The Danites in the Middle Ages

This study is intended to cast doubt upon the consensual notion that throughout history the Israelite tribes were cut off from the rest of the nation of Israel. During the Middle Ages members of one tribe, the tribe of Dan, periodically appeared in the Jewish diaspora, mainly in the Mediterranean basin. An examination of the sources excavates the circumstances of these cases, which suggest a scenario that explains how these individuals came to emerge from the obscurity of their brethren. This scenario is then situated in a broader historical context. Finally, the discussion addresses the implications of these experiences for our understanding of history, and, more broadly, of the relationship between imagination and reality.