Marriage Contract of a groom named “Abraham” (Fragment)

(KETHUBAH)

Northern Spain

Early 14th century

Brown ink on vellum. Large Sephardic script within decorative border.

The last line of the fragment, BePherush belo Ta’arovet (“explicitly without any admixtures”) is a formula unique in the annals of the Ketubah. To the best of our knowledge, no such formula occurs elsewhere. This is undoubtedly one of the earliest Spanish marriage contracts extant (if only in fragmentary form). In the archives of Palma, Majorca, there is a ketubah written “be-i mayorka” (on the isle of Majorca) in the 1300s.