Sixteenth-Century Judeo-Spanish Testimonies

This book consists of a previously unidentified corpus of literature that contains an edition of eighty-four testimonies of the sixteenth-century responsa. An overview of the responsa literature in the relevant context and aspects of Ottoman Jewish life are discussed. The author describes the merit of the Judeo-Spanish testimonies in terms of the insight they offer into the society, economy, religion and responsa literature of sixteenth-century Ottoman Jewry. The study of these texts from a linguistic perspective constitutes the main aim of the book yet the result is a valuable and intriguing source of texts that should generate further study in fields of linguistics, Sephardic Studies, Hispanic Studies, and Jewish Studies whether cultural, historical or legal. "e;...this book is an important resource for linguists, social scientists, scholars of Jewish culture and law, women studies and obviously for Sephardic studies, with special reference to the Ottoman period."e;Rachel Simon, Princeton University