Metadata: Cartularies to the territorial Prince
Collection
- Country:
- Austria
- Holding institution:
- Tyrolean Regional Archive
- Holding institution (official language):
- Tiroler Landesarchiv
- Postal address:
- Michael-Gaismair-Straße 1; 6020 Innsbruck
- Phone number:
- 0043 512 508 3502
- Web address:
- https://www.tirol.gv.at/kunst-kultur/landesarchiv/
- Email:
- landesarchiv@tirol.gv.at
- Reference number:
- Oberösterreichische Regierung - Kopialbücher - An die fürstliche Durchlaucht
- Title:
- Cartularies to the territorial Prince
- Title (official language):
- An die fürstliche Durchlaucht
- Creator/accumulator:
- Austrian Superior Government
- Date(s):
- 1519/1781
- Language:
- German
- Extent:
- 214 volumes
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection “Austrian Superior Government – Cartularies to the territorial Serenity” is an extensive non-Jewish collection with a significant number of Jewish-related documents. It covers the period from 1519 to 1781 and was created and collected by the Austrian Superior Government. It consists of extensive books and cartularies, including chronologically indexed letters of the Austrian Superior Government directed to the territorial Serenity or Privy Council as the highest authority in Innsbruck. Those letters dealt with cases, petitions and complaints of citizens for which the Austrian Superior Government needed decisions from the Privy Council. The records were annually transcribed and registered by chancellery clerks in these cartularies. These cartularies are strongly associated with the series “Cartularies of the territorial Serenity”, because both collections prove the correspondence and communication between the Government and its superior authority. The collection is very extensive, so only some examples concerning Jewish life can be presented here.
One may find Jewish related entries in the general indices (Rep. B 50 and Rep. B 53), which themselves refer to related entries in the volume indices or cartularies, which are called “Gutachtenbücher” (Gb. or Gl.).
Concerning Jewish heritage in the cartularies there are cases concerning the toleration of Jewish settlements in Innsbruck, Bolzano, Augsburg and in cities of other Austrian territories. Due to common prejudices describing Jews as profiteering, issuing counterfeit money and threatening Christian children, the expulsion (“Aussschaffung” or “Austreibung”) of Jews from Tyrol is frequently discussed. However, although those terms were frequently used by the authorities they were not regularly carried out. It seems that these expressions were quite common. Another term which occasionally appears in the records is “malefizisch” (“frevelig”, “hochstrafbar”), which means “committing an outrage”. Jews were associated with cruelty, crime and dirty money transactions. In the records there are complaints against Jewish profiteering (“Wucher”) concerning their money transactions and pawnbroking. Furthermore, one may find details about prohibitions directed at foreign Jews, for example the fact that travelling Jews were not allowed to keep weapons in the Tyrolean cities during their time of residence.
1. In the cartulary of the year 1700 there are some copied records about three Jews, called David Jacob, David Samuel and Elias, members of the Ulma family, who lived in the county of Pfersen and Burgau (in Günzburg) in Bavaria. For some unknown reason, probably deceptive business practices, they were arrested and committed to Augsburg and Kriegshaber respectively. There are only a few pieces of evidence for their crime and offences. Among others they were associated with counterfeit money and were accused of increasing prices (“Preistreiberei”). Nevertheless, as result of their petition letter and giving reasons such as prison costs and expenses as well as their value and influence as businessmen it was discussed whether to release them on bail (ca. 100 gulden) or even without a fee. Other records mention the Jewish family Moravia of Bolzano. The family patriarch Jacob Moravia requests the confirmation and extension of his privileges (liberties and protection) for his children, because due to his high age he could no longer carry out his business obligations. Moreover, it is stated that he wanted to move from Bolzano to Verona. The petition of Jacob Moravia was granted by the authority of Innsbruck.
2. In the cartulary of the year 1665 one may find documents about arrangements against Jews because of common prejudices, for example records concerning Abraham May, which deal with the prohibition for foreign Jews to bear arms in Innsbruck. Abraham May, who hosted travelling Jews in his house, was ordered to make sure that his guests did not carry any weapons but instead were to wear Jewish badges during their stay. Another record discusses the question in which district and house of Innsbruck Jews should be accommodated during their stay. It was desired that they should be separated from other citizens and be restricted to one location, because it was believed that their trade and business transactions would damage the local businessmen. Furthermore, it is stated that, although Abraham May’s ancestor Samuel May may have had the permission to buy a house, it had come with the restriction that he had bequeath it to a Christian citizen and he had not been allowed to host other Jewish traders. This made Abraham May’s possession of the house illegal.
Most of the documents show a negative attitude towards Jews. There are some exceptions, such as the record concerning Abraham Navarro, who requests the confirmation of his “Sensaria” (intermediary trade) at the market in Bolzano, which was granted by the authority of Innsbruck in consultation with the magistrate of the market in Bolzano and a document about the confirmation of a safe conduct (“salvus conductus”) which was granted to Gedeon May and his creditors in the year 1664.
This collection also includes files of private law, such as disputes or controversies concerning business transactions between Jewish individuals and others.
NB: This collection, consisting of several books and cartularies, is summarised in two super-ordinated indices with the reference numbers Rep. B 50 and B 53. These can be searched for terms such as “Juden” (“Jews”), “Judentum” (“Judaism“), “Judenschaft” (“Judaism”), “Israeliten” (Israelites) and “Hebräer” (Hebrews). There are numbers next to the entries concerning Jewish matters, which are needed to find the records in the cartularies. The next step is to look up the folio number in these cartularies to find the written sources. Each cartulary also has its own index with different entries from A to Z, where one may find additional Jewish references under I/J. These references can be looked up in the same book.
In general, one should bear in mind when researching the extensive cartulary collection of the Austrian Superior Government that it is very difficult to associate and compare the various Jewish-related records with each other, because the documents are collected according to their provenance, not their pertinence. Therefore, one has to be careful if one tries to associate, interpret or analyse the records together. It has to be considered that both the cartulary series (“Kopialbuchserien”) and the collection account books (“Raitbücher”) of the Austrian Superior Government, the Court Chamber and the Privy Council that cover the 16th and 17th century consist of at least 2000 books or volumes. Furthermore, to guarantee successful research one should also consider the large collection “Records” of the Austrian Superior Government and should try to associate its content with the cartularies of the government.
- Archival history:
- This collection was transferred to the Tyrolean Regional Archive as part of the regular document transfer process stipulated by national archival regulations.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The “Cartularies to the territorial Serenity” are records or documents originating from the Austrian Superior Government, which are directed to its superior authorities, i.e. the Privy Council or Serenity of Tyrol. In the same way as the “Cartularies of the territorial Serenity”, the “Cartularies to the territorial Serenity” were transcribed annually in chronological order and collected in books. Both collections are strongly linked to each other. (Cf. Beimrohr, Das Tiroler Landesarchiv und seine Bestände, 72.)
- Access points: persons/families:
- May, Abraham
- May, Gedeon
- Moravia
- Moravia, Jacob
- Navarro, Abraham
- Ulma, David Jacob
- Ulma, David Samuel
- Ulma, Elias
- Access, restrictions:
- Public access
- Finding aids:
- Finding aids: Rep. B 50 (Index), Rep B. 53 (Index), volume indices.
- Yerusha Network member:
- Jewish Museum Hohenems
- Author of the description:
- Rebecca Muršec, September 2017