Michael Collection
Item
Country
GB
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
eng
Contact information: postal address
Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BG
Contact information: phone number
0044 1865 277162 (reader services)
0044 (0)1865 277150 (special collections)
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
reader.services@bodleian.ox.ac.uk (reader services)
specialcollections.bookings@bodleian.ox.ac.uk (special collections)
Reference number
MS. Michael
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (official language of the state)
Michael Collection
Language of title
eng
Creator / accumulator
Heimman Joseph Michael
Date note
13th century/19th century
Language(s)
heb
Extent
630 shelfmarks
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
This collection is composed of Hebrew manuscripts from the collection of Heimman Joseph Michael (1727-1807). Of special interest regarding the Sephardic context are the following items:
MS. Mich. 155 (Neubauer 1984): this volume includes a 14th-century epistolographic formulary and a Hebrew poem by Yom Tov Ben Hannah (Abenhanya), scribe to the Jewish community of Montalbán, in the Kingdom of Aragon. See transcriptions in Ben-Shalom (2013). The manuscript also includes other writings and poems by authors from 14th- and 15th-century Aragon, among them, Yosé Ginilla (8 piyutim).
MS. Mich. 290 (Neubauer 1094): collection of Medieval piyutim, including ten poems in ladino following Hebrew poetry's models dated from the 15th century. Among the authors of these piyutim, there are Yosé Ginilla, Selomó Bonafed and Abraham Halevy. See transcriptions in Seroussi (2005).
MS. Mich. 155 (Neubauer 1984): this volume includes a 14th-century epistolographic formulary and a Hebrew poem by Yom Tov Ben Hannah (Abenhanya), scribe to the Jewish community of Montalbán, in the Kingdom of Aragon. See transcriptions in Ben-Shalom (2013). The manuscript also includes other writings and poems by authors from 14th- and 15th-century Aragon, among them, Yosé Ginilla (8 piyutim).
MS. Mich. 290 (Neubauer 1094): collection of Medieval piyutim, including ten poems in ladino following Hebrew poetry's models dated from the 15th century. Among the authors of these piyutim, there are Yosé Ginilla, Selomó Bonafed and Abraham Halevy. See transcriptions in Seroussi (2005).
Archival history
After the death of Heimman Joseph Michael, his manuscripts were purchased in 1848 by the Bodleian Library for about £1,000. The printed books were acquired by the British Museum.
Administrative / Biographical history
Heimman Joseph Michael (1792-1846) was a German merchant and collector of Hebrew literature. He was born in Hamburg and studied Talmudic. He started collecting books at the age of 12. The result of his bibliophilia was a remarkable library of 860 manuscripts and 5,471 printed works. His rich collection was the basis for the production of his encyclopedic work Or ha-Ḥayyim (posthumously published by his son in Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1891), containing the biographies and bibliographies of medieval Jewish scholars. Michael also composed a catalogue of his collection, which was the foundation for the Oẓerot Ḥayyim, Katalog der Michael'schen Bibliothek (Hamburg, 1848). The numerous contemporary books and leaflets in Michael's library also show that he had an interest in the intellectual movements of his time.
Access points: locations
Access points: persons, families
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
Access, restrictions
A few digital copies of the manuscripts are available at:
Finding aids
Card catalogue (arranged by language) available in the Oriental Reading Room.
Links to finding aids
Existence and location of copies
The manuscripts have been microfilmed by the Institute for Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts in Jerusalem.
Author of the description
Joana Rodrigues, 2022
Bibliography
Published primary sources
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| The Montefiore Endowment: Hebrew manuscripts and papers | Existence and location of copies |
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford | Collections (official language of the state) |