of the Musical Score to the Cantillation

“De accentibus et orthographia linguae hebraicae” [“Pronunciation and Spelling of the Hebrew Language”] by Johannes Reuchlin. Hagenau (Alsace; today Haguenau, France): Thomas Anshelm, 1518. Latin and some Hebrew.

Third and last book by the learned German scholar Johannes Reuchlin, on the subject of Hebrew grammar and philology. The book deals with the diacritic cantillation marks or accents (known in Hebrew as “ta’amei hamikra” and in Yiddish as “trop”) which indicate how the text of the Torah is to be musically chanted. It also discusses the orthography of Biblical Hebrew. The book concludes with nine pages of musical score, to be read from right to left, giving the names of the Hebrew cantillation symbols, in Hebrew, and above the text, the musical notation corresponding to each symbol (in four musical parts). This represents one of the earliest known printings of a Hebrew musical score.

Johannes Reuchlin (1455–1522), among the most prominent of German scholars in the Humanist approach of the Renaissance period, and regarded as the father of the study of Hebrew during this period. Outspoken proponent of an attitude of tolerance toward the Jews. Invested much of his energies in enriching his Christian co–religionists with the wisdom of Jewish sacred writings and Greek philosophy, and in teaching them the Hebrew and Greek languages. Studied Hebrew under Jakob ben Jehiel Loans, personal physician to Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, and under Rabbi Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno of Cesena. Continued with advanced studies in Kabbalah in Italy, and was influenced by the writings of the Italian philosopher Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494). Reuchlin was considered to be among the fathers of the Reformation, even though he personally placed himself in opposition to that movement, and remained steadfast in his loyalty to Catholicism and the Vatican throughout his life. In the famously heated argument that erupted between him and the German Catholic theologian and convert from Judaism, Johannes (Josef) Pfefferkorn, Reuchlin emphatically denounced the burning of the Talmud. Consequently, and because of his insistence on the need to study and teach the Jewish religious texts, he found himself targeted by the Church’s institutions. His pamphlet titled “Augenspiegel” (“Eyeglasses”) was banned and condemned by force of an official decree issued by Pope Leo X on June 23, 1520, just eight days after the signing of the first scathing condemnation (eventually followed by excommunication) of Martin Luther. Earlier, Reuchlin himself was summoned before a court of the Inquisition which demanded that he recant, but he stood his ground and mostly refused. Notably, notwithstanding a prolonged chain of events in which many attempts were made to have him formally censured, he survived the entire affair unpunished. Reuchlin’s books on Hebrew grammar were thought to have played an important role in his overall theological–kabbalistic agenda, which, in principle, sought to rediscover the historical roots of the Christian faith through reference to its Judaic basis.
For further reading, see: W. Schwarz, “Principles and Problems of Biblical Translation, ” Chapter IV, Cambridge UP, London, 1955. Ch. VI.

LXXXIII, [5] ff. (misfoliation), approx. 25.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Open tear to edge of title page, mended with paper. Worming holes, some mended, with minor damage to text. Rear flyleaf cropped; bottom part missing. Multiple handwritten notations (contemporary). Decorated leather binding, with blemishes and wear.

Exhibition:
• The Book of Books: Biblical Canon, Dissemination and its People, Jerusalem, Bible Lands Museum, 2013.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, No. NHB. 139.