New Christian (conversa) testator. Although she testated in Galicia, Spain, she owned one of the houses in the old Jewish quarter of Porto, Portugal, that later remained in the hands of New Christians families. It is the set of 30 houses surrounding…
This is the codicil to the will of Antonia Saraiva. Around 1560, Antonia Saraiva married her relative, the doctor Antonio Dinis, both New Christians born in Barcelos (kingdom of Portugal) and living in Pontevedra (Galicia). She was the daughter of…
This will is part of the so-called "Girona Geniza," which is a collection of Hebrew documents which were preserved because they were reused as book bindings. Baladre's will was part of the binding of a notarial register belonging to the notary…
New Christian (conversa) testator. Although she testated in Barcelos, Portugal, she owned one of the houses in the old Jewish quarter of Porto, Portugal, that later remained in the hands of New Christians families. It is the set of 30 houses…
This is a fragment of the will of Elena de Saa, a native of Barcelos (kingdom of Portugal). She had married her relative, the merchant Jorge Blandón, in 1590. They were both New Christians, descendants of the Jews converted in Barcelos during the…
Francisca Coronel, wife of Juan Dinis, was the daughter of Hector Coronel and Beatriz Alvarez, New Christians and residents of Salvatierra (Galicia). Francisca's mother Beatriz Alvarez, already a widow , was condemned as a Judaizer by the Santiago de…
NOTE: Gineta was among the wealthiest merchants in Marseille, and was married to an important leader in the Jewish community. For more on Gineta, see Juliette Sibon, Les Juifs de Marseille au XIVe siècle (Paris: Cerf, 2011). This will, however, does…
Isabel López was a native of Padrendo on the border between Galicia and Portugal. Around 1585, she married Enrique Méndez, a university graduate and lawyer who was a native of Monção, Kingdom of Portugal. Both were New Christians and both were…
This will is a copy of the original, and is recorded as part of a court register. The scribe is the well-known court clerk Halfon ben Menashe. (Note: The document at times refers to the testator as Khulla, and at times Kullat.)DETAILED DESCRIPTION…
The original will of Mahara was made in January 1143. A decade later, in November 1153, Mahara's nephew requested a copy, and that is the version that exists here. The document is written in Judeo-Arabic. DESCRIPTION FROM THE PRINCETON GENIZA…
New Christian (conversa) testator. She owned one of the houses in the old Jewish quarter of Porto (Portugal) that later remained in the hands of New Christians families. It is the set of 30 houses surrounding the synagogue that are expressly…
In 1582, in Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain, Martha Dinis married the licenciado and merchant Enrique Pereira. She was the daughter of the licenciado Paulo Núñez de Vitoria and his wife Isabel Thomas. All of these people were new Christians, natives of…
Na'ima's deathbed will is written in both Hebrew (the opening which situates the testator as sick but in her right mind) and Judeo-Arabic (the bequests). The end of the document is missing. DESCRIPTION FROM THE PRINCETON GENIZA PROJECT: Will of…
DETAILED DESCRIPTION FROM THE PRINCETON GENIZA PROJECT: Deathbed will of a rich woman, made during the absence of her husband. Location: Fustat. Dated: Wednesday, 26 Iyyar 1454 Seleucid, which is 13 April 1143 CE, under the reshut of Shemuel b.…
Sitt al-Dallal's will functions as a manumission writ for an enslaved woman. This is a common use of wills across the medieval Mediterranean, though less common for Jews in Christian Europe (since Jews could not keep Christian slaves). DESCRIPTION…
FROM THE PRINCETON GENIZA PROJECT: Fragment of a will of the teacher Sittuna bat Avraham the parnas. She leaves a property to the son of her sister's daughter, who will pay her funeral expenses out of the income of this property, and her personal…
TRANSCRIPTION: FF. In nomine domini amen. Notum sit et cetera annodomini Millesimo CCClxxxxviiii die vii mensis
Novembris circa terciam. Notum sit et cetera quod
cum nil sit certius morte quamvis eius
hora sit dubia et inserta idcirco
ego Sterella…
The unnamed testator was Karaite, and testated while pregnant. The will is recorded in Hebrew (the first half) and Judeo-Arabic (the second half, included many of the bequests).DESCRIPTION FROM PRINCETON GENIZA PROJECT:Recto: Fragment of a Karaite…