1555 - 1597 HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT JOURNAL, LEDGER AND DIARY OF A JEWISH MERCHANT AND LAND BARON IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE

Dégagnac France [Lot]. Very Good+. 1555. On offer is a fascinating handwritten medieval French manuscript book, earliest date 1555 with entries through 1597, in original blindstamped calf with small Fleur-de-lis. This stunning book has approximately 300 pages of handwritten entries being a register of acts, properties, transactions, loans, personal notes and journal entries the majority concerning Marc-Antoine Hébrart, a noted merchant in the village of Dégagnac in Lot in south-western France. Most certainly Jewish, it is evident that the Hebrart family was one of the largest land-holding families in the area. "In 1504 and 1505 the two "headmen" of the village, Antoine Hebrart and Pierre Peysson, together accounted for 15 percent of the land of the village" [Ref: By Le Roy, Emmanuel and Ladurie, John Day, The Peasants of Languedoc ] . A pencil annotation indicates that Marc Hébrard was of Jewish origin. A fairly cursory examination of the manuscript lends no additional support to this assertion, but it is possible given the history of the Jews of neighboring Languedoc, and the fact that some Jews remained in France under Christian-like assumed names after their expulsion in 1306. The generic 'Marc-Antoine' is cited as a Jewish name in Sara Uckelman's "Jewish Given Names Found in "Les Noms Des Israélites en France." Handsome blindstamped 16th century calf, legible bâtarde script, some old and minor restoration, but otherwise VG.; French; 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF, FRANCE, MERCHANT, TRADE, COMMERCE, ECONOMICS, JUDAICA, JUDAISM, FRENCH, REAL ESTATE, MANUSCRIPT, HANDWRITTEN, HAND WRITTEN, JOURNAL, LEDGER, MEMOIR, PERSONAL, LOG, HOLOGRAPH, AUTOGRAPH, DIARY, DIARIES, ANCIENT, ANTIQUE, MEDIEVEL, RENAISSANCE, antiquité, contrat, vélin, document, manuscrit, papier Antike, Brief, Pergament, Dokument, Manuskript, Papier oggetto d'antiquariato, atto, velina, documento, manoscritto, carta antigüedad, hecho, vitela, documento, manuscrito, papel. .