The Cairo Genizah: A Medieval Mediterranean Deposit and a Modern Cambridge Archive

For almost two thousand years, it has been customary in Rabbinic Judaism to set aside a depository (genizah) into which could be consigned Hebrew texts that had to be removed from circulation. The famous Cairo Genizah was amassed mainly between the tenth and thirteenth centuries and sheds light on all aspects of medieval Oriental life. Most of its fragmentary manuscripts are preserved at Cambridge University Library, and they provide unique information about relations between Jews, Muslims, and Christians in the Crusader period. The history of the Cambridge Genizah collection, since its acquisition over one hundred years ago, is almost as remarkable as its contents.