The evolution of Rabbi Mordekhay ben Yehudah Dato's messianism: from his early sabbatical hymn Vieni O' sposa to his later vernacular texts

Mordekhay Dato was a prominent Italian Kabbalist, particularly active in the northern part of the Emilian region at the end of the sixteenth century. He was a prolific writer in Hebrew and Judeo-Italian, covering a wide range of topics - messianism, Kabbalah, poetry, liturgy and Halakhah. His mostly unpublished work opens an interesting window onto the intellectual laboratory of Renaissance Italy. In this article I address the changes in Dato's messianic expectation for the Jewish year 5335 (1575 CB) and examine three works that manifest his creative use of religious texts to interpret contemporary events: Ora vien a bella sposa Nome now, Lovely Bride'), an early sabbatical hymn; Ma'amar Mordekhay ('An Essay of Mordekhay'), his unfinished commentary on the book of Esther; and Megillat Ester in Ottava Rima ('The Roll of Esther in Octaves'), his later versification of the hook of Esther in the Italian ottava rima.