Flemish and Franco-Flemish manuscript illumination
and the possibility of a trip to Provence. What is clear
is that Moser’s only known work is a masterpiece in
both its style and its virtuoso handling of material and
technique.
Further Reading
Haussherr, Rainer. “Der Magdalenenaltar in Tiefenbronn: Bericht
über die wissenschaftliche Tagung am 9. und 10. März 1971
im Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte in München.” Kunst-
chronik 24 (1971): 177–212.
Köhler, Wilhelm. Review of Gerhard Piccard, Der Magdale-
nenaltar des ‘Lucas Moser’ in Tiefenbronn. Zeitschrift für
Kunstgeschichte 35 (1972): 228–249.
Piccard, Gerhard, Der Magdalenenaltar des ‘Lucas Moser’ in
Tiefenbronn: Ein Beitrag zur europäischen Kunstgeschichte.
Wiesbaden: Harrossowitz, 1969.
Richter, Ernst-Ludwig. “Zur Rekonstruktion des Tiefenbronner
Magdalenen-Altars.” Pantheon 30 (1972): 33–38.
Sterling, Charles. “Observations on Moser’s Tiefenbronn Altar-
piece.” Pantheon (1972): 19–32.
Joan A. Holladay
MOSES BEN NAH. MAN
Moses ben Nah.man (Nah.manides), rabbi of the Jewish
community of Girona during the middle decades of the
thirteenth century, was a leader of Iberian Jewry during
his lifetime, and one of the most distinguished intel-
lectual and spiritual fi gures in all of medieval Jewry.
Like so many Iberian Jewish luminaries, Nah.manides
is striking for the remarkable range of his intellectual
abilities and achievements. He was a master of Jewish
law, mentoring important students and composing im-
portant novellae to major Talmudic tractates. He was, at
the same time, a keen student of the Bible, composing
an extensive commentary on the Pentateuch that is rich
in exegetical insight and is still widely studied. He was
one of the leaders in the rapidly developing school of
Spanish Jewish mysticism, rather conservative in his
approach to the explosive issues associated with the
new mystical speculation but extremely important for
the more traditional prestige and acumen that he brought
to bear on the development of mystical teachings. His
remarkable command of the Hebrew language in all its
styles linked him to earlier tendencies in Iberian Jewry.
The account that he composed of his public disputation
with a former Jew, Pablo Christiani, who had become
a Dominican friar, is a masterpiece of narrative art and
one of the most effective Jewish polemical treatises of
the Middle Ages.
That famous disputation highlights the public career
of Nah.manides. Prior to this engagement the rabbi was
already known to King Jaime I of Aragón. In the face of
the missionizing assault of the Dominicans, Rabbi Mo-
ses ben Nah.man was chosen as the Jewish spokesman
for the encounter. Essentially the carefully contrived
disputation involved an effort by the Dominican spokes-
man to prove to the Jews, from materials including
both commentary on the Bible and rabbinic dicta, the
truth of key Christian doctrines, most importantly the
Christian claim that the promised Messiah had already
appeared.
The role of the Jewish spokesman was to be limited to
rebuttal of the Christian use of rabbinic texts only, with
no allowance for Jewish negation of Christian teachings.
Whether or not the limited parameters of Jewish rebuttal
were in fact rigidly maintained is not altogether certain.
In his brilliant narrative account of the disputation, Nah.
manides portrays himself as ranging far and wide in
direct attack on central tenets of Christianity and on
fundamental characteristics of Christian society. While
modern researchers have questioned the reliability of
these aspects of Nah.manides’ narrative, it is clear that
the rabbi of Girona composed a captivating account of
his public encounter and, in the process, provided his
Jewish readers with appealing argumentation for the
superiority of the Jewish faith.
The publication of Nah.manides’ narrative aroused
the ire of ecclesiastical leadership and produced calls
for punishment of the aged rabbi of Girona. The king
of Aragón, who is portrayed most sympathetically in
Nah.manides’ narrative, proved an effective supporter,
although by 1267 Nah.manides had made his way to the
Holy Land. It is by no means clear whether this move
refl ects the pressures brought to bear against him or
whether it resulted from his personal religiosity. He ex-
ercised leadership briefl y within the Jewish community
of Jerusalem, and died shortly thereafter.
See also Jaime (Jaume) I of Aragón-CataloniaFurther Reading
Baer, Y. A History of the Jews in Christian Spain. 2 vols. Trans.,
by L. Schoffman et al. Philadelphia, 1961–66.
Chazan, R. Barcelona and Beyond: The Disputation of 1263 and
Its Aftermath. Berkeley, 1992.
Twersky, I. (ed.) Rabbi Moses ben Nah.man (Ramban): Explora-
tions in His Religious and Literary Virtuosity. Cambridge,
Mass., 1983.
Wolfson, E. R. “ ‘By Way of Truth’: Aspects of Nahmanides’
Kabbalistic Hermeneutic.” Association for Jewish Studies
Review 14 (1989), 103–78.
——. “The Secret of the Garment in Nah.manides.” Daat 24
(1990), Eng. sec., xxv–xlix.MULTSCHER, HANS
(ca. 1400–before March 13, 1467)
Working in stone, wood, and metal, Multscher was
Ulm’s foremost sculptor during the mid–fi fteenth cen-
tury. Originally from the countryside near LeutkirchMULTSCHER, HANS