2007 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

“The book breaks new ground in its close examination of the seven earliest and most significant illuminated Sephardic Haggadot as representatives of a new phenomenon—the embellishment of Haggadot with extensive cycles of Biblical imagery. Recognizing the diversity of relationships among these works, it grounds the emergence and content of their imagery within the unique cultural-intellectual context of late medieval Iberian Jewry.” —Pamela A. Patton, Southern Methodist University

“The scholarship is impeccable throughout, and the close analysis of the manuscripts’ imagery and sources is deeply impressive. The discussion of visual motifs in the illustrations; the articulation of the concept of visual congruence; the conclusions about the interrelationship of the manuscripts; and the identification of the midrashic works reflected in the images, are all learned, thorough, and convincing. Together they constitute a major contribution to the field of medieval Jewish manuscript illumination.” —Sara Lipton, SUNY, Stoney Brook

Emerging in Spain after 1250, Jewish narrative figurative painting became a central feature in a group of illuminated Passover Haggadot in the early decades of the fourteenth century. Illuminated Haggadot from Medieval Spain describes how the Sephardic Haggadot reflect different visualizations of scripture under various conditions and aimed at a variety of audiences. Though the specifics of the creation of these works remain a mystery, this book delves into the cultural struggles that existed during this period in history and shows how those conflicts influenced the work.

The culture surrounding the creators of the Sephardic Haggadot was saturated in conflict revolving around acculturation, polemics with Christianity, and struggles within Sephardic Jewry itself. Kogman-Appel presents the Sephardic Haggadot as visual manifestations of a minority struggling for cultural identity both in relation to the dominant culture and within its own realm.