KANSI, SAMUEL (Provençal, Samiel Astruc d'Escola or Dascala):
French astronomer of the fourteenth century. The surname "Kansi" (
) is an incorrectly formed adjective of the Hebrew noun "keneset" (
), and is the equivalent of "D'Escola" (
), a name borne by severalProvençal Jews. Kansi wrote the introduction to the astronomical work "Shesh Kenafayim" of Immanuel ben Jacob of Tarascon. He is supposed to be identical with Samuel Nasi d'Escola, whose commentary on the astronomical tables of Jacob ben David ben Yom-Ṭob Bonet (Bonjorn) is still extant. A certain Samuel d'Escola, perhaps identical with Kansi, copied, in 1406, at Avignon, the "Mishneh Torah" of Maimonides.
Bibliography:
- Renan-Neubauer, Les Ecrivains Juifs Français, p. 359;
- Gross, Gallia Judaica, p. 147.
