Metadata: Confirmation books
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 - Konfirmationsbücher
- Title:
- Confirmation books
- Title (official language):
- Konfirmationsbücher
- Creator/accumulator:
- Austrian Superior Government
- Date(s):
- 1525/1782
- Language:
- German
- Extent:
- 27 volumes
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection “Confirmation books” is a non-Jewish collection with a significant number of Jewish-related documents. It covers the period from 1525 to 1782 and is divided into three series (Series I, II and III). The “Confirmation books” are another collection of cartularies, besides the cartularies of “Causa Domini”, “Book Tyrol”, “Customer books” and “Notification books”, to name a few.
1. Series I was created from 1565 to 1665 and mostly includes records in form of concepts about the Austrian Superior and Anterior properties as well as confirmations of granted privileges and liberties of cities, villages, guilds and private persons. Sometimes one may also find some transcripts of elder contracts of the 14th century in these cartularies.
2. Series II, which was created between 1525 and 1782, is in shape and design similar to the other cartulary series. This collection includes copied or transcribed records until 1700, after which time originals can be increasingly found in the volumes. The cartularies of Series II contain documents of the Austrian Superior domain. After ca. 1665 one may find only records concerning Tyrol. Series II deals with contracts or agreements between bodies or private persons, which were directly subordinated to the jurisdiction of the territorial Serenity, such as nobilities, officials, Jews and cities.
3. Series III includes four volumes or books which cannot be associated to Series I and II due to miscellaneous content and their unknown dates of creation or accumulation. In this collection one may find records of Jewish life in the cartularies of all three series.
There are fewer references and documents about Jews in series I and III than there are in series II. The following are some examples of Jewish-related material from this collection.
Series I: In the cartularies of 1613 to 1649 of Series I there are a few records about the confirmation of privileges and liberties concerning the Jew Liebermann of Bolzano and the Moravia family of Bolzano as well as members of the May family in Innsbruck, namely Abraham and Samuel May. In the earlier cartularies from 1554 to ca. 1600 there are no references to Jewish individuals to be found.
Series II: In the cartularies of Series II (1554 to 1727) there are many documents which mention Jewish individuals, such as Mathias of Rattenberg, the May family in Innsbruck, Jacob and his son Isaak Gözl of Innsbruck, Abraham Navarro of Bolzano and Jacob Moravia also of Bolzano and David Jacob Ulman of Pfersen (Günzburg) in Bavaria.
In the case of Mathias of Rattenberg there is a record, issued on 27 May 1721, concerning his right to run a tavern or inn with its furnishing. The owner from whom he wanted to buy the tavern was Franz Dominico Graß. In this document it is ordered that he should draft a contract in the form of a composition to get a grant or confirmation for running the tavern. The record about Jacob and his son Isaak Gözl deals with the ratification of the son’s release from paternal guardianship. This request was granted on 23 June 1692 by the authorities of Innsbruck. The collection also includes a document of 16 January 1666 which mentions 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 he could no longer attend to his business obligations due to his advanced age. Moreover, it is stated that he wanted to move from Bolzano to Verona. The petition of Jacob Moravia was granted by the authorities of Innsbruck.
Furthermore, there is a record, issued on 2 November 1665, about differences between Michael Sonner and Abraham May concerning debts of money. The statement and petition of Abraham May was transcribed and attached to the record. It concerns delivery of furniture to Johann Michael Sonner and his outstanding payments. There are also two records (the first issued on 15 July 1672 and the second on 7 August 1672) about Israel May, his children and his widow Gentilia d’ Italia, concerning the confirmation of a contract, which presumably arranged the inheritance of Israel May within the family. The content of this contract or agreement is not transcribed in detail, but the confirmation of the territorial Serenity to this contract is replicated and can be consulted as part of the documents.
The cartulary of 1554 to 1623 also includes a document about the ratification of the house called “Schüestl”, which the influential businessman Samuel May of Innsbruck bought from Paul Schüestl. The house was located at the Pickentor in Innsbruck (the current address is Sailergasse 16; cf. Albrich (ed.), Jüdisches Leben im historischen Tirol, Vol. 1 Vom Mittelalter bis 1805, 143.). The contract between Schüestl and May was confirmed on 9 June 1588, but with the order that only members of the May family were allowed to stay in this house. Therefore, it was not allowed to host foreign Jewish travellers. Additionally, after the expiration of this approval, which was issued by the authorities, the house should be sold to Christians and not again to a Jewish person.
Another long document or deed is about a Jewish woman called Sara, an elderly woman with various afflictions, and her son Joseph of Bolzano dealing with the reconfirmation of their privileges and the renewal of their residence permit in Bolzano, due to their inconspicuous life. Her privileges were granted with the condition that she should not host or support foreign Jews. If she refused this requirement, she would lose her concessions. This record was issued between 1554 and 1595 by archduke Ferdinand II of Austria.
Finally, there are a few relevant references in the cartularies of Series III. For example, one may find a concept of a document or deed, issued by Karl Ferdinand on 28 July 1649, in which the contract/agreement between the brothers Samuel and Abraham May was confirmed and ratified. The content of this contract was not transcribed in detail. It is known that the contract is about conflicts in matters of inheritance and property within the May family. However, these controversies were resolved with this ratified contract.
Note: Beside the super-ordinated repertory Rep. B 633, each cartulary of this collection covers several years and includes its own index from A to Z. Under the letter I/J one may find references to Jewish individuals. There are folio or page numbers next to the entries, which are needed to find the relevant text passage 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. (Cf. Albrich (ed.), Jüdisches Leben im historischen Tirol, Vol. 1 Vom Mittelalter bis 1805, 138.) 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 collection “Confirmation books” is divided into three series: Series I was created from 1565 to 1665 by the court chancellery and the Privy Council, whereas Series II was accumulated by the Austrian Superior Government during the period of 1525 to 1782. Series III consists of different individual records, the provenance and dates of which are unknown. (Cf. Beimrohr, Das Tiroler Landesarchiv und seine Bestände, 73-74.)
- Access points: persons/families:
- d’Italia, Gentilia
- Gözl, Isaak
- Gözl, Jacob
- Liebermann
- May
- May, Abraham
- May, Israel
- May, Samuel
- Moravia
- Moravia, Jacob
- Navarro, Abraham
- Ulman, David Jacob
- System of arrangement:
- The collection consists of three cartulary series: Series I (1565-1665), Series II (1525-1782), Series III (miscellaneous and unknown date of creation).
- Access, restrictions:
- Public access
- Finding aids:
- Finding aids: Rep. B 633 (Register), volume indices.
- Yerusha Network member:
- Jewish Museum Hohenems
- Author of the description:
- Rebecca Muršec, October 2017
