Legal document: Yevr. II A 1241/8

Description

Karaite betrothal document, with some water/liquid damage toward across middle lines. Date: 15 Heshvan 5485 AM (1724 CE). Due to discoloration/damage, parts of the document are only legible via high contrast image settings in Ktiv. The previously unmarried bride is Esther bt. Yiṣḥaq ha-Levi and the groom is Elīya b. Yaʿacov ha-Kohen. The groom's monetary contributions toward the marriage are listed as: 50 kesif + 1080 medin + 200 medin + 1000 medin. The manner in which the document refers to the bride's name (אמה אלקאדר אסתר הקרואה אסתר) is a clear example of how the formulaic name Esther was applied to Karaite female nomenclature regardless of their given names (also Esther in this case). A wide variety of early modern Karaite marital documents use the same formula. MCD.