Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides): Córdoba, 1204 AD
The music is Morisco music, found on Iberian Garden, Vol. 1 by
Altramar. The piece is Muwashshah: Mā li-l-muwallah, 1113-1198.
This music takes place at the beautiful gardens along the Guadalquiver, near Cordoba.
This is during the "convivencia" under Alfonso X (El Sabio - The Wise), the time
before Granda fell: when Christians, Moslems and Jews lived at peace with each
other. Muwashshah are songs in poetic form, with instrumental interludes in the
form of Ibn Bājja (Avempace): 1470-1520. This is Morisco art.
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Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides): Córdoba, 1204 AD Return
Although Maimonides lived circa the 13th century, a few hundred years
before the Moriscos were expelled from Spain, we can get an idea how
Jews were dressed before the Conquest (Granada fell in 1492). As the
image shows, Maimonides was dressed in Mudéjars style. It is likely
that most Jews dressed in Mudéjars style style. It must be pointed
out that research about the question of Jewish dress at this time most
often shows Jews dressed in Hassidic style. It is extremely unlikely that
Jews in Iberia dressed in the style of Polish-Lithuanian/Ukrainian
noblemen (szlachta) of the 17th century! Sometimes researchers are
afflicted with mental illness.