Judah Leon Abravanel

Lore & Background

Judah was the son of Isaac ben Judah Abravanel, a statesman, financier, and defender of the Jewish faith. In 1481 King Afonso V died and Don Isaac was suspected of conspiring to enthrone the Duke of Braganza over the son of Afonso, João II. Consequently, he had to flee without his family from Portugal to Seville, then Castile, finally settling in Toledo. Judah joined his father in service to the Catholic Monarchs in 1484 as personal doctor to the royal family. In 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand ordered the forced conversion or expulsion of all Jews in Spain. A plot was hatched to kidnap Judah's son as an attempt to persuade the Abravanel family to convert. In an attempt to circumvent the plot, Judah sent his son to Portugal with a nurse, but by order of the king, the son was seized and baptized. This occurrence was a devastating insult and a source of bitterness throughout Judah's life. The family chose exile over conversion and settled in Naples. Judah moved to Genoa, where he studied in an Italian humanist milieu and probably wrote the first two of his *Dialoghi*. There is evidence he moved from Genoa to Barletta in 1501, where he became a servant of King Frederick of Naples, leaving in 1503 for Venice, where he rejoined his father. Other sources say he left Genoa for Naples in 1501 and remained there until 1506. While in Naples, Judah became the doctor of the Spanish viceroy, Don Gonsalvo of Cordoba, 'The Great Captain.' By 1506, Spain gained control of southern Italy. Judah left Naples for Venice, where he dedicated himself again to the study of philosophy until 1507. After this time, little is known about his life. His most famous work, *Dialoghi d'amore*, appears to have been written around 1501-02. In 1535, when his friend Mariano Lenzi discovered the manuscript and had it published in Rome, records indicate he had already died.

Reader's Guide

Judah Leon Abravanel's *Dialogues of Love* was an exceedingly popular book that enjoyed at least five editions in twenty years. First published in Italian, it was translated into French by Pontus de Tyard, into Hebrew, and into Latin by Sarasin. The Inca Garcilaso de la Vega made one of its three translations into Spanish. Abravanel's *Dialoghi* is notably one of the first original philosophical compositions to be published in the vernacular (as opposed to Latin). There is some controversy about the language in which it was originally written; it is possible that he wrote it in Judeo-Spanish. In the British Library, there is a manuscript (Or. Gaster 10688) of a Spanish translation written with Hebrew characters. This was once thought to have been the author's original, or a copy of it; this is no longer accepted. The *Dialoghi* is strongly influenced by Plato and Aristotle. Menéndez Pelayo states that Abravanel employs Platonic ideals in his work, but filtered through his heritage, with his Neo-platonism derived from the Hispanic Jewish community, especially the works of Solomon ibn Gabirol and Maimonides. Claims that Judah converted to Christianity at the end of his life appear unfounded. The Venetian press that printed the second and third editions claimed on the first pages that the author had converted, but this statement does not appear in the first edition, nor in later editions. Further evidence that Judah remained true to his Jewish faith can be found in *Dialoghi*, where he states the book was written 'according to Hebrew truth' and addresses 'all of us who believe in the holy law of Moses.'

Did You Know?

• Judah's father Isaac ben Judah Abravanel was described by Soria as 'the last great commentator of the Bible of Medieval Jewry.'
• A plot was hatched to kidnap Judah's son to persuade the family to convert to Christianity; the son was seized and baptized by order of the king.
• Judah's *Dialoghi d'amore* is notably one of the first original philosophical compositions to be published in the vernacular rather than Latin.
• The Inca Garcilaso de la Vega made one of the three Spanish translations of the *Dialoghi*.
• The Venetian press that printed the second and third editions of the *Dialoghi* claimed the author had converted to Christianity, but this statement does not appear in the first edition.