Leone Modena's Life of Judah : a textual and contextual inquiry into early-modern identity

• Main Author: McCaughey, Dominique Anne
• Format: Others
• Published: 2002
• Online Access: http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/1674/1/MQ68372.pdf; McCaughey, Dominique Anne <http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/view/creators/McCaughey=3ADominique_Anne=3A=3A.html> (2002) Leone Modena's Life of Judah : a textual and contextual inquiry into early-modern identity. Masters thesis, Concordia University.

This inquiry explores the juxtaposition of medieval rabbinic and Renaissance humanistic thought in the autobiography of Rabbi Leone Modena (1571-1648). The emphasis is placed on the role that context and text played in shaping Jewish identity and self-consciousness. Specific attention is given to the unique dynamics of Counter-Reformation Venice, as well as the post-Spanish expulsion rupture with Biblically-driven Jewish historiography. Finally, a textual interpretation, resting on the recently published English-language translation of Modena's autobiography, the Life of Judah , is posited in light of this context.