Carnival and Canon

Carnival and Canon examines the emergence and development of the Purim parody, a distinctive genre of Jewish literature that flourished from the Middle Ages onward. Created for the annual celebration of Purim, these humorous works transformed the language and forms of canonical Jewish texts, including the Talmud, the Hebrew Bible, liturgy, and prayer, into playful parodies centered on the festive customs of eating, drinking, and revelry. Situated at the intersection of the sacred and the secular, elite literary culture and popular humor, the genre offers a unique perspective on the cultural life of medieval and early modern European Jewry. The book focuses on the three most influential Purim parodies: Masekhet Purim by Kalonymus ben Kalonymus (1324–1328), and Megillat Setarim together with Sefer Ḥabakbuk by Rabbi Levi ben Gershom (Gersonides, 1332). First printed together in 1513, these works circulated widely in manuscript and print and inspired generations of later Purim parodies. Combining literary analysis with cultural history, the book explores the Jewish and non-Jewish intellectual contexts in which these texts were written, their role in Purim celebrations, and their reception over several centuries. It presents the first comprehensive historical study of a genre that illuminates the dynamic relationship between ritual, humor, and literary tradition.