Talmud / Mishna · 14th c. · Europe · Codex · Reference · Biography · Tana'im · Amora'im

יחוסי תנאים ואמוראים

Yiḥuse Tana'im va-Amora'im — genealogies and biographies of the Mishnaic and Talmudic sages

14th century · The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary

A 14th-century manuscript of Yiḥuse Tana'im va-Amora'im — "The Genealogies of the Tana'im and Amora'im" — a medieval reference work that gathers what was known about the lives, lineages, and characteristic teachings of the sages of the Mishnah (Tana'im) and the Talmud (Amora'im) into a single ordered handbook. Works of this kind were the medieval study aid by which a serious Talmudist learned the people behind the page: who taught whom, who disagreed with whom, who lived in which generation, which sage stood behind which characteristic position. As a textual witness this manuscript belongs to a small surviving family of medieval biographical compendia — sister-works to the Seder Ha-Dorot tradition that would later crystallize in print. A downloadable PDF facsimile is also available.