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Comprises poems and melizot, a type of rhymed prose, found in medieval Spanish-Jewish literature, which closely resembles the maqama. 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.
Immanuel of Rome b. Solomon, Italian scholar, satirical poet, and the most interesting figure among the Jews of Italy; born at Rome c. 1270; died probably at Fermo c. 1330. He was a member of an important and wealthy family, and occupied a very prominent position at Rome. He seems to have been president or secretary of the Roman community, preached on the Day of Atonement, and also delivered discourses on special occasions. In 1325 he had the misfortune to lose his entire wealth, and was obliged to leave his home. All his friends deserted him, and, "bowed by poverty and the double burden of age," he wandered through Italy, until he found refuge in 1328 at Fermo in the march of Ancona, at the house of a patron of the name of Daniel (?), who provided for his old age and enabled him to devote himself to poetry. |
