Joel ben Simeon

Joel ben Simeon, also known as Feibush Ashkenazi (died c.1492) was a 15th-century Jewish scribe and illuminator who worked in Germany and Northern Italy.^[1] He is best known for the manuscript today known as the Ashkenazi Haggadah.

Life

Joel ben Simeon was originally from either Cologne (where Jews were expelled in 1424) or Bonn. Around the middle of the century he moved to northern Italy, where he travelled between cities to work his trade. He died around 1492.^[2]

First Nuremberg Haggadah, illuminated by Joel ben Simeon.

References

1. Joseph Gutmann, 'Thirteen Manuscripts in Search of an Author: Joel ben Simeon, 15th-Century Scribe-Artist', Studies in Bibliography and Booklore, Vol. 9, No. 2/3 (Spring, 1970), pp.76-95
2. Katrin Kogman-Appel, Joel ben Simeon Looking at the Margins of Society.