Engagement Deed (Fustāt, Egypt)

This text presents an engagement deed between Tuviah ben Tikvah (here, Toviyya ben Tiqva) and Sitt al-Kull bat Peraḥiah. It is the first extant document of its kind, as engagements began to be recorded in writing only during the twelfth century. The document records the payments for engagement and marriage and attests that the future husband will exempt his wife from having to take an oath regarding her ketubah. A gift of clothing upon engagement was very rare. One of the signatories, Isaac ben Samuel ha-Sefardi (“the Spaniard”), was a well-known scholar, and the engagement was recorded by the scribe Ḥalfon ben Manasseh. Ellipses indicate lacunae in the manuscript.