Cantor-Rabbis in Italy, Franco-Germany and England

This chapter studies the ninth- and tenth-century payṭanim in Byzantine Italy, looking at Aḥimaʻaṣ b. Palṭiel (b. 1017) and his Scroll (Megillaṭ ’Aḥimaʻaṣ), which chronicles the life and times of his family. His memoir provides knowledge about the early Italian hymnists, including the versatile Amittai b. Šefatyah of Oria (in Apulia). Amittai is credited with pioneering the genial side of the liturgy in his mock-serious dialogue between the vine and the tree. The mid-tenth century found a neo-classical revival in Italy. Solomon Ha-Bavli of Rome reintroduced the Qilliric two-root-consonant rhyme, a practice that had been neglected by less gifted poets because of its severe constraints. In the twelfth century, Italian poets began to reflect the influence of their Andalusian colleagues. Yeraḥmiel b. Solomon (12th c.) was probably the first Italian poet to compose hymns for the synagogue in Arabic-style quantitative metres. The chapter also explores the hymnography of Rhineland rabbi-poets and English synagogue poets.