Immanuel the Roman

1335 in Fermo, Italy) was a Jewish poet and writer who lived in the Papal States and composed works in Hebrew and Italian.

His cousin, Judah ben Moses Romano, was an author and translator employed by the King of Naples, Robert of Anjou.

[1]: 308  Immanuel served as the head of correspondence for Rome’s Jewish community and likely occupied another prominent position during his lifetime.

Apart from the Mahberot Immanuel, his most-known composition, he authored biblical commentaries, a work of Hermeneutics, a treatise on the esoteric aspects of the Hebrew alphabet (not extant), and five poems in Italian.

Mahberot Immanuel consists of 28 chapters that each deal with various subjects and inter-weave rhymed prose and metered verse.

[3]: 150  The beloved is referred to both as a “gazelle”, typical of Arabic and Hebrew literary heritage, and as a “lady,” Immanuel’s translation of the Italian donna.

Further proof of its notoriety is attested by its prohibition for reading on the Sabbath according to the 16th legal code Shulchan Aruch.

[2] Two of the most-known stories of the Mahberot Immanuel are the Scroll of Love (megilat ha-hesheq) and the Tale of Hell and Paradise (Mahberet ha-Tophet veha-'Eden).

Through a series of rhymed letters, the Scroll of Love recounts the story of Immanuel whose patron entices him to romantically pursue a nun who he has never seen.