Urania bat Abraham of Worms (, died 11 February 1275), also known as Orania and Orgiah, was a Jewish
precentress in medieval
Ashkenaz
Ashkenaz ( he, ''ʾAškənāz'') in the Hebrew Bible is one of the descendants of Noah.
Ashkenaz is the first son of Gomer, and a Japhetic patriarch in the Table of Nations. In rabbinic literature, the descendants of Ashkenaz were first associ ...
(
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhineland ...
and the
Palatinate
Palatinate or county palatine may refer to:
*the territory or jurisdiction of a count palatine
United Kingdom and Ireland
*County palatine in England and Ireland
* Palatinate (award), student sporting award of Durham University
*Palatinate (col ...
). Urania's role as a precentress, one of a handful of women known to be serving in this capacity in this region in the 13-14th centuries, is attested on her grave stone.
Biography
Little is known about Urania save that she died a young woman, the daughter of a Rabbi Avraham. The exact pronunciation of her name is uncertain. Rochelle Furstenberg spells the name as Urania—likely relating this woman's name to "Heavens"—while David Sperber spells her name Orania.
Urania died on
Adar 6 (February 11), 1275, likely in the morning. Her
tombstone, in the city of
Worms Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany, a city
** Worms (electoral district)
* Worms, Nebraska, U.S.
*Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy
Arts and entertai ...
, reads as in English follows:
References
{{Authority control
1275 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Medieval Jewish women
Women hazzans
People from Worms, Germany
13th-century German Jews