Metadata: Cartulary series - Reports to the Court
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 Kammer - Kopialbuchserie Gutachten an Hof
- Title:
- Cartulary series - Reports to the Court
- Title (official language):
- Kopialbuchserie Gutachten an Hof
- Creator/accumulator:
- Upper Austrian Chamber
- Date(s):
- 1500/1787
- Language:
- German
- Extent:
- 283 volumes/books
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The series “Upper Austrian Chamber – Cartulary series – Reports to the Court”, held by the Tyrolean regional archive of Innsbruck, is a non-Jewish collection with several Jewish-related documents.
This collection covers the period 1500–1787 and includes transcribed records created by the Upper Austrian chamber and addressed to the territorial Serenity or subordinated offices. There are also documents directed to the Upper Austrian government [q.v. Beimrohr, Das Tiroler Landesarchiv und seine Bestände, 80]. Most of the documents are administrative reports addressed to the Tyrolean Serenity, containing discussions, advice and declarations of problems and situations.
Jewish individuals mentioned in these cartularies include Abraham, Marx, Johann Ferdinand and Samuel May and Simon of Günzburg and his sons Lemble, Jacob and Lasarus. These people appear in connection with financial matters such as inheritances, obligations, assignments, detractions and taxes. The text passages reveal details about business, personal lives and financial problems including loan contracts and discussions about money and privileges. Due to the extent of the collection, only a selection of the Jewish-related material is presented here (summaries or short text passages about Jewish people in this collection do not exist). Two records of 1665 and 1668 concern Johann Ferdinand May, who is also mentioned in other cartularies of the Upper Austrian chamber. These documents deal with his financial inheritance, which was left by his father, Abraham. 1,000 guilders of the sum was placed in the county of Nellenburg and the rest, about 900 guilders, at the office of Altenburg. The interest on the sum had expired and was no longer available. He presumably received the inheritance because he had abandoned the Jewish faith and been baptised, although it is not noted if this decision was by choice or enforced. He had also had an accident working at a riding stable and was no longer fit for work, so he asked the authority of Innsbruck for the interest on the money in Nellenburg and Altenburg to support himself and to learn a new trade. The authority granted him part of the interest, concerned that he would convert back to Judaism. He received half of the interest annually in 1667 and 1668.
A record concerning Samuel May, issued on 25 August 1685, contains his request for exemption from customs for his family and attendants. The petition was granted by the authority of Innsbruck, but with the reservation that Tyrolean custom officers could withdraw the patent in case of irregularities or suspicious behaviour.
Another document from 1585 concerns Simon of Günzburg and his inheritance. His relatives asked for exemption from the detraction (“Abzugssteuer” or “Nachsteuer”), which was a standard fee in Tyrol but was not collected in Burgau either from Jews or Catholics. It was therefore decided that the fee could not be collected in the Markgravate of Burgau.
There is one further record from 1587 of Simon of Günzburg and his sons, concerning a loan which the authority obtained from the family. The sons petitioned for the termination of the loan and for its repayment. The amount was 14,900 guilders, of which 14,000 guilders was in Primor and the rest at the treasury office in Burgau (“Rentmeisteramt zu Burgau”). They needed the money for their business and to pay their ten siblings. They also requested payment of outstanding interest on the 14,000-guilder loan for one and a half years. The brothers claimed that they were not well off and depended on the money. The chamber was reluctant to pay, so there was a debate between the two parties for the benefit of the authority. The family did not receive the money, and instead privileges were reconfirmed for the next ten years for Lasarus, Jacob, Lemble and two other brothers who are not named, but the other siblings were not included in these privileges. To maintain these concessions, certain fees were to be paid, such as attendance money (“Sitzgeld”). Other details of their privileges were that debts and demands were to be heard and considered, and it was prohibited to confine them to prison except by order of a judge. In return for these concessions, the chamber and authority of Innsbruck sought to guarantee the continuation of their loan.
A document of 1588 claims that the Jewish people of Burgau were a burden for the business of the subjects of the margravate. It discusses how to help the people of Burgau and reduce the number of Jewish people in the territory.
A general repertory to this collection does not exist. Each cartulary has an A-Z index, containing Jewish references under I, J and Y. It should be noted, however, that the cartularies are sorted by personal names as well as subjects, so, for example, under M may be found files relating the May family, which are not listed under I, J or Y. Some names are accompanied by the designation “hebreer” (Hebrew). The cartularies are books containing transcriptions of original records. The books may be ordered by indicating the name of the collection and the years of interest.
To construct an overview of Jews and their lives and early “communities”, the records of each series or collection should be combined with those of their counterparts and records of similar assemblages to understand the progression of a decision [q.v. Hölzl, Repertorium Nr. 203 – “Älteres Gubernium”. 1764–1783, Innsbruck 1985, V]. This also applies to other collections of the general administration.
- Archival history:
- This collection was transferred to the Tyrolean Regional Archive according to the regular document transfer process stipulated by national archival regulations.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The creator of this collection was the Upper Austrian chamber, a stable commission established in 1493. This authority was responsible for the territorial fiscal administration of the county of Tyrol and Anterior Austria. Its counterpart was the Upper Austrian government, which was equivalent to the chamber and was responsible for the inner administration and judiciary of Tyrol and Further Austria. Both authorities were later subordinated to the Privy Council, which was established in the late 16th century, and subsequently to the Second Privy Council. In the administrative reformation of 1749, the Upper Austrian chamber was incorporated into the new comprehensive administration authority for Tyrol and Anterior Austria, “Repräsentation und Kammer” (Representation and Chamber), founded by Empress Maria Theresa. The jurisdiction of the Upper Austrian government also shifted to this new authority for general administration. The traditional Upper Austrian chamber and the Second Privy Council no longer existed after Maria Theresa’s reformation. [q.v. Beimrohr, Das Tiroler Landesarchiv und seine Bestände, 78.]
- Access points: locations:
- Günzburg
- Tyrol
- Upper Austria
- Access points: persons/families:
- May family
- May, Johann Ferdinand
- May, Samuel
- Simon of Günzburg
- System of arrangement:
- The collection is arranged into book-like cartularies with alphabetical indexes.
- Access, restrictions:
- The collection is publicly accessible.
- Finding aids:
- Volume indices
- Yerusha Network member:
- Jewish Museum Hohenems
- Author of the description:
- Rebecca Muršec; Tyrolean Regional Archive Innsbruck; 2018
