Assessing the (Non-)Reception of Mishneh Torah in Medieval Ashkenaz.

Abstract

Several studies published during the past two decades have sought to explain why Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah is hardly cited in the rabbinic literature of northern Europe at least until the mid-thirteenth century. This study argues that a nuanced evaluation of the pattern of citations from Mishneh Torah in Sefer Or Zarua by Isaac b. Moses of Vienna (d. c. 1250), along with an assessment of the citations from Mishneh Torah that appear in Ashkenazic writings which are not focused primarily on Talmudic studies and law, can yield a fuller understanding of the place of Mishneh Torah in medieval Ashkenaz. [from INtroduction]