Stella, widow of Farachio De Bulfarachio: Caltabellotta, 1491

Dublin Core

Title

Stella, widow of Farachio De Bulfarachio: Caltabellotta, 1491

Subject

Stella, widow of Farachio De Bulfarachio

Description

Stella is the widow of Farachio De Bulfarachio, also known as Nissim ben Shabbetai Abu-l Faraj, a Arab-Spanish rabbi.

In her will, the widow Stella names her son Jeremiah as her universal heir. She leaves to her daughter Channa, wife David de Siragusia, money for the dowry promised to her at the time of her marriage, as well as a quantity of mourning cloth. To Joseph de Siragusia, her grandson (Channa's son), she leaves a cloth hat. To Ventura, daughter of the late Sadech de Minichi, she bequeaths a blanket and a pair of sheets.

Most notably, Stella leaves "dominus" Guglielmo Moncata, her son, two tarì, but beyond this she explicitly denies him any other rights to inheritance. This Guglielmo Moncata is the famed Sicilian humanist born Samuel, who converted to Christianity around 1470, and is also known as Flavius Mithridates. Here, Stella uses the small bequest and explicit exclusion to air her discontent with her son.

The will is signed by three Christian witnesses and four Jewish witnesses.

***
TRANSCRIPTION from Scandaliato attached here as file.

Creator

Caltabellotta, Sicily

Date

6 March 1491

Source

Archivio di Stato, Palermo
ASP, Sciacca, not. F. Giuffrida, reg. 1389, c. 386r
See Scandaliato, "Guglielmo Raimondo Moncada alias Flavio Mitridate, ebreo convertito di Caltabellotta,, Sefer Yuhasin 18-19 (2002-2003): 3-9.