Letter to a Student’s Father (I)

This short Judeo-Arabic note, written on a small scrap of parchment, appears to have been sent from a teacher to the father of one of his students, whose name was Abū ’l-Ḥasan. The teacher provides a flattering report of Abū ’l-Ḥasan’s studiousness and informs the father that another boy had shattered Abū ’l-Ḥasan’s writing instruments. Children learned to write on wooden boards, which the students would balance on their knees to serve as a desk or writing surface.