Hayyim (Jefim) Schirmann ( he, חיים שירמן; October 19, 1904 – June 14, 1981) was an Israeli scholar of medieval Spanish and Italian Jewish poetry.

Biography

Hayyim Schirmann was born in

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. He studied in his home country until 1919. His family then moved to Germany. he received a degree in Semitic

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

from

Berlin University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

in 1930.

Academic career

Schirmann joined the Schocken Institute for Study of Medieval Hebrew Poetry in 1930, and emigrated to

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

, now Israel, in 1934 when the Institute relocated there. He began lecturing in medieval poetry at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

in 1942, and became a professor there in 1954. Schirmann continuing his work at the university until 1968. He died in Paris in 1981. Schirmann was also a violinist. He published essays on music and drew parallels between music and Jewish literature in his literary works.Barzilay (1982), xxix–xxx

Awards and recognition

In 1957, Schirmann was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

, for

Jewish studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; he, מדעי היהדות, madey ha-yahadut, sciences of Judaism) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (esp ...

Published works

* ''Die hebräische Übersetzung der Maqamen des Hariri (Schriften der Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaft des Judentums 37).'' Frankfurt am Main: J. Kauffmann 1930. * מבחר השירה העברית באיטליה 'Anthology of Hebrew Poetry in Italy'' Berlin: Schocken 1934. * השירה העברית בספרד ובפרובאנס 'Hebrew Poetry of Spain and Provence'' 2 vols. Jerusalem 1954/56. * תולדות השירה העברית בספרד המוסלמית 'The History of Hebrew Poetry in Muslim Spain. Edited, Supplemented and Annotated by Ezra Fleischer.''] Jerusalem: Magnes 1995. * תולדות השירה העברית בספרד הנוצרית ובדרום צרפת [''The History of Hebrew Poetry in Christian Spain and Southern France. Edited, Supplemented and Annotated by Ezra Fleischer'']. Jerusalem: Magnes 1997.

References

Bibliography

* This article incorporates material from the article :de:Chaim Schirmann, Chaim Schirmann in German Wikipedia. Jewish historians Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel Prize in Jewish studies recipients Members of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Ukrainian Jews Writers from Kyiv Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine 1904 births 1981 deaths Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany 20th-century Israeli historians {{Israel-academic-bio-stub