The ''Shmuel-Bukh'' is a midrashic verse epic written in

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

. Composed no later than the second half of the 15th century and widely circulated in manuscript, it was first printed in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

in 1544. Its stanzaic form resembles that of the

Nibelungenlied The ( gmh, Der Nibelunge liet or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germani ...

, and its hero is the biblical

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. Sol Liptzin characterizes it as the greatest Old Yiddish religious epic. iptzin, 1972, 8–9 Following the example of other European epics, the poem was not simply recited, but sung or chanted to musical accompaniment. Its melody was widely known in Jewish communities. As was the case with other early Yiddish adaptations of biblical narrative, it fuses biblical material,

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

ic legends and rabbinical commentary with medieval traditions of European heroic poetry, thus creating what some romantic scholars deemed an

Ashkenazic Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

'national epic,' comparable to the German 'national epic,' the

, the French 'national epic,'

The Song of Roland ''The Song of Roland'' (french: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century '' chanson de geste'' based on the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD, during the reign of the Carolingian king Charlemagne. It i ...

, or the English 'national epic,' Beowulf.Introduction to Old Yiddish literature By Jean Baumgarten, Jerold C. Frakes Its authorship is a matter of controversy. The next to last stanza of one surviving manuscript says that it was "made" by Moshe Esrim Vearba. No one can be sure whether this "maker" is the author or a copyist, and ''Esrim Vearba'' is

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

for 24, the number of books of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Zalman Shazar Zalman Shazar ( he, זלמן שז"ר; born Shneur Zalman Rubashov; be, Шнэер За́льман Рубашо́ў; russian: Шне́ер За́лмен Рубашо́в; November 24, 1889 – October 5, 1974) was an Israeli politician, author ...

(president of Israel 1963–1973) believed that it was written by an Ashekenazi

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

active in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

(now

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

) in the second half of the 15th century. iptzin, 1972, 8-9 The work draws on the Hebrew Bible, the midrashic tradition, and Middle High German heroic tales. iptzin, 1972, 9

References

*Liptzin, Sol, ''A History of Yiddish Literature'', Jonathan David Publishers, Middle Village, NY, 1972, {{ISBN, 0-8246-0124-6. Yiddish-language literature Epic poems Yiddish-language folklore Cultural depictions of David