Manuscript - Collection of Rulings and Responsa of Rishonim, Sages of France, Germany (Ashkenaz) and England - ...

Manuscript - Collection of Rulings and Responsa of Rishonim, Sages of France, Germany (Ashkenaz) and England - Europe, 15th Century - Many Hitherto Unprinted Sections
Manuscript, large compilation (980 Simanim) of rulings and halachic responsa by European sages from the period of the Rishonim. [Europe, 15th century, after 1417].
Large, diverse anthology of rulings of Rishonim, compiled from many books, some from books which today are considered lost.
This manuscript is known to researchers of the literature of Rishonim from the 19th century. The researcher Shlomo Zalman Chaim Halberstam writes of its importance and of its distinctive content: "No such manuscript is to be found in any library" (Kehillat Shlomo, p. 69), nonetheless until today, most of its content has not been printed and this manuscript is the only source of many important sections. Many Simanim already exist in known books of Rishonim, however, the comprehensive task of comparing the manuscript to printed versions has not yet been undertaken. In the past, this manuscript has been studied by researchers of English Jewry before the expulsion, however, they only printed a few sections which were related to their study. A few Simanim of the manuscript were printed in various places. Several were printed by Prof. Simcha Emanuel in his book Teshuvot Maharam M' Rothenburg V'Chaverav" (Siman 136, 431, 496). Approximately 30 sections were printed at the end of Sha'arei Teshuvot [Maharam responsa printed in Berlin, 1882] under the name "Likutim M'Ktav Yad Shlomo Zalman Chaim Halberstam 345". Those sections were inaccurately copied and were printed in the new edition of Maharam of Rothenburg responsa (Machon Yerushalayim, Jerusalem, 2014) with the same errors. [Evidently, the manuscript was not in their possession, see ibid, introduction, p. 18].
The person who compiled this anthology copied the content from many books by Rishonim (see partial list in Hebrew description), some are known today and others are considered lost (for example, Sefer HaMa'ayan and Sefer Matat - See S. Emanuel, Shivrei Luchot - Lost books of Ba'alei HaTosfot, Jerusalem, 2007, according to the index of manuscripts). The manuscript contains passages which were not included in printed versions of some compositions.
Many times, the writer notes diverse and unusual sources from which he compiled the responsa included in the manuscript (see examples in the Hebrew description).
980 Simanim (the rest is lacking), pagination in another handwriting. Throughout the manuscript are inscriptions on the sheets by one writer, Moses Soave of Venice (1820-1882), referring to names of sages and interesting quotes which were mentioned in the manuscript, sometimes adding information about them. On page 9/a is a gloss in another handwriting: "Seems to me David".
The date of the writing is estimated after 1417, and apparently later than 1429. This is deduced from Siman 971 (page 112/b) which cites a tale which took place in the city of Trévoux [Eastern-France near Leon] in Tishrei 1416 "in the presence of R. Yochanan" about the time that no Etrog could be found for the arba'a minim during the Festival of Sukkot. Apparently, the aforementioned R. Yochanan whose name has the appellation used after death is R. Yochanan Treves, who died in 1429.
115 leaves. 21 cm. Attractive script, with wide margins. Good-fair condition. Dampstains. On leaf 18 is an ink stain affecting text. Professional restoration to margins of many leaves. Elaborate leather binding. Housed in a handsome cardboard and fabric box, with a leather spine.
Manuscript lacking at the end. Also lacking one leaf between leaf 108 and leaf 109 (from the middle of Siman 932 until the middle of Siman 939). Moses Soave already noted the lacking leaf in an inscription in its appropriate place.
The microfilm copy of the NLI is illegible.
Provenance:
1. Library of Moses Soave (1820-1882), Venice.
2. The sage Shlomo Zalman Chaim Halberstam, Manuscript 345.
3. Montefiore Collections - London, Manuscript 108.
Literature: Kehillat Shlomo, Vienna, 1890, pp. 63-69 [contains a long list of table of contents and of the names of the sages mentioned in the manuscript]; H. Hirschfeld, Descriptive Catalogue of the Hebrew MSS. of the Montefiore Library, London, 1904, pp. 22-26 [contains detailed list of the sages, places and foreign phrases mentioned in the manuscript]; A. Marmorstein, ‘Some Hitherto Unknown Jewish Scholars of Angevin England’, JQR n.s. 19 (1928-1929), pp. 27-31; idem, ‘New Material for the Literary History of the English Jews before the Expulsion’, Transactions of the Jewish Historical Society of England, 12 (1928-1931), pp. 107ff.; I. Epstein, ‘Pre-Expulsion England in the Responsa’, ibid, 14 (1935-1939), pp. 188ff.