Abraham ben Solomon of Saint Maximin
ABRAHAM BEN SOLOMON OF SAINT MAXIMIN
ABRAHAM BEN SOLOMON OF SAINT MAXIMIN (15th century), French physician. César Nostradamus praises Abraham as a scholar, philosopher, and physician of Provence (Histoire et Chronologie de Provence (1624), 618). It was probably Abraham and other Jewish physicians who drew the attention of René of Anjou, count of Provence (1409–1480), to the deplorable situation of the Jews in his kingdom. René issued a decree in 1454, which lessened the hardships brought about by the proclamation of Charles ii forcing all Jews to wear the wheel-shaped badge. It also confirmed the right of Jews to practice medicine. René set an example by making Abraham his personal physician and exempting him from all taxes levied on Jews. It has been suggested that Abraham may be identical with Abraham Avigdor ii (1433–1488) of Marseilles (rej, 6–7 (1883), 294). Gottheil (ej, 1 (1928), 120) adds that Abraham might be the son of Solomon b. Abraham Avigdor i, the translator.
bibliography:
Steinschneider, Uebersetzungen, 643; G.B. Depping, Les Juifs dans le Moyen-Age (1839), 206, 335; Hildefinger, in: rej, 47 (1903), 232; 48 (1904), 70–75, 265; Kahn, ibid., 39 (1899), 95–112; E. Wickersheimer, Dictionnaire Biographique des Médecins en France au Moyen-Age (1936), 5–6; H. Friedenwald, Jews and Medicine, 2 (1944), 689.
[Isidore Simon]