As it is well known, the Sefer Torah, attributed to Ezra, preserved at the University Library in Bologna, the most ancient dated Biblical Scroll in existence, has been "corrected" in a passage (Leviticus 18,16-20) by erasing the verses which were most debated during the discussions concerning the "Royal Divorce" or rather the debates concerning the validity of Henry Tudor's marriage to Katherine of Aragon, allowed by Pope Julius II in spite of the Biblical prohibition to marry one's sister-in-law. The context of the erasure, situated, as it argued in the article, was the coronation of the Emperor Charles V in Bologna, when not only the Pope Clemens VII was in town, but also a large number of British envoys. It was not possible to identify the author of the erasure, but the presence of the British envoys at the convent of Saint Dominic, where the scroll was preserved, was registered by the Dominican friar Ludovico da Pralormo. The role of the Hebraist Robert Wakefield and of his teacher John Fisher are elucidated as the possible erudite instigators of that prophanation.
The “Ezra Scroll” of Bologna in the Crossfire of the Royal Divorce: John Fisher, Robert Wakefield and an Erased Text / Saverio Campanini. - STAMPA. - 231:(2023), pp. 111-131.
The “Ezra Scroll” of Bologna in the Crossfire of the Royal Divorce: John Fisher, Robert Wakefield and an Erased Text
Saverio Campanini
2023
Abstract
As it is well known, the Sefer Torah, attributed to Ezra, preserved at the University Library in Bologna, the most ancient dated Biblical Scroll in existence, has been "corrected" in a passage (Leviticus 18,16-20) by erasing the verses which were most debated during the discussions concerning the "Royal Divorce" or rather the debates concerning the validity of Henry Tudor's marriage to Katherine of Aragon, allowed by Pope Julius II in spite of the Biblical prohibition to marry one's sister-in-law. The context of the erasure, situated, as it argued in the article, was the coronation of the Emperor Charles V in Bologna, when not only the Pope Clemens VII was in town, but also a large number of British envoys. It was not possible to identify the author of the erasure, but the presence of the British envoys at the convent of Saint Dominic, where the scroll was preserved, was registered by the Dominican friar Ludovico da Pralormo. The role of the Hebraist Robert Wakefield and of his teacher John Fisher are elucidated as the possible erudite instigators of that prophanation.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
