Three theological treatises in one volume, by Dominican theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274).  [Basel: Martin Flach, ca. 1472-1474]. Latin.

Volume comprising three works:

1. De articulis fidei et ecclesie sacramentis – a summary of the principal articles of the Christian faith and the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church (ends mid-leaf 12).

2. Tractatus de periculis contingentibus circa sacramentum eucharistiae – a theological and practical discussion on the dangers attendant upon receiving the Holy Eucharist (ends mid-leaf 15). Formerly attributed to Aquinas, but attributed by modern scholarship to Bernardus de Parentinis (cf. CIBN, ISTC).

3. De regimine Judaeorum – "On the Government of Jews" – Theological-legal epistle composed by Thomas Aquinas at the request of the Duchess of Brabant (Ducissam Brabantiae), addressing the status of Jews in Christian Europe. The work discusses various economic and administrative matters, including taxation, prohibition of usury, and restrictions on dress, residence, and occupations. While Aquinas advises against excessive oppression, he stresses the need to maintain separation from Jews to prevent religious influence.

This treatise became one of the most influential sources shaping Church policy towards Jews throughout the Middle Ages.

Fine copy, with wide margins. Opening initial ornamented in gold and red; spaces left blank for later initials throughout (left blank in the present copy).

Enclosed: three 19th-century manuscript leaves, excerpt from Summa Theologiae, Part II-II, Question 12 (De jactantia – On Boasting).

[18] leaves (35 pages). 28.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, creases, and minor wear. Marginal annotations, signatures, and ownership inscriptions of the English historian C. W. de Poer Kennedy on the endpapers, title page margin, and other leaves. Bookplate of German physician and bibliophile Georg Kloß (1787-1854). Half-leather cardboard binding; red leather label (with incorrect imprint details). Wear and defects to binding.

Bookplate of Mozes Heiman Gans.

Rare. Not in the catalogue of the National Library of Israel.

See: ISTC it00283000; GW M46403; Goff T-283; Hain 1430; BMC III 741; CIBN T-120; IGI 9527; Hillard 1942; Sack (Freiburg) 3389; BSB-Ink T-214.

Two manuscript documents recording the history of the Jewish Converso family Dela Cavalleria of the island of Mallorca:

1. Manuscript on parchment – Contract signed between Fernando Dela Cavalleria and his mother, Beatriz, concerning the family’s property. Mallorca, 1536. Latin and Catalan.

The contract stipulates Fernando’s obligations toward his widowed mother, Beatriz, and his brothers – Francisco, Pancho, and Geronimo. Under its terms, Fernando undertakes to provide food and lodging for his mother and brothers. The agreement also defines his rights to the inheritance expected upon his mother’s death.

Signed before witnesses and before the notary Antonio Bosfa, whose elaborate notarial sign designed as a compass rose appears at the foot of the document. On the verso, a contemporary handwritten summary of the contract.

Approx. 30X36 cm. Good-fair condition. Minor tears, creases, and stains. Fold marks. Stamp on verso.

2. Manuscript Genealogy of the Dela Cavalleria family. [Mallorca, ca. 18th century]. Spanish.

A genealogical chart of the noble family of Conversos Dela Cavalleria, whose members lived for several generations on the island of Mallorca. The chart notes the family’s marriage connections with the Orlandis family of Pisa, Italy, as well as with other noble families, including the Pardo and Vivot families.

The first leaf features a large full-page hand-drawn coat of arms.

The Dela Cavalleria family (also spelled Caballeria), of Converso origin, was among the most prominent Jewish families of Zaragoza (Aragon, northeastern Iberian Peninsula). They traced their ancestry to the Ben Lavi family, whose notable members included Don Vidal Ben Lavi (correspondent of Rabbi Isaac ben Sheshet [Rivash] on various halachic matters), Solomon Ben Lavi (translator of Emuna Ramah), Rabbi Shimon Lavi, kabbalist and author of the piyyut "Bar Yochai", and others. The name "Dela Cavalleria" originated in the 13th century, from the family’s close association with the Knights Templar (L'Orde dels Pobres Cavallers de Crist i del Temple de Salomó in Catalan).

Several members of the family served in public office and in the service of the kings of Aragon, were patrons of the arts, and acquired noble titles. Following the anti-Jewish riots of 1391, some descendants converted to Christianity, and the family split into several branches. During the 15th century, a central branch settled in Mallorca, and several places in Mallorca and Menorca still bear the family's name.

The Orlandis family, an important noble family originating in Pisa, Italy, settled a branch in Mallorca, and in the 18th century intermarried with the Dela Cavalleria family (as documented in the present family tree).

[3] leaves. 31.5 cm. Good condition. Wear and stains. Minor marginal tears. Later additions in pencil (English). Modern binding.

Two royal documents of the Holy Roman Empire, one signed by Empress Maria Theresa and the other by her husband, Emperor Francis I. Vienna, mid-18th century. German and Latin.

Written on large parchment sheets in elegant calligraphic script, with official wax seals.

• Document signed by Empress Maria Theresa. Vienna, 27 April 1748. German with some Latin.

Royal writ for Brother Malachias Amhoff, representative of the Holy Places on behalf of the Franciscan Order, confirming his appointment as authorized representative for collecting donations for the upkeep of the Holy Places in Jerusalem. The document grants him the right to travel freely within the Holy Roman Empire, collect contributions, and act on behalf of the Order, instructing all civil and ecclesiastical authorities to grant him assistance, protection, and support in his mission.

Approx. 35X58 cm. Good to fair condition. Fold marks. Stains, creases, and minor blemishes.

• Document signed by Emperor Franz I. Vienna, 16 February 1757. Latin.

Royal writ for Father Felicianus Freiseysen, a Franciscan friar in Hungary, granting him and his companions permission to undertake a pilgrimage to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The document issues an official travel license on behalf of the Empire, guaranteeing free and safe passage by land and sea, and instructing all civil and ecclesiastical authorities to provide him with assistance, protection, and support.

Approx. 50X69 cm. Good condition. Fold marks and minor creases.

Manuscript, lengthy letter by R. Immanuel Aboab, on the behavior of Jewish merchants who waited too long to leave the Iberian Peninsula. [Amsterdam, late 17th to early 18th century]. Portuguese. Scribal copy.

The present manuscript is the only one known to be written in Portuguese, the dominant spoken language among the former Marranos in Amsterdam. Written in Amsterdam (based on watermarks) but evidently translated from a Spanish original dated ca. 1626-1627.

The letter discusses Marranos who, for financial or other reasons, refused to leave the Iberian Peninsula and continued to live under the Inquisition. The letter also discusses those Marranos who, though having immigrated to a country with greater freedom for open practice of Judaism – France, Flanders, Italy or the Ottoman Empire – did not join the existing Jewish communities, did not openly return to Judaism, or in some cases returned to Spain. The letter includes discussion of the Marranos with respect to their honest and dishonest business practices, fashion, gambling, their success in their new lands, and more. R. Imanuel Aboab begs the Marranos to return fully to Judaism and join communities in Europe, such as Amsterdam, Venice, Livorno or the Ottoman Empire.

Pages numbered with catchwords; erasures and corrections.

R. Imanuel Aboab (ca. 1555-1628) was born in Porto, Portugal to a distinguished family of Spanish exiles whose members included R. Yitzchak Aboab, author of Menorat HaMaor, and R. Yitzchak Aboab of Castile. He was orphaned as a child and was raised in the home of his grandfather Avraham, and in 1585 he moved to Italy in order to openly return to Judaism. He wandered from city to city in Italy, including Pisa, Reggio Emilia, Ferrara and Venice, and in the course of his travels he participated in theological debates with Christian scholars, managing a vast correspondence on ethics and Biblical exegesis. He served as rabbi of the Spanish-Portuguese community of Venice. He authored his Nomologia between 1615-1625; in 1628 he immigrated to Eretz Israel, following his daughter Gracia, who had established yeshivas in Safed and Jerusalem, and he passed away there.

Cecil Roth published Immanuel Aboab's letter in Spanish, which is extant in a small number of manuscripts that circulated among the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of converso origin.

For further information, see:

• Cecil Roth, Immanuel Aboab's Proselytization of the Marranos. From an Unpublished Letter, Jewish Quarterly Review, XXIII, 2 (1932), pp. 121-162.

• Moises Orfali, Imanuel Aboab's Nomologia or discursos legales: The Struggle over the Authority of the Law, Jerusalem 1997 (Hebrew).

Provenance: Mozes Heiman Gans collection, no. 14.

[44] leaves. 20.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, including light dampstains. Creases. Tears and minor holes to margins, not affecting text. Pen inscriptions inside front board (new). Old parchment binding, with wear and defects.

Bookplate of Mozes Heiman Gans.

We thank Prof. Harm den Boer, Basel, for his assistance in preparing this description.