Joshua and Judges in Yiddish Verse: Four Early Modern Epics. An Annotated Edition

Published by düsseldorf university press 2022

Joshua and Judges in Yiddish Verse

Four Early Modern Epics. An Annotated Edition

Edited by: Oren Cohen Roman

Volume 5 in the series Jiddistik Edition und Forschung / Yiddish Editions and Research / ייִדיש אויסגאַבעס און פֿאָרשונג

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110740899

Overview
Contents

About this book

This book offers annotated editions of four distinct sixteenth-century Yiddish epic poems, all preserved in single copies. Two of them retell the narrative found in the book of Joshua, and two relate the events described in the book of Judges. As typical specimens of the once popular literary genre, the Old Yiddish biblical epic, the content of the works is based on Jewish sources, while their style and form were influenced by German epic and chivalric literature. The epics often elaborate on the biblical narrative, with rich passages that echo the cultural setting in which they were composed, presumably German and Italian lands. The four epics are presented here for the first time in modern academic editions. They are studied and compared with one another, and footnotes provide information concerning the sources of additions and changes, translation methods, historical details, obscure words and idiomatic expressions, and more. As these epics represent some of the earliest examples of biblical epics in Yiddish, the discussion also touches upon the origins of the genre, tracing its path from orality to written text. The annotated edition presents the original Old Yiddish texts together with an English introduction.

Four accurate editions of thus far unpublished Old Yiddish works.
Close comparison of the epics to the original biblical text and additional Jewish sources.
Research into the beginnings of the genre.

Author / Editor information

Oren Cohen Roman, University of Haifa, Israel.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Foreword Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
About this Edition Publicly Available Download PDF	X
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	XI
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	CXVII
Appendix: Recurring Rhymes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	CXXX
Editions
Epic Poem on the Book of Joshua. Cod. Parma, 1510 – 1511 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Sēfer šōfěṭīm. Cod. Parma, 1510 – 1511 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
Sēfer šōfěṭīm. Mantua, 1564 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	139
Sēfer Yěhōšua‘. Cracow, 1594 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	225

(Deutsch)

Languages: English, Yiddish
Publisher: düsseldorf university press
Audience: Researchers and students of Yiddish, German literature, linguistics, literature inspired by the Bible, Religious scholars
Pages
- Main content: 416
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 7
Keywords: Epic; Hebrew Bible; Old Yiddish

eBook

Published: June 21, 2022
ISBN: 9783110740899

Hardcover

Published: June 21, 2022
ISBN: 9783110740615