Catalan Maps and Jewish Books. The Intellectual Profile of Elisha ben Abraham Cresques (1325-1387)

Pages: 358 p. Illustrations:122 col. Language(s):English. Hardback. Brepols, Publication Year:2020 -- SUMMARY This book presents a small chapter in the intellectual history of the Jews of Majorca. Its key figure is Elisha ben Abraham Bevenisti Cresques (1325–1387) a cartographer in the service of King Peter IV of Aragon and a scribe and illuminator of Hebrew books. Elisha Cresques’ career evolves at a point in time when some of the most fascinating threads of methodological interests relevant to intellectual history meet. He emerges as a hub, so to speak, where mapmaking converged with scribal work, miniature painting with scientific knowledge, and the culture of a minority with that of the majority. How he was able to negotiate his patron’s expectations and his own cultural identity and frame them within the political, cultural, and religious discourses of his time is the subject of this book. TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface List of Illustrations Introduction 1 Book Art for the Jewish Call – Charts for the Court 2 Collecting Books 3 Visualizing the Ecumene at Large 4 Filling in the Details 5 Political Space Between the Baltic Sea, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean 6 Imaging Islam in Africa and the Middle East 7 The Mongol Khanates 8 Mythical Space: Past and Future Epilogue Bibliography and Sources Index.…