The
New York Times ran this article today that I found to be very fascinating.
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Medieval Hebrew Manuscripts in Spain
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MADRID, March 19 — Spanish archivists say they have discovered a treasure trove of Hebrew manuscript fragments hidden for centuries inside medieval book covers.
"It's too early to say just yet as we're not sure how many there are, but it could be the most important in Europe," Josep Matas, director of the Provincial Historic Archive in Girona, said today.
Girona, in northeastern Spain, was one of the most important Jewish population centers in the country before the expulsion of non-Catholics in 1492. Mr. Matas said the town once had about 700 Jews. He said recent investigations uncovered up to 1,000 document fragments hidden in the covers of books. The archive believes there could be many more.
"Back in medieval times, book covers were made firm by padding, or filling them with other documents thought to be of no value," Mr. Matas said.
So far, fragments have been found in 165 books, he said. The books, mostly Girona provincial notarial works, are important in themselves, but the material in their covers could be of much greater historical value, he added.
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Now that we have archeological equipment that can literally x-ray book covers, libraries all over the world who hold incunabula are going to be wondering if the thick cover that some of their manuscripts have, may be filled with precious documents!
Imagine, what may be found in the medieval libraries like Salamanca, or the Vatican Library!
