On the Origins and History of Palermo
An Introduction
Nadia Zeldes, The Hebrew University, Mandel Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, Israel
Delle origini e vicende di Palermo di Pietro Ransano e dell'entrata di re Alfonso in Napoli, ed. Gioacchino Di Marzo, Giovanni Lorsnaider, Palermo, 1864.
Description of the festivities in Palermo by Pietro Ranzano (1428-1492).
Originally written in Latin, Ranzano’s treatise on the history of Palermo was titled: De auctore primordiis et progressu felici urbi Panormi. It was part of a larger work, a general history of the world: Annales Omnium Temporum (uncompleted and never published). A version of the original Latin text and its translation into the vernacular is housed in Palermo, Biblioteca Comunale. The Latin version was printed twice in Palermo during the 18th century, first by Stefano Amato in 1737, and then as part of the ninth volume of the collection Opuscoli di Autori Siciliani, 1767. The vernacular version was published by Gioacchino Di Marzo together with another contemporary text Delle origini e vicende di Palermo di Pietro Ransano e dell'entrata di re Alfonso in Napoli (Palermo: Giovanni Lorsnaider, 1864).
The text in question describes the festivities and procession held in honor of the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella: pp. 50-54. My premise is that the overt text that repeatedly tells the reader about the exceptional permission given the Jews to freely dress as they wished hints at the underlying narrative that reassures the reader that this was indeed an exception, and the Jews usually dressed according to their humble status, that is, they did not wear silk and fine cloths. Another interesting point is that only men and youths participated in the celebrations whereas women watched from windows and doorsteps. Jews took part, as did the rest of the male population, albeit at the end of the procesion.
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Citation Information
On the Origins and History of Palermo
An Introduction
Nadia Zeldes, The Hebrew University, Mandel Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, Israel
Accessed on Thursday 09th of September 2010
http://www.earlymodern.org/citation.php?citKey=86&docKey=i