Jewish literary production in the Middle Ages

Abstract

This article aims to describe and analyze the formation and consolidation of Hebrew-Spanish literature between the 10th and 15th centuries. It can be argued that this literature encompasses the composition of secular poems in Hebrew, the use of Arabic quantitative metrics, rhetorical and thematic ornamentation, and finally, grammatical and lexicographical studies—elements that together characterize the so-called pre-Golden Age of Jewish culture in medieval Spain. Following this, the article highlights the literary production of the classical period of Hebrew-Spanish poetry, referred to here as the Golden Age. It argues that the texts produced during this period by Jewish intellectuals were fundamental to medieval Jewish philosophy, incorporating central elements of Neoplatonism, traces of Aristotelianism, and aspects of Muslim mysticism into their theses. Finally, this work presents the striking characteristics of the post-classical period of Jewish literature in the Iberian Peninsula, showing that the poetic production of the period was linked to the standards of Arabic poetry and, on the other hand, saw the flourishing of innovations and changes, among which were the development of the mahbarah and narrative in rhymed prose, endowed with a heterogeneity of themes and forms.