Elegy for His Wife, Dolce

Eleazar ben Judah of Worms composed a set of elegies in honor of his wife, Dolce, after she was killed, along with their daughters Hannah and Bellette, by Crusaders (men “marked” with the cross): a prose description of the attacks, a poetic elegy for Dolce, and a second poetic elegy, written later (after 1200), for the children. In the poem for his wife, Eleazar uses language from Proverbs 31:10–31 to describe her. Each line begins with a line from Proverbs (designated here with the verse in brackets) with the qualities of a “woman of valor,” and ends with Dolce’s embodiment of those qualities, some of which diverge from the biblical source material. From this enumeration, we learn about Dolce’s activities as a mother, supporter of the community, wife, and perhaps more surprisingly, as a businesswoman and teacher. Eleazar includes wordplays on his wife’s name, the vernacular word for “Pleasant.” Eleazar’s language of vengeance and sin was characteristic of the German Pietists (Hasidei Ashkenaz), of which he was a leading member.