Hayyim (Jefim) Schirmann (; 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 Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. 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 language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

from

Berlin University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt ...

in 1930.

Academic career

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

Mandate Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordanwhich had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuriesfollowing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Wo ...

, now

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, 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; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

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 (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

, for

Jewish studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; ) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (especially Jewish history), Middle Eastern studies, Asian studies, ...

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