Annett Martini

Annett Martini is a Scientific Associate at the Institute of Jewish Studies, Free University of Berlin, specializing in medieval Hebrew manuscript culture and Jewish mysticism. She currently leads the BMBF-funded project Materialized Holiness: Torah Scrolls as Codicological, Theological, and Sociological Phenomenon of Jewish Written Culture in the Diaspora (since 2022), following habilitation research on ritual writing practices in medieval Jewish culture (2018). She has held Visiting Professorships at Augsburg University (2020/21) and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (2017). Her academic career includes directing the Erfurt Collection research (2017–2020), which uncovered significant Hebrew manuscript fragments from medieval Jewish communities.

• Education: MA in Judaic Studies, Religious Studies, and German Studies (2004) from Free University Berlin and Hebrew University Jerusalem
• Key Research Areas: Ritual writing in STaM (Torah scrolls, Tefillin, Mezuzot), Christian reception of Jewish mysticism, Hebrew codicology, and cultural transfer in Renaissance Europe

Her scholarly output includes groundbreaking publications on the Erfurt Bible manuscripts, ritual consecration of sacred texts, and micrography analysis, often combining codicological, theological, and sociological methodologies. Current article projects focus on:

• Halakhic-mystical synthesis in medieval Hebrew texts
• Material theology of Torah scrolls
• Intercultural commentary traditions in Erfurt manuscripts
• Christian Kabbalah development from Pico's library
• Medieval Jewish-Christian-Muslim ritual dynamics

Scientific Awards: The Tiburtius Prize (2010) recognized her doctoral work on Joseph Gikatilla's Book of Punctuation. She has also contributed to digital humanities projects like the Virtual Library of the Erfurt collection and produced documentary films about STaM scribal practices.

Professional Activities: Martini curates exhibitions at the Old Erfurt Synagogue and teaches courses on Jewish medieval literature, biblical exegesis, and Kabbalah reception history. Her Work of Heaven film series documents contemporary Torah scribes in Israel.