The shift in biblical exegesis from homiletic readings to literary, contextual commentaries has its roots in Charlemagne's 9th century Carolingian Revolution. It comes to the fore only in the 11th century with Rashi's quasi-peshat commentary, soon followed by the peshat approach of R. Joseph Kara and Rashbam.The section on the reign of Charlemagne is also of interest. By one reckoning, his reign marks the end of late antiquty. His patronage of scribal scholarship helped to preserve much ancient literature that otherwise might have been lost.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.