Metadata: Account 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 Kammer - Raitbücher
- Title:
- Account books
- Title (official language):
- Raitbücher
- Creator/accumulator:
- Upper Austrian Chamber
- Date(s):
- 1454/1751
- Language:
- German
- Extent:
- 387 volumes/books
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection “Upper Austrian Chamber – Account books”, held by the Tyrolean regional archive of Innsbruck, is a non-Jewish collection with several Jewish-related documents.
It covers the period 1454–1751 and is composed of several regularly created books (“Raitbücher”). Each volume is divided into earnings and expenses, showing the budgeting of the Tyrolean Serenity and royal court. The Upper Austrian chamber was responsible for creating the books by calculating and listing financial resources and debts. The older account books, covering the period 1288–1460, are included in the collection “Manuscripts” or “Codices” (“Handschriften”) of the Tyrolean regional archive and are listed in repertory B42 [q.v. Beimrohr, Das Tiroler Landesarchiv und seine Bestände, 81].
Each account book has an alphabetical index which can be used to find Jewish-related references and associated entries in the volumes. The account books are sorted by names rather than subjects, so searching for Jewish names may yield results. A single year may be covered by two or three books, while some books cover several years. The first part of each book shows earnings collected from offices and customs authorities of the Tyrolean territories, such as the treasury office (“Rentmeisteramt”), exchange bank, urbanium offices and “Pflegamt” (district administration). The second part lists expenses such as the pay of hunters, soldiers, attendants, envoys and officers and expenses for fisheries, armouries and charity.
The collection consists of 117 volumes, so only a selection of the Jewish-related material is presented here. Summaries of the content of this collection do not exist.
The finances of the May family are mentioned in books from the 17th century. Examples include entries from 1668 concerning Abraham May, who received mercy and honour for his loyal services in the form of 150 guilders. Each amount of money is exactly listed; for example, Marx May had to pay 150 guilders to the customs office in Bolzano in 1668. The office receiving the money the use to which it was put are also noted. In the expenses of the year 1585, the amount invested by the court in Samuel May’s goods was calculated. An entry from 1588 notes that Lemble and Samuel of Günzburg lent the court 1,000 guilders for 10 years at a rate of five per cent interest.
There are also records of money lent and interest paid, such as the 1588 case of Samuel of Günzburg, who supplied the court with 5,000 guilders, and of 107 guilders lent by Samuel May, which were due for repayment. Charities and pittances are listed; for example, Ferdinand May received four guilders for support.
A general index to this collection does not exist. Each cartulary has an A-Z index, containing Jewish references under I, J and Y. Records may be ordered by noting the name of the collection and the date of the passage 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:
- Innsbruck
- Upper Austria
- Access points: persons/families:
- May family
- May, Abraham
- May, Samuel
- Samuel of Günzburg
- System of arrangement:
- The collection is composed of several regularly created books, divided into income and expenditure.
- 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
