Living under the Evil Pope: The Hebrew Chronicle of Pope Paul IV by Benjamin Neḥemiah ben Elnathan from Civitanova Marche (16 th century) by Martina Mampieri

Abstract

Reviewed by: Living under the Evil Pope: The Hebrew Chronicle of Pope Paul IV by Benjamin Neḥemiah ben Elnathan from Civitanova Marche (16 th century) by Martina Mampieri Alessandra Veronese Martina Mampieri . Living under the Evil Pope: The Hebrew Chronicle of Pope Paul IV by Benjamin Neḥemiah ben Elnathan from Civitanova Marche (16 th century) . Leiden : Brill , 2020 . xx + 400 pp. doi:10.1017/S0364009420000574 Martina Mampieri provides scholars with a source of great interest, which helps better understand the complex period following the election of Pope Paul IV Carafa from a Jewish perspective. This is undoubtedly an important book that contributes to the advancement of our knowledge regarding that historical moment. The volume consists of three sections. Section 1 ("The Work and Its Context") is divided into two chapters: the first treats the history of the Jewish community of Civitanova Marche between the late Middle Ages and the early modern age, and the second examines Benjamin Neḥemiah ben Elnathan's Hebrew chronicle. Section 2's ("A Reading of Pope Paul IV's Pontificate, 1555–1559") four chapters are dedicated respectively to Paul IV's policy toward the Jews, both at the center and periphery of the Papal States; the arrest and the imprisonment of the Jews of Civitanova Marche; the final period of the pontificate of the "evil pope"; and the election of Pius IV "the Merciful." Section 3 consists of a revised edition of the chronicle, with an annotated English translation. The volume also includes the facsimile of Ms. Heb.8 ° 984, preserved at the National Library of Israel; a documentary appendix; the chronology of the events reported in the chronicle; notes on currency, measures, and times; a list of maps and plates; and a rich bibliography. Unlike authors such as Joseph ha-Kohen and Gedalyah ibn Yahyah, Benjamin provides a long and detailed description of the events linked to Pope Paul IV's [End Page 192] election and the issuing of the Cum nimis absurdum bull. Even though the text of the chronicle was already known thanks to the pioneering work of Isaiah Sonne, the omissions and mistakes of his first edition make a restored edition of the Hebrew text advisable. While Mampieri's edition and the translation of the chronicle is very good, the historical introduction is not always completely convincing. A few examples from chapter 1: Jewish and Christian moneylending is not sufficiently problematized (15–16); the question of marriage between Jews from different cultural and ritual traditions (namely, Ashkenazim, Sephardim, and Italkim) could have been treated in greater detail (21); the author speculates about the title of magister , but most of the time (and only in the case of the Jews) the title indicates someone who was a physician (22); a synagogue certainly did not exist before the establishment of a Jewish settlement, since there was no tradition of Jewish presence (26), and certainly (not probably) the synagogue had a modest exterior. Mampieri's calculation of the population of the Jewish community of Civitanova is quite unrealistic: one cannot use notarial deeds to speculate on the number of men and women living in a certain place, which the author herself admits (28). Regarding dowries, the single citation of Gasperoni's work (29) does not take into account many past contributions by scholars who studied Jewish dowries between the Quattrocento and the Cinquecento in the regions of northern and central Italy. Incidentally, when discussing the amount of the dowry, the author seems not to be aware of the differences often linked to the origin of the bride. Ashkenazic women were usually more independent than Italians, and their status was often reflected in the dowries granted by their families, as well as in their last wills (32). A few mistakes likely reflect a lack of care in proofreading, like the statement on p. 86 that the Tisha be-'Av fast commemorates the destruction of the First Temple (86), while at p. 144 the author correctly states that Jews fast to remember the destruction of the First as well as Second Temple, and other calamities in Jewish history. At p. 87 the author affirms that the Jews were expelled from Castile in 1492 (and...