Brother Haggadah

The Brother Haggadah takes its name from its almost fraternal resemblance to the famous Rylands Haggadah in the John Rylands Library in Manchester, which was created slightly earlier, also in Catalonia, where there was a large and partly very wealthy Jewish community with connections to the royal court, particularly in Barcelona. It is conceivable that the Brother Haggadah was created for one of these people who were involved in the highest social circles. This is indicated by its luxurious illumination, which includes a colorful picture cycle of 13 full-page miniatures, textual and marginal illustrations, dozens of artistically decorated initials and initial words, and subtle gold embellishments. Like its brother manuscript, the precious Haggadah contains all the texts for the Sephardic Seder ritual, including wonderful religious poems called piyyutim. Dozens of wine and charoset stains still remind us today of the countless Seder evenings attended by this fascinating manuscript.