Bidspirit auction | An Early and Rare Remnant

An Early and Rare Remnant from the Era of the Tosafists, from Seder Rav Amram Gaon – “The Order of Purim” – Manuscript on Parchment. France, 13th Century - An early parchment leaf, written on both sides in a fine and clear square Ashkenazic script, a surviving fragment from a manuscript of Seder Rav Amram Gaon, one of the earliest and most important works in the history of Jewish liturgy and halachah. The present fragment contains a substantial portion of the “Seder Purim” section of Seder Rav Amram Gaon. The leaf originally formed part of a larger, complete manuscript, of which this single leaf has survived. The fragment is of particular importance due to its great age. According to paleographic examination, the manuscript dates to the 13th century and was written in the Ashkenazic cultural sphere, most probably in France. It thus constitutes a very early written witness to the transmission and circulation of Seder Rav Amram Gaon in medieval Europe. Seder Rav Amram Gaon, composed by Rav Amram bar Sheshna Gaon, head of the Sura Academy in the ninth century, is among the earliest Jewish prayer books to have survived and is one of the fundamental sources for the study of Jewish liturgy, prayer rites and customs. The work circulated widely already during the period of the Rishonim and was known among Jewish communities in Ashkenaz, France, Spain, Italy and Byzantium, as well as throughout the lands of the East. The significance of the present leaf lies not only in its remarkable age – approximately 800 years – but also in its being a tangible surviving witness to the dissemination of one of the foundational works of early Babylonian Jewish liturgy and halachah among the Jews of medieval Europe. On the lower quarter of one side of the parchment, part of the original writing has been erased, apparently as a result of ancient moisture damage. The missing text was subsequently completed in a different hand, providing interesting evidence of the manuscript’s continued use and of an effort to preserve its contents. Accompanied by an expert opinion by Dr. Yechiel Zeitkin, identifying the text as a fragment of Seder Rav Amram Gaon, specifically from the “Seder Purim” section, and dating the manuscript on paleographic grounds to the 13th century, in the Ashkenazic sphere, most probably France. One parchment leaf, written on both sides. 21 × 15 cm. Square Ashkenazic script. A portion of the text at the bottom of one page was completed in a different hand.