Abstract
The travel experience of the 15th century, as exemplified by the crocodile accounts of Meshulam ben Menahem and Ovadiah da Bertinoro [they traveled together in 1487 to Egypt and Eretz Israel], offers a lens through which we shall explore the dynamic interplay of empiricism and scholasticism in the latter 15th century. Using the crocodile as a case study, we shall deconstruct the matrix of empirical and scholastic data available to these two travelers, trace motifs to their ancient and medieval sources, and watch them surface, disappear, and often resurface across time and space, through the Middle Ages to the late fifteenth century.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 115-148 |
| Number of pages | 34 |
| Journal | Speculum |
| Volume | 91 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2016 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Research for this study was supported by a grant from the Israel Science Foundation (1262/13), for which I am profoundly grateful.
Funding
Research for this study was supported by a grant from the Israel Science Foundation (1262/13), for which I am profoundly grateful.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Israel Science Foundation | 1262/13 |
RAMBI Publications
- RAMBI Publications
- Meshullam ben Menahem -- active 15th century
- Bertinoro, Obadiah -- approximately 1450-approximately 1516
- Jews -- Italy -- History -- 15th century
- Travelers' writings -- History and criticism
- Jewish travelers -- History -- 15th century
- Nature -- Religious aspects -- Judaism
- Jewish illumination of books and manuscripts
- Animals in art
- Crocodiles in literature
- Eretz Israel -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800