Judith Olszowy-Schlanger, (Oxford Univ./ EPHE-PSL) Jewish scribes at work in medieval Egypt: glimpses from the Cairo Geniza

Jewish communities of medieval Islamicate world were  communities of readers. Books were essential for religious life but also as professional guides and for leisure. Although it is difficult to evaluate the extent of literacy or the amount of books produced, the preserved writings in Hebrew script from the 10th century onwards reveal intense book production and a great diversity of books available to medieval Jewish readers. Books were hand written and several different craftsmen participated in their production. This lecture reveals various aspects of the scribal activities as attested in the documents discovered in the Cairo Geniza.