1. The Schor letter is undated but Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, the first to publish the letter, had arrived in Poland by the beginning of 1620. (Cf. Barzilay, Isaac, Yoseph Shlomo Delmedigo, Yashar ofCandia, His Life, Works and Times [Leiden, 1974], p. 59.) Abraham Yagel in Italy had already received an extensive report on the Grodek child by late 1620.Google Scholar

2. On Abraham b. Naphtali Hirsch Schor, see Caro, Jecheskiel, Geschichte der Juden in Lemberg (Cracow, 1894), p. 139Google Scholar; Horowitz, Zevi, Le-toledot ha-qehillot be-Polin (Jerusalem, 1978), p. 399Google Scholar; Evreiskaia enisiklopedla (St. Petersburg, 1912–14), s.v. “Shor's, Avraam”'s;

3. On David Katz, Mordecai b., see Margaliot, Reuben, “Rabbis and Heads of Yeshivot” [Hebrew] in 'sEnsiqlopediyah shel gatuyot (Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, 1956), vol. 4, cols. 395—96Google Scholar; Caro, , Geschichte der Juden in Lemberg, p. 144Google Scholar; Buber, Solomon, 'sAnshei shem (Cracow, 1895), p. 144.Google Scholar

4. The entire letter of Schor to Katz was first published by Delmedigo, Joseph Solomon in Sefer 'sElim (Amsterdam, 1629), p. 65.Google ScholarSee also Zinberg, Israel, History of Jewish Literature 12 vols., trans, and ed. Bernard, Martin (New York, 1972–1978), 4: 169.Google Scholar

5. Sefer 'sElim, Ibid.

6. Ibid.:

7. Ibid., p. 50, and see also p. 15.

8. Ibid., p. 50:

9. Ibid.:

10. Ibid., p. 15.

11. Quoted by Barzilay, Isaac, Yoseph Shlomo Delmedigo, p. 259.Google Scholar

12. The letter is found in MS New York, Jewish Theological Seminary of America 3541 (ENA 74), fols. 181r–181v. I examined the manuscript from a microfilm in the Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts (no. 29346), Jewish University and National Library, Jerusalem. My thanks to Dr. Abraham David of the Institute who first informed me of this letter and to Dr. Lawrence Marwick, Head of the Hebraic Section, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., who identified for me the town of Potylicz in the Belzsk region as well as a number of other Polish towns mentioned in this article.

13. Ibid., fol. 181v: The latter part of the letter was transcribed in the name of the shammash of the Jewish community of Lvov, Saul b. David of Kostelec.

14. On Yagel, , see Maybaum, Solomon, Abraham Jagel's Katechismus Lekachtob (Berlin, 1892)Google ScholarRoth, Cecil, The Jews in the Renaissance (Philadelphia, 1959, pp. 53, 105, 330–31Google Scholar; Dan, Joseph, Ha-sippur ha-'sivri bi-yemei ha-beinayim (Jerusalem, 1974), pp. 202—21.Google Scholar Yagel's two letters on the Gr6dek boy are found in MS Moscow Gunzburg 129, fols. 108v–l \2r. Parts of this manuscript have already been published by Kupfer, Froim, “R. Abraham b. Menahem of Rovigo and his Removal from the Rabbinate” [Hebrew], Sinai 6 (1967): 142–62Google Scholar; see also Ruderman's, David forthcoming article, “A Jewish Apologetic Treatise from Sixteenth Century Bologna, ” to appear in the Hebrew Union College Annual 50 (1979).Google Scholar

15. MS Moscow-Giinzburg 129, fols. 108v–109/\

16. Ibid., fol. 111 v:

17. Ibid., fols. 111v—112r

18. Ginzberg, Louis, Legends of the Jews 7 vols. (Philadelphia, 1909–38), 1: 106, 145–47, 189; 2: 264, 269–72Google Scholar; 3: 464, 468; 5: 102, 167–69, 212, 273. See also the numerous rabbinic sources listed in Dov Neuman (Noy), “Motif-Index of Talmudic Midrashic Literature, ” Ph. D. diss., Indiana University, 1954 (University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan, F1362), T500–599 (Conception and Birth), including such motifs as a child looks at birth like twentyyear- old youth, child speaks at birth, one-month child speaks to confute false accusations, child walks and talks immediately, etc.

19. Cf. Beit ha-midrash ed. Jellinek, Adolf, 6 vols. (Leipzig and Vienna, 1853), 1: 56: B.T. Shabbat 119b; B.T. Bava Batra 12a; etc.Google Scholar

20. Zohar, 3: 186a–192a, translated into Tishby, Hebrew in Isaiahand Lachower, Fischel, Mishnat ha-Zohar, 2 vols. (Jerusalem, 1957–61), 2: 66–89.Google Scholar

21. MS Moscow-Gunzburg 129, fol. 11 lr.

22. Scholem, Gershom, “The Sources of the Tale of R. Gaddiel the Infant in the Literature of the Kabbalah” [Hebrew] in Le- Agnon shai (Jerusalem, 1966), pp. 289–305.Google Scholar

23. Ibid.

24. On the wonderchild of Avila, see Adret, R. Solomon b., She'selot u-leshuvot, 3 pts. to date (Bnai Beraq, 1958), pt. 1, no. 548, pp. 208–9Google Scholar; J. Teicher, L., “The Medieval Mind, ” Journal of Jewish Studies 6 (1955): 1–13CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Baer, Yitzhak, A History of the Jews of Christian Spain, 2 vols. (Philadelphia, 1961–1966), 1: 277–78.Google Scholar

25. Sefer 'sElim, p. 65.

26. MS Moscow-Gunzburg 129, fol. 110v.

27. On the prophecies of Nahman, see Gershom Scholem's various articles on R. Abraham b. Eliezer ha-Levi in Kiryat Sefer, especially 2 (1925–26): 101–41; 7 (1930–31): 149–65, and the recently revised edition of these articles by Beit-Arie, Malachi, Ha-mequbbal R. 'sAvraham ben 'sEli'sezer ha-Levi [Mavo le-hofa'sat taslum shel hibburo] Ma'samar meshare qifrin (Jerusalem, 1978)Google Scholar; also Dan, Joseph“Notes on the Matter of the Prophecy of the Boy” [Hebrew], Shalem 1 (1974): 229–34Google Scholar; Strauss, Eliyahu (Ashtor), Toledot ha-Yehudim be-Mifrayim ve-Suryah tahat shilton ha-Mamlukim, 2 vols. (Jerusalem, 1944), 1: 129Google Scholar; Eisenstein, J. D., 'sOfar midrashim, 2 vols. (New York 1915), 2: 396–97.Google Scholar

28. Scholem, Gershom, Kiryat Sefer 2 (1925–26): 117–18.Google Scholar

29. Gedaliah ibn Yabya, Shalshelet ha-qabbalah (Jerusalem, 1962), p. 105. See also Abraham David, “Mifalo ha-historiyografi shel Gedaliah ibn Yabya, Ba'sal Shalshelet haqabbalah, ”Ph.D. diss., Hebrew University, 1976, pp. 177–78, 365.

30. Hayyim Zemah, Jacob b., Sefer nagid u-mesaweh (Zolkiew, 1793), pp. 75—79.Google Scholar

31. Joseph Dan, “Notes, ” p. 233.

32. MS Moscow-GunzburR 129, fols. 72v–73v.

33. Yagel's description of Natiman as told to him by Fano closely parallels the accounts of Ibn Yahya and 2emab. His unique explanation of this phenomenon is further discussed below.

34. On Delmedigo's role in writing Hebrew scientific works, see Barzilay, Yoseph Shlomo Delmedigo, especially p. 3. Yagel authored two major scientific works, Beit ya'sar ha-Levanonand Sefer Be'ser Sheva's, both extant in manuscript (MS Bodl. Reggio 8—11).

35. MS Moscow-Gunzburg 129, fol. 109r–109v.

36. Ibid., fols. 109v—110r.

37. Ibid., fol. 110r: The view parallels that of Maimonides in the Guide for the Perplexed, 2: 32, 36. See also Reines, Alvin, Maimonides and Abravanel on Prophecy(Cincinnati, 1970), p. xxxv.Google Scholar

38. MS Moscow-Gunzburg 129, fol. 1 lOr. On Balaam's exalted position in rabbinic literature see Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, 3: 354–82, 410–11; 6: 123–75; compare also Philo, De vita Moysis 1.48; Josephus, Antiquities 4.6.2.

39. MS Moscow-Gunzberg 129, fol. 110v: The literature on Joan of Arc is extensive. See for example Lighthody, C. W., The Judgements of Joan (London, 1962)Google Scholar; Rankin, Daniel and Quintal, Claire, The First Biography of Joan of Arc (Pittsburgh, 1964)Google Scholar; Scott, W. S., The Trial of Joan of Arc (London, 1956)Google Scholar; Quicherat, Jules, Proces de condamnation et de rehabilitation de Jeanne d'sArc, 5 vols. (Paris, 1841–49).Google Scholar

40. MS Moscow-Giinzburg 129, fol. 110v: On Merlin, see Anwyl, Edward, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, s.v. “Merlin"; Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic (London, 1971), pp. 394–410.Google Scholar The parallel which Joseph Dan noted between the Grodek child and Merlin ("Notes, ” p. 233) was thus mentioned already in 1620 by Yagel. On earlier ancient Near Eastern parallels of the Merlin legend see Gaster, Moses, “The Legend of Merlin, ” Studies and Texts in Folklore, Magic, Medieval Romance, Hebrew Apocrypha and Samaritan Archaeology. 2 vols. (New York, 1971), 2: 965–84.Google Scholar

41. MS Moscow-Gunzburg 129, fol. llOv. Yagel apparently referred to Solomon Molcho's collection of sermons originally published in Salonika in 1529. On Molcho, see EJs.v. “Molcho, Solomon.”

42. On Nifo's view of prophecy, see Thorndike, Lynn, A History of Magic and Natural Science, 8 vols. (New York, 1929–1941), 6:484–87Google Scholar; on Pomponazzi's view, see also Thorndike, 5: 98—110, as well as Douglas, A. H., The Philosophy and Psychology of Pietro Pomponazzi (New York, 1910), pp. 287–91.Google Scholar

43. On Cardano's, view of prophecy, see Thorndike, A History of Magic and Natural Science, 5: 574–75Google Scholar; Waters, W. G., Jerome Cardan, A Biographical Study (London, 1893), pp. 104–17, 249Google Scholar; and more generally, Bellini, Angelo, Girolamo Cardano e il suo tempo (Milan, 1946)Google Scholar; Saitta, Giuseppe, II Pensiero italiano nell'sVmanesimo e ml Rinascimento, 2 vols. (Bologna, 1950), 2: 202–26Google Scholar; Ore, Oystein, The Gambling Scholar (Princeton, 1953)Google Scholar; Gliozzi's, Giuliano entry on Cardano in Dizionario biografico degli Italian! (Rome, 1976), 19: 758–63.Google Scholar

44. Cardano, Girolamo, De rerum varietate (Lyons, 1662; reprint ed., New York and London, 1967), chap. 43, entitled “Hominis mirabilia, ” pp. 160—61.Google Scholar

45. Ibid., p. 163.

46. Yagel quoted Cardano on two occasions, referring to both of his major works, De subtilitate libri and De rerum varietate, in his Sefer Be'ser Sheva's, chaps. 10 and 15. Both times he praised this Italian scholar. More generally, Cardano's works may have provided appropriate models for Yagel's scientific writings. I hope to deal with Cardano's influence on Yagel in a future study.

47. MS Moscow-Gunzburg 129, fols. 73v–74r

48. I could not locate Yagel's reference in Xenophon, quoted below in the next footnote. Yagel, however, does refer elsewhere to the famous story of the birth of Cyrus, his grandfather's dream, and the latter's futile attempt to murder him as an infant, reported by both Herodotus and Justin. Cf. Beit ya'sar ha-Levanon, book 1, chap. 1; book 4, chap. 71. Perhaps he also referred here to the same birth story or perhaps Yagel's reference to Xenophon was not a direct quotation but simply taken from Ridjal. The classical sources on the mythical birth of Cyrus are quoted and discussed by Rank, Otto, The Myth of the Birth of the Hero and Other Writings(New York, 1959), pp. 27–44.Google Scholar

49. On Abu'sl Hasan 'sAli Al-Shaybani ibn Abi 1-Ridjal, see the entry on him in The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2d ed., s.v.” ibn Abi 1-Ridjal”; Steinschneider, Moritz, Die Hebrdischen Obersetzungen, 2 vols. (Berlin, 1893), 2: 578–80Google Scholar; Sarton, George, Introduction to the History of Science, 3 vols. (Baltimore, 1927–1948), 1: 715–16.Google Scholar The entire passage reads:

50. I consulted the edition, Albohazen Haly filii Abenragel, De iudiciis astrorum, libri octo (Basel, 1571), without finding the exact reference. Yagel quoted from ibn Ridjal's works on other occasions. See for example, Sefer Be'ser Sheva's, chaps. 4, 15.

51. On works dealing with monsters, monstrous births and natural prodigies in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, see Thorndike, History of Magic and Natural Science, 6:286—87, 488—91, and more recently the exhaustive study of Ceard, Jean, La nature el les prodiges: L'sinsolite au XVIe siecle en France (Geneva, 1977)Google Scholar. [See also the review of the book by Margolin, J.-C. in Bibliotheque d'shumanisme et Renaissance 40 (1978): 415–19.]Google Scholar Ceard edited earlier Ambroise Pare's Des monslres et prodiges (Geneva, 1971).

52. This is a summary of the theme of Ceard's work. See especially pp. vii–xiv, 485–93. Ceard's explanation of the sixteenth century fascination with monsters is reinforced by anthropologists Mary Douglas and Edmund Leach in their discussions of the concepts of cultural anomalies and taboos. According to their view, each person attempts to perceive the world as a stable entity in which all objects have recognizable shape, location, and permanence. An anomaly constitutes an uncomfortable fact which refuses to fit into any established system of classification, seemingly defying cherished assumptions. Such anomalies attract maximum interest and often elicit intense feelings of taboo.Cf. Douglas, Mary, Purity and Danger (London, 1966), especially pp. 48–53CrossRefGoogle Scholar and Leach, Edmund, “Anthropological Aspects of Language: Animal Categories and Verbal Abuse” in Pierre, Maranda, ed., Mythology (London, 1972), pp. 39—67.Google Scholar My thanks to Professor Ronald Weissman of the University of Maryland for these references.

53. This interest is apparent in many of Cardano's works; for references, see the works mentioned in note 43 above and Ceard's extensive treatment, pp. 229—51.

54. Hananiah Yagel, Abraham b., Gei hizzayon (Alexandria, 1897), ed. A. B. Mani, pp. 10—12, 24—25, where the references to Ibn Abi 1-Ridjal and Xenophon are also found.Google Scholar

55. MS Moscow-Gunzburg 129, especially the selections numbered 44, 45—52, 65.

56. Yagel, Beit ya'sar ha-Levanon, pt. 1.

57. On the close relationship between science, magic and mysticism in the sixteenth century, see generally Thorndike, vol. 6 and Ceard; Bonelli, M. L. Righini and William, R. Shea, eds., Reason, Experiment and Mysticism in the Scientific Revolution (New York, 1975), especially Paolo Rossi, “Hermeticism, Rationality and the Scientific Revolution, ” pp. 247—73, who mentions the earlier works of Eugenio Garin, Francis Yates, P. M. Rattansi and othersGoogle Scholar; Wightman, W. P. O., Science and the Renaissance (Aberdeen, 1962), pp. 284–302.Google Scholar

58. See for example Hadas, Moses and Smith, Morton, Heroes and Gods (Freeport, New York, 1970), pp. 3, 103Google Scholar; Kerenyi, Caroly, “The Primordial Child in Primordial Times” in C. G. Jung and Caroly Kerenyi, Essays on A Science of Mythology: The Myths of the Divine Child and the Divine Maiden (New York and Evanston, 1963), pp. 25–69Google Scholar; Rank, The Myth of the Birth of the Hero, pp. 14—64.

59. See especially Mark, 10:14 or Mathew, 11:25. On the divine child in Christianity, see also Dictionnaire de spiritualite (Paris, 1960), s.v. “Enfant (vie spirituelle), ” 4:682–714Google Scholar; Manson, T. W., The Teaching of Jesus (New York, 1935), pp. 89—115CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Marsa, Donatus A., An Outline of St. John's Doctrine of the Divine Sonship of the Christian (Floriana [Malta], 1957)Google Scholar; Rank, The Myth of the Birth of the Hero, pp. 50–56.

60. Cf. Milton, Singer, ed., Krishna Myths, Rites and Attitudes (Chicago and London, 1968), pp. 177—81Google Scholar; Archer, William G., The Loves of Krishna in Indian Painting and Poetry (New York 1960), chap. 3.Google Scholar

61. Cf. Henry Clarke, Warren, ed., Buddhism in Translations (New York, Mass., 1900), pp. 38–56Google Scholar; Rhys Davids, T. W, ed., Buddhist Birth Stories (Jakata Tales) (London, 1880; reprint ed., New York, 1977)Google Scholar; DeBary, W. T., ed., The Buddhist Tradition in India, China and Japan(New York 1969), pp. 55–60.Google Scholar

62. Aries, Philippe, Centuries of Childhood, A Social History of Family Life, trans. Robert Baldick (New York 1962).Google Scholar

63. Quoted by Aries, Ibid., p. 122.

64. Aries's work has been both refined and criticized by later scholars. See for example Lloyd, de Mause, ed., The History of Childhood (New York 1974)Google Scholar; Hunt, David, Parents and Children in History: The Psychology of Family Life in Early Modem France (New York 1970).Google Scholar

65. R. C. Trexler, “Ritual in Florence: Adolescence and Salvation in the Renaissance” in Charles Trinkaus and H. A. Oberman, eds., The Pursuit of Holiness in Late Medieval and Renaissance Religion (Leiden, 1974), pp. 200–64.

66. See Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, p. 132, especially note 4, p. 140.

67. Ibid., pp. 394—410. A typical example of the wise child motif in English literature of the period is the saga of Charles Bennett of Manchester, preserved in four separate literary accounts in 1679. Charles, who came from a simple English family, was alleged to speak Latin, Greek, and Hebrew at the age of three without having received any instruction. He was soon brought to London where he was tested by certain churchmen on various biblical subjects and in each of the languages he claimed to know. His audience was astounded by his correct responses. Finally, he asked to speak only three words to King Charles II and subsequently prophesied his own death nine days later. Despite their differing religious backgrounds and associations, the Grodek child and the Bennett lad were remarkably similar creatures. On Charles Bennett, see W. E. A. Axon, “The Wonderful Child, ” Chetham Miscellanies, n.s., 1 (Manchester, 1902). For other examples of wonderchildren in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, see the cases mentioned in Axon's introduction as well as that of the boy of Bilson who claimed to have the devil in him in 1622, discussed in Hunter, Richardand Macalpine, Ida, Three Hundred Years of Psychiatry 1533–1860 (London, 1963), pp. 100–1.Google Scholar

68. C. G. Jung and Caroly Kerenyi, Essays on A Science of Mythology, pp. 70–100. Compare Otto Rank's somewhat different psychoanalytic interpretation of the birth myth of the hero in his The Myth of the Birth of the Hero, pp. 65–96. For Rank, the mythmakers who fantasized about the extraordinary childhoods of their heroes were investing the latter with their own infantile history.