Musical Notation

Ovadiah the Proselyte

First Half of the 12th Century

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Creator Bio

Ovadiah the Proselyte

b. ca. 1070

Ovadiah ha-Ger (“the Proselyte”) is one of the only medieval converts to Judaism to have left behind any record of his motives or life. Born as Johannes in Oppido Lucano, in Italy, Ovadiah became a priest as a young man. He explains that he was moved to convert to Judaism by factors that include the persecutions that Jews faced at the hands of the Crusaders. He moved to Constantinople and Baghdad before settling in Egypt. In addition, Ovadiah wrote the earliest surviving musical notation for a Hebrew song (see Visual and Material Culture), which follows the format of Gregorian chant.

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