The codex comprises three distinct, though related, works, each
apparently the opus of a different author. However, the author of
the first piece and his purported son, the author of the second
work, have recently been shown to be the same person: Joseph
Solomon Delmedigo (1591-1655). He studied in Padua where one of his
teachers was Galileo Galilei. By contrast, the named author of the
third work, Ber Jeiteless, proves to be an actual person: Rabbi
[Issachar] Ber Jeiteless (d.1685). Typical of central European
Ashkenazi manuscripts of the middle and late seventeenth century,
MS 199 is an important document commenting on specific legal
matters, possibly containing two of Delmedigo’s last and hitherto
lost works.
For detailed descriptions, please see
www.chch.ox.ac.uk/library-and-archives/digital-library.
