The Hebrew Laments (<em>Qinot</em>) of Judah ben David Ibn Yaḥya (MS Firkovicz Evr. I.165)

This edition of Hebrew laments (qinot) by Judah ben David Ibn Yaḥya is based on MS Firkovicz Evr. I.165, a valuable source for becoming acquainted with unknown compositions that do not bear the hallmarks of later adaptations and alternations. Judah ben David Ibn Yaḥya (ca. 1365 – ca. 1420) was one of the many prominent descendants of the renowned Ibn Yaḥya / Ya‘īsh families who were active and productive in Spain, Portugal, and the Ottoman Empire. His qinot occasionally mention the incidents that occurred during the summer of 1391 in detail. There are also allusions to the growing intolerance towards Iberian Jewry as a result of forced disputations and mass conversions during the 15th century. As an elegist, Judah Ibn Yaḥya almost exclusively survived in this manuscript, combining conventional characteristics of the qinah genre with a unique personal style.