated on pages that introduce several other holidays.

Credits

British Library, London, England Or. 10733.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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