on the Structure of Society.” Scandinavian Journal of History
6 (1981), 161–89.
Bagge, Sverre. “The Formation of the State and Concepts of
Society in 13th Century Norway.” In Continuity and Change:
Political Institutions and Literary Monuments in the Middle
Ages. A Symposium. Ed. Elisabeth Vestergaard. Odense:
Odense University Press, 1986, pp. 43–61.
Bagge, Sverre. “Borgerkrig og statsutvikling i Norge i middelal-
deren.” Historisk tidsskrift (Norway) 65 (1986), 145–97.
Sandvik, Gudmund. “Sættargjerda i Tunsberg og kongens juris-
diksjon.” In Samfunn. Rett. Rettferdighet. Festskrifttil Torstein
Eckhoffs 70-årsdag. Ed. A. Bratholm et al. Oslo: Tano, 1986,
pp. 563–85.
Bagge, Sverre. The Political Thought of the King’s Mirror.
Mediaeval Scandinavia Supplements, 3. Odense: Odense
University Press, 1987.
Jón Viðar Sigurðsson
MAIMONIDES (1138–1204)
Likened by more than one medieval Jewish writer to the
prophet Moses (“From Moses to Moses there was none
like Moses”), Moses ben Maimon (correctly, Maim ̄u n)
was born in Córdoba not in 1135, as is usually assumed
(and so the 850th anniversary was universally celebrated
in 1985) but in 1138, where he was educated and began
writing his fi rst works.
His father, Maimk n, was a dayan (religious judge)
of the Jewish community of Córdoba, and a student
of the great Joseph ibn Megash, and himself author of
some responsa and “Letters of Consolation” meant to
strengthen the Jews in the face of the Almohad persecu-
tion. It was due to this that the family left Spain around
1160, settling fi rst in Fez, Morocco, and then briefl y in
Palestine. From there they went to Egypt and settled at
Fustat, a suburb of Cairo, where Jews were allowed to
live. The twin tragedies of the death of his father and
then his brother David devasted the young scholar, who
had to support himself and his family by becoming a
doctor and court physician to the waz ̄ı r (prime minister)
and his son. Never did he convert, or even appear out-
wardly to do so, to Islam, as a long-discredited legend
maintains.
Within a few years he had become by reputation the
most famous physician of the Muslim world. At the
same time, his reputation in Jewish learning, established
already by his brilliant commentary on the Mishnah,
was growing. Questions poured in from all parts of
the world. Working almost entirely from memory, and
under the most diffi cult conditions imposed upon him
by the demands of his medical practice, he composed in
clear and simple Hebrew the Mishneh Torah, a work in
fourteen volumes that encompasses the whole of Jewish
law. This work quickly became the accepted authority
for Jewish law, the only such composition ever written
by someone who was not a rabbi.
Nevertheless, there were critics. First, he had not cited
his sources, and although sources have been found for
virtually every statement, lesser scholars had diffi culty
in accepting some of his rulings. Second, there were dis-
agreements in some cases as to the rulings themselves.
Finally, certain religious zealots who lacked training in
philosophy objected strenuously to his philosophical no-
tions, contained both in his commentary on the Mishnah
and in the legal code. The situation worsened when he
wrote his great philosophical work, Dal ̄alat al-b ̄a ’ir ̄ı n
(Guide for the Perplexed). Clearly intended only for
those with the necessary preliminary background of
rigorous study, the book was translated twice from Ju-
deo-Arabic into Hebrew and thus soon fell into the hands
of those without such background. Its clear denial of
such fundamental popular beliefs as miracles, creation
in time, resurrection, and so forth combined with alle-
gorizing of many biblical and rabbinic statements, gave
rise to charges of heresy. The result was a controversy
that lasted in Spain and Provence for hundreds of years,
and actually led to Jewish-inspired condemnation and
burning of the book at Montpellier around 1232.
In spite of the philosophical controversy, Maimonides
continued to be revered as a legal authority throughout
the Middle Ages in Spain and elsewhere. Even those
who disagreed with him, such as Nahmanides and Ibn
Adret, cite him constantly and respectfully. Communi-
ties, such as Tudela, enacted decrees according to which
only his rulings were to be followed; similar decisions
were made throughout North Africa and Yemen.
No less important was his impact on Christians in
Spain. In Aragón-Catalonia, various kings ordered
translations of the Guide and even of the Mishneh Torah.
Philosophers in Spain (and, of course, the scholastics
in general) who were infl uenced by him include Poncio
Carbonell (fourteenth century) and, more important,
Alfonso de la Torre (fi fteenth century). Sancho, son
of Jaime I, archbishop of Toledo (1266–1275), and
Archbishop Gonzalo García Gudiel (1280–1299) both
possessed copies of his work. In the fi fteenth century,
Pedro Díaz de Toledo, possibly a converso (Jewish
convert to Christianity), made a Spanish translation of
the Guide.
Maimonides died in 1204, and tradition maintains
that his grave is near Tiberias.Further Reading
Maimonides. Guide for the Perplexed. Trans. P. Díaz de Toledo.
Ed. Moshé Lazar. Madison, Wisc., 1989.
Ormsby, E. (ed.) Moses Maimonides and His Time. Washington,
D.C., 1989.
Roth, N. Maimonides: Essays and Texts. Madison, Wisc., 1985
(also with bibliographies, including Spanish).
Norman RothMAGNÚS HÁKONARSON