Lamentations by a Jewish poet on his skin affliction: Solomon Ibn Gabirol

Abstract

Solomon Ibn Gabirol was a highly respected medieval Jewish poet and philosopher who lived in Spain. He suffered from a distressing, chronic cutaneous disorder of unknown etiology, which he poetically portrays in his poetry by using fantastic and grotesque imagery derived from Biblical sources. This contribution provides examples of Ibn Gabirol's remarkable poetry, which spotlights the immense human suffering and misery that can result from skin diseases.