“To Sing on Shabbat, Night and Day, Each Person at Their Table”: On the Formation of the Custom of Singing Shabbat Zemirot in Medieval Europe

Abstract: This essay traces the development of the custom of singing table songs known as Shabbat zemirot during Shabbat meals in medieval Europe. Though a popular custom, its medieval formation has yet to receive scholarly attention. Informal Shabbat table singing was likely common for centuries, yet the earliest extant instructions to sing specific songs were written in thirteenth-century northern France and appeared shortly thereafter in Ashkenaz and Italy. The many manuscripts containing Shabbat zemirot reveal the custom's spread, growth, and popularity in these regions. Though preserved in writing, Shabbat zemirot and their tunes were primarily disseminated orally by families singing within their homes. Such orality encouraged flexibility and diversity in how the custom was performed. Once the songs were printed in the sixteenth century, a more rigid construction of the practice and its repertoire took shape. Included as appendices are lists of manuscripts containing Shabbat zemirot and tables of the most common songs.