Shemarya ha-Ikriti and the Intellectual Cosmos of the Byzantine Jews in the 14th Century

• Applicant: Dr. Saskia Dönitz
• Subject Area: Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
• Term: from 2015 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 279507330

This project will conduct an in-depth study of the extant works of Shemarya ben Elijah ha-Parnas, also known as Shemarya ha-Ikriti, who lived in 14th-century Byzantium. The corpus of his transmitted writings is exceptional for its quantity and variety, particularly in comparison to the few other Byzantine Jewish authors known to us. Thus, a comprehensive analysis of his sources and the topics that he pursued will enable us to explicate the Byzantine Jewish and Christian background of this author. His oeuvre will provide a window onto the complex cultural profile of Jews in 14th-century Byzantium, a community that was formed by the Hellenistic tradition, an influx of knowledge from the West (especially after the Fourth Crusade), the Christian-Orthodox surrounding, and the ongoing intra-Jewish discourse between Rabbanites and Karaites. By reconstructing the intellectual and transcultural cosmos of Shemarya, this proposed research project will enhance the importance of Byzantium as a hub of traditions in the network of the Jewish communities and give insights on the multifaceted world of medieval Europe that this erudite Romaniote scholar was living in.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants