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The Sabbatean Metamorphosis of a Medieval Romance
= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; By Gad Nassi
------------------------------------= ------------------------------
The romance is known as a poetic genre th=
at
recounts legendary histories of heroism of the feudal aristocracy including
general themes of romantic love. It is an accepted fact that the romance was
born and developed in the mid-12th century in
Besides its influence on the evolution of European literary creativity, the romance occupies an important place in Iberian folklore. This folklore constitutes = at the same time an integral part of the folklore of Jewish exiles from that peninsula. For five centuries it has been one of the main pillars of their popular literature that contributed to the preservation of their Sephardic identity.
In this article we shall deal with the
adventurous tale of a Sephardic romance known in its various forms as Me=
lisenda
in
One of the Castilian versions of the stor= y is the following:
“Todos estan
durmiendo, ala eksepsyon de Melisenda, la ija del Imperante, ke se esta sin
reposo meneyando i volviendo en su kama, achakes de su amor por el Konte
Ayueles / Salta de su kama, komo la pario su madre, se viste una kamiza
(alcandora) delgada para tomar konseja. Una vieja noble, ke kedo selibatera=
la
insinua de gozar de su manseves. / Melisenda no tiene menester de otras
palavras para korrer al palasio del Konte Ayueles / En kamino enkontra al
Ferdinandos, el paje de su padre, ke la menasa de avizar a su padre. Melise=
nda
le demanda de emprestar la su punal para matar alos perros ke no la deshan
durmir, kon elkual mata a Ferdinandos i korre jovialamente en su kamino. / =
Avre
kon enkantes las puertas de la kamareta onde el konte Ayueles durme i amata=
las
siete torshas ke la aklaran, en despertando el konte. / Ala pregunta del ko=
nte
ke kere saver ken esta en la kamareta, pretende ke es una Moriska, ke arivo=
por
la mar. / El konte proklama ke aviya jurado de echar se kon kuala mujer ke
demandara sus favores aparte de Melisenda, la ija del Imperante i se echan
endjuntos ala kama. / Ala
demaniana, el konte dekuvre la verdad i kon repentimiento se adresa ala pie=
dad
del Imperante, ke los pardona…”(1)
In the 15th century, the roman=
ces
were recited for all classes of people in
Transmitted orally from generation to generation, the text and vocabulary were transformed. Parts of the texts disappeared and new parts were added. However, the basic themes and forms w= ere mainly conserved. Five different versions relating to the story of the orig= inal romance of Melisenda have been identified in Sephardic folklore.(2)= One of these, collected amongst the Jewish Balkan communities is directly related to our subject:
durmi kon una donzella, =
&nb=
sp;
komo la inieve sin pizare; =
span>
ke en los dias de mis dias, =
las sus karas koloradas,
no topi otra komo eya. =
&nb=
sp;
komo la leche i la sangre;
Meliselda tiene por nombre, =
las sus kaveyikos ruvios
Meliselda galana i bella =
&nb=
sp;
paresen sirma de labrare;
A la abashada de un rio =
&nb=
sp;
la su frente relusiente
i a la suvida de un varo, =
parese
espejo de mirares;
enkontri kon Meliselda, =
&nb=
sp;
la su nariz empendolada,
la ija del imperante, =
&nb=
sp;
pendolika de notares;
ke venia de los banios, =
&nb=
sp;
los sus mushos korolados,
de los banios de la mare, =
&nb=
sp;
merdjanikos de filares;
de lavarse i entrenzarse, =
&nb=
sp;
los sus dientes chikitikos,
i de mudarse una kamiza.
(This
night my cavaliers / I slept with a maiden / whose equal I have never met /=
in
the best years of my life. / Meliselda is her name, / Meliselda elegant and
beautiful / along the course of a river / and the slope of a hill / I met
Meliselda, / daughter of the emperor / who came to bathe herself / in the
waters of the sea / to bathe herself and refresh herself, / and to change h=
er
garment. / Thus she brings her body / pure as snow / with her rosy face, / =
like
milk and blood; / her russet hair / like threads of gold; / her gleaming
forehead / like a mirror; / her nose uplifted / like the quill of a scribe;=
/
her red lips, / like the coral; / and her little teeth, / like pearls.)
It was on a Sabbath day in the month of
December in the year 1655, when Sabbetay Sevi, after reciting the romance o=
f Meliselda
in the Portuguese synagogue of Izmir, declared himself to be the Messia=
h.(4)
Since then, this romance was included into the liturgy of the community of =
the
Sabbatean believers.(5)
In our opinion, the adoption of the Melis= elda romance into the liturgy of the Sabbatean believers may be clarified by investigating the reasons for using themes of female eroticism in the relig= ious and mystical traditions of the Ottoman Jews. Three sources appear to be the basis of this phenomenon. Firstly, the place of female and erotic symbolism= in Jewish heritage. Secondly, the influence of Iberian heritage. Thirdly, the = link with Ottoman mystical music.
For generations, many erotic songs were
composed under the influence of the Song of Songs in the Bible. The
content of this work is entirely secular and is inspired by the praise of
erotic pleasure. However, the Song of Songs has been interpreted as =
the
expression of God’s love for the people of
In ancient times, the image of a feminine deity in the
In Sabbatean belief, the image of Meli=
selda
represents the earthly emanation of God, and the conception of union with t=
he Shechina
is considered as the event leading towards redemption. In a collection =
of
Sabbatean liturgical hymns, a version of Meliselda appears together =
with
poems about the Shechina presented in a mystical context.(5, 7)
Yakov Frank, the leader of the Sabbatean
movement in
“…In a dream̷=
0;I
saw the goddess who came to me appearing as a beautiful virgin… ̵=
6;Be
united from now on and heed me; perhaps the salvation will come
again’….”(8)
A study of the development process of the
mystical and religious music of the Sephardim in the
We know that the
Two peculiarities derived from Ottoman mu=
sic
mark the songs of Israel Nadjara. Firstly, he has adopted the forms of the =
makam
and usul, which are at the basis of Turkish music.(10)=
Secondly, he used the love themes that characterize Ottoman mystical
literature.(11)
Hayim Vital, the pupil of Luria, describe= s the comportment of Israel Nadjara:
“This person had the ha=
bit of
singing with his arms bare. He became drunk while drinking and he ate and s=
ang
at the top of his voice.”(12)
This kind of behavior reminds one of the ritualistic customs of mystic Ottoman sects, which used to listen to music = and drink in order to attain a state of ecstasy. Probably, this ritual influenc= ed not only the manner in which Nadjara comported himself but more especially = the tolerance and the approbation felt towards Nadjara and his works.
The poetical form – up to four metric lines in each stanza – used by Nadjara were adapted to the songs of the Ottoman Jews entitled maftirim.(12) Similarly, the influen= ce of the Turkish musical form used by Nadjara was so great that it still cont= inues to be used in our time and forms one of the most valuable creations of Turk= ish Sephardic religious music.
It is reported that the literature of love
romances in medieval Spain are noted for their eroticism in which women,
conscious of their sexuality, function like men and lead the action of the
poems.(13) On the other hand, female eroticism representi=
ng
divine love is reported to be a well-known phenomenon in Spain of that peri=
od.
In this context, popular and secular songs were used as liturgical hymns am=
ong
the Christians. Among these songs known as “a lo divino”=
we
find “la morenika ke te pones” which was also the probab=
le
source of a song composed by Nadjara.(14)
During the Arabian presence in the
This was the special characteristic of all
Jewish religious music, which developed in the
Ottoman music was considerably influenced=
by
the mystical music of the dervishes known for their humanistic and liberal
attitude. Many composers, singers and musicians who belonged to the non-Mus=
lim
minorities contributed actively to the development of this music. Abraham D=
anon
clearly mentions the major role of Ottoman mystical music in the developmen=
t of
the liturgical music of the Ottoman Sephardim.(16)
According to Galante, the composer Abraham
Levi Hayat, known as Misirli, studied under teachers belonging to the dervi=
sh
order such as Hodja Karami Efendi.(17) Similarly, Rabbi A=
vram
Mandil (1820-1883) known as Haham Aga used to sing in a tekke(18)
of the Mevlevi mystical order in Galata,
Moshe Vital testifies that there is proof=
of
strong links between the Jewish musicians in
"All the cantors I have mentioned [Shem-Tov
Chikiar, Salomon and Isaac Algazi, Eliyahu Hacohen] were strongly influence=
d by
the dervishes' songs. The [dervishes] is a sect of religious Muslims in
A final aspect in the study of the Sabbat= ean metamorphosis of the Meliselda romance is the possibility of a link between= the feminine eroticism of Jewish mysticism and the eroticism of Ottoman mystical artistic creativity.(21, 22) Eroticism in general and mystical love in particular in Ottoman poetry generally finds its expressio= n in a masculine figure, not always clearly differentiated from feminine attribu= tes.
Even if they are not openly expressed, the feminine erotic elements of this image may exist in its contextual implications. If we realize t= hat erotic-mystic love cannot be isolated from eroticism in general and from its feminine features, the existence of this link in its non-verbal and symbolic form cannot be denied.
In our view, all these components - the Jewish, Ibero-Arab, Ibero-Christian, Sephardic and Ottoman aspects - transm= it an authentic and unique character to the integration of the Meliselda roman= ce within the context of Sabbatean lore. These aspects reflect at the same time the relevance of a multi-dimensional approach in the study of the Sephardic heritage.
(1) Armistead, Samuel G.,
”Melisenda and the Chansons de Gestes”, La
Coróníca, 2=
7, 1
(Fall, 1998), 55-68.
(2) These versions, including the one t=
hat
appears in the text are mentioned by Manuel
Alvar (Lopez), who
attributes them to Jews of Salonica, Turkia, Tetuan, Alcazarquivir
and the Balkans. See Manuel Alvar, Poesia Tradicional de los Judi=
os
Espaňoles,
=
(Mexico: Editorial Porrua, S. A., 1966), 24-28.
(3) Damian, Alonso Garcia, Lit=
eratura
Oral del Ladino, Entre los Sefardíes de Oriente a
<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Través del Romancero, (=
(4) This was reported by Thomas C=
oenen,
who was a witness to the events linked to the
declaration of Sevi’s Messian=
ism.
However, the version of the romance is slightly
different, the visage of Melisalda =
being
described “shining as a sword” (briando komo
una espada); Only the first six verses appear in the text, indicating that this romance has <= o:p>
=
a continuation. See Thomas Coenen, Tzipiot Shav shel ha-Yehu=
dim
kefi sheHitgalu be
Dmutu
shel Shabtai Zvi [False Hopes of the Jews as Manifested in the Image of
Shabtay
Zvi], (Jerusalem: Dinur Center, 1998), 56.
(5) =
span>A
version of the romance appears in a manuscript of songs and paeans belongin=
g to
the
community of Sabbatean believers. See Moshe Attias, Kansoniero
Yehudi-Sefaradi,
(Yerushalayim: Hamahon leHeker Yahadut Saloniki , 1972), 356-357.=
(6) Patai, Raphael,
“The Goddess Cult in the Hebrew-Jewish Religion” in On
Jewish Folklore, (Detroit, Michigan: Wayne
State University Press, 1983),
56-68. (7) See Shirot
veTishbohot shel haShabtayim [Songs and Paeans of the Sabbeteans], Copi=
ed and
Translated from a manuscript by Moshe Attias, Remarks and Commentaries by <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Gershom Scholem, Preface by Y=
itzhak
Ben Zvi, (Tel Aviv: Dvir, 1948). (8) Lenowitz, Harris; Sokolow, Nahum, Y=
acob
Frank, ca 1726-1791, (
Tree/Tzaddikim, 1978), 25. (9) “Luria, Yithak Ben ShlomoR=
21;,
HaAntsiklopedia haIsraelit haKlalit, II, (
Keter, 1990), 309. (10) Seroussi, Edwin “The Turkish =
Makam
in the Musical Culture of the Ottoman Jews: &=
nbsp;
Sources and Exemples=
8221;
in (11) Yahalo=
m,
Yossef, “Shirat haKabala
vehaReka haTurki Shela” [Kabbalistic Songs and their Turkish Backgrou=
nd]
in Dimuy, V-VI, (1993), 88-96. (12) Seroussi, Edwin “Rabi I=
srael
Nadjara Meatzev Zmirat haKodesh Aharey Girush &=
nbsp; Sefarad”
[Rabi (13) Deyermond, Alan, “La Sexualid=
ad en
la Épica Medieval Espaňola”, Nueva Revista de Filologίa Hispánica, XXXVI, 2, (1988): 767-86. =
(14) Reported by Seroussi, op. cit.=
i>, Rabi Israel Nadjara … 299-300. (15) An=
ıl, Avni, A=
nılar
ve Belgelerle Musikimiz Sözlüğü [The Dictionary of our Music th=
rough
Memories and Documents], I, (Istanbul: Doyuran, 1981). Quoted by Pamela J. Dorn Sezgin, “Hakh=
amim,
Dervishes, and Court Singers: the Relationship of Ottoman Jewish Music to Classical
Turkish Music” in The Jews of the (16) Danon, Abraham, “Recueil de
Romances Judéo-Espagnoles Chantées en Turquie”, in R=
evue
des Etudes Juives, 32; 33 (Paris: 1896)102-23, 263-75; 33, 255-68. Quoted by Edwin Seroussi, Mi=
zimrat
Qedem, The Life and Music of R. Isaac Algazi from (17) Galante, Avram, Histoire des Jui=
fs de
Turquie, II, (Istanbul: Isis, 1985), 114-115. Quoted by Edwin Seroussi, op. c=
it., Mizimrat…,
1989), 33. (18) =
Turkish
word for the gathering place of dervishes. This tekke is know=
n as
Galata Galip Dede Mevlevihanesi. (19) =
Galante,
Avram, Türkler ve Yahudiler: Tarihi ve Siyasi Tetkik [Jews and Turcs: a Historical a=
nd
Political Study, (Istanbul: Tan, 1947). Quoted by Dorn Sezgin, op. cit.<=
/i>
The use of the title Aga denotes clearly the affiliation of Rabbi Ma=
ndil
to this order. (20) Vital, Moshe, “Hartzaah beVei=
da
haRishona shel haHazanim vehaMenatzhim beEretz (21) =
Tietze,
Andreas and Yahalom, Joseph, “Ottoman Melodies Hebrew Hymns, A 16th
=
Century Cross-Cultural Adventure”, Bibliotheca Orientalis
Hungarica, Ed. Györg Hazai, (Budapest: Akademia Kiado, 1995), 46-201. (22) Çob=
anoğlu, Özkul,
“Osmanlı Devleti’inde Kültürel Etkileşim Bağlamında
Türk =
=
Edebiyatı ve Musevi Kültürü” [Turkish Literature and Jewish
Culture in the Context of Interactive Culture in the Ottoman Empire]=
=
, Tiryaki,,VI, 42, (Istanbul: 2000), 33-36=
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