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Immanuel of Rome (known in Italian as Manoello Giudeo—"Immanuel the Jew"; c. 1261–after 1328), poet. Born in Rome, a scion of the Zifroni family, Immanuel moved in circles of scholars and poets. At times he was in charge of the correspondence of the Jewish community of Rome and addressed the community on festive occasions. The supposition that he held a high post in the community has not been proven, nor has the assumption that he was a physician been substantiated. Immanuel left Rome for unknown reasons, but his departure may have been connected with the papal edict of expulsion issued against the community in 1321. He then lived in Perugia, Fabriano, Fermo, Camerino, Ancona, Gubbio, and Verona where he probably was a private tutor in the homes of wealthy patrons.
Mahbarot, his best known literary work, comprises poems and melizot (a type of rhymed prose, found in medieval Spanish-Jewish literature, which closely resembles the maqama). A single narrative runs through the work giving it structural unity; this characteristic is also in the tradition of the maqama and of certain literary works (consisting of prose and poetry) found in romance languages, such as Dante's Vita Nova. Immanuel says that the work was inspired by a patron, whom he designates as sar ("prince"; he probably was not a Maecenas, as usually stated by Immanuel's biographers, but simply a rich Jew), and in whose home he lived in Fermo. The work consists of a preface and mahbarot (sing. mahberet, Heb. for maqama), hence its title, Mahbarot (first complete edition Brescia, 1491. His meters, style, imagery, and figurative language are similar to those of Solomon ibn Gabirol, Judah Halevi, and especially Judah Al-Harizi, whose Tahkemoni Immanuel held as a model. The subject matter of Mahbarot is mostly gay, at times frivolous, but almost always witty. The artistic form is but a vehicle to prove Immanuel a skillful master of language whose aim it is to arouse the admiration of the reader. His punning and play on biblical terms have not been surpassed. Mahbarot contains poems on love, wine, and friendship, riddles, epigrams, epistles, but also poetry of a serious nature, such as elegies and religious poems. The piyyut "Yigdal," included in the daily prayer book, is an abridged adaptation of a poem by Immanuel included in the Mahbarot (no. 4) whose subject is Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith. Parts of the Mahbarot, especially the 28th mahberet, have been translated into German, Italian, English, Hungarian, Latin, and Yiddish.
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