323
THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
the thirteenth and the two subsequent centuries. It remained in force until the expulsion of the Jews from Austria in 1420, and was more or less literally copied in the laws of the following rulers: Bela IV. of Hungary, 1251; Przemysl Ottocar II. of Bohemia, 1254; Boleslav of Kalisz, 1264; and Bolko of Silesia, 1295. The most important feature of this charter is the large space given to money-lending no fewer than ten of its thirty sections dealing with questions of interest, pledges, and the like, in addition to the sections dealing with the jurisdiction over the Jews. Of greatest importance is the fact that the duke claims the Jews as his own subjects, which is the first instance in which they are claimed by the territorial ruler instead of by the emperor. It may also be noted that the Jews are permitted to receive as interest eight denars a week on the talent, a rate of 173.33 per cent per annum. If any pledge prove to have been stolen, the Jew has merely to swear how much he loaned on it, and that he did not know that it was stolen, in order to receive its value from the owner. Everything may be accepted as pledges, with the exception of bloody or wet garments and in case of loss by Are or robbery the oath of the Jew is sufficient to prove his assertion. It is expressly stated that Jews may lend money on real estate but it is uncertain whether, in cases of foreclosure of their mortgages, they may possess them. For the murder of a Jew by a Christian the death penalty is inflicted while for manslaughter and injury a fine is imposed, part of which is to be paid to Capital punthe duke, part to the person wounded. ishment is also the penalty for desecration of a Jewish cemetery while for damage to a synagogue a Abduction of a Jewfine of two talents is inflicted. Their lawsuits are ish child is punishable as theft. conducted in the duke's court, and he appoints a special judge for Jewish affairs ("judex Judteorum"). There is also a "magister Judseorum," a rabbi or overseer of the congregation, elected by the Jews and confirmed by the duke he is their legal representative, and has authority to administer their Like the imperial law, that of Duke internal affairs. Frederick also states that a Jew can not be condemned unless there is a Jewish as well as a Christian witness against him but it differs from the imperial law in that the duke permits Jews to challenge an evil-doer to the ordeal. It is, however, most likely that in such a case the Jews hired a champion. The Interregnum (1254-1276) Duke Fredand as he left no erick, fell in battle June 15, 1246 children, his dominion became the bone of contention
for various claimants,
from
whom King
Przemysl
succeeded in 1251. The new ruler naturally sought to gain the good-will of the citizens in his newly acquired territory, and, therefore, soon after the occupation of Austria, he confirmed to the cities the privilege granted to them by Duke Frederick of the exclusion of Jews from public office. His political plans required for their accomplishOttocar
II.
ment a great deal of money, and this was evidently the reason that he renewed (March 29, 1254) the privileges granted to the Jews by Duke Frederick; proclaiming, like his predecessor, his desire to show his good-will to all his subjects (" Wann wir wellen, das allerlay leut die in unser herrscheft wonund sind,
Austria
unser genad und giitwilligkait tailheftig werden funden "). The only difference between the charter of Ottocar and that of Frederick is that Ottocar prohibits taking sacred vestments as pledges. ther,
He, fur-
exempts the Jews from returning pledges on
their holy days, does not limit the rate of interest,
and protests against the Blood Accusation,
refer-
ring to the papal decrees on that subject. These insignificant differences can scarcely have been due to a change in policy they were most likely caused by emergencies of the intervening period. It seems for, on his that these charters were not respected return from the crusade against the heathen Prussians, Ottocar again renewed the grants to the Jews (March 8, 1255). Further, he did not enforce the ordinance excluding Jews from public office for, in a document dated 1257, two Jews are mentioned as
the king's financiers (" comites camera "). The Church, then at the height of her power, had, since the Lateran Council of 1215, attempted to circumscribe the position of the Jews but her decrees were not carried into effect. Pope Clement IV., therefore, sent Cardinal Guido, a Cistercian monk, as his delegate to northern Europe to enforce ecclesiastical discipline. In this capacity Guido presided over various diocesan councils which discussed, among other matters, the enforcement of the law Such a council was held in against the Jews. Vienna May 10-12, 1267. The canons of this council enjoin the distinctive Jewish dress, and the payment by the Jewish inhabitants to the priest in
whose parish they dwell of an annual sum equal to that which he would receive were Christians living Jews are prohibited from frequentin their places. ing bathing-houses and taverns of Christians, from employing Christian domestics, from acting as taxcollectors, and from holding any other public office.
A Jew cohabiting with a Christian woman shall be heavily fined while the woman shall be whipped and expelled from the city. Social intercourse be;
tween Jews and Christians is strictly prohibited, and Christians shall not buy meat or other food from Jews, as the latter are likely to poison it. If a Jew exacts exorbitant interest from Christians, he shall be excluded from all intercourse with Chris"When the host is carried through the streets, tians. the Jews shall close the doors and shutters of their houses and shall remain within. A similar duty is enjoined for Good Friday. Jews shall not discuss matters of religion with the common people, shall not prevent the wives and children of converts from embracing Christianity, nor convert a Christian to Judaism. They shall not attend Christian patients nor call upon them. They shall not build new synagogues, and when they repair an old synagogue On days of abstinence they shall not enlarge it. they shall not carry meat in the streets uncovered H. Baer(Pertz, I.e., "Scriptores,"ix. 699 et seq. wald, " Die Beschltisse des Wiener Conciliums fiber die Juden aus dem Jahre 1267 in Wertheimer's Ottocar reJahrbuch," 1859-60, pp. 180-208).
newed
this charter of 1254
on Aug.
23, 1268.
Com-
that the Jews kept Christian servants, show that the canons of the Vienna council remained to a great extent a dead plaints
letter.
by the
ecclesiastics,
