Metadata: Cartulary series - Outgoing records
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:
- Oberösterreichischer Geheimer Rat - Kopialbuchserie Ausgegangene Schriften
- Title:
- Cartulary series - Outgoing records
- Title (official language):
- Kopialbuchserie Ausgegangene Schriften
- Creator/accumulator:
- Upper Austrian (Second) Privy Council
- Date(s):
- 1603/1770
- Language:
- German
- Extent:
- 298 volumes/books
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection “Cartulary series – Outgoing records” of the Privy Council, held by the Tyrolean regional archive of Innsbruck, is a non-Jewish assemblage with a large and significant number of Jewish-related documents. The collection covers the period 1603–1749 and includes copied or transcribed records of its counterpart “Record series – General outgoing records”. This cartulary series deals with documents created by the Upper Austrian Second Privy Council, which were addressed to subordinated offices such as the Upper Austrian government and chamber. The files were regularly transcribed by date, each year being covered by one cartulary [q.v. Beimrohr, Das Tiroler Landesarchiv und seine Bestände, 89–90].
Most of the cartularies contain records giving insights into the business lives of Jewish individuals. Due to the extent of this collection, only a selection of the Jewish-related material is presented here. The books contain documents of the 17th century concerning the May family of Innsbruck, including details of Abraham, Marx, Samuel, Israel, Gedeon and Isaac May.
A record of 1665 states that the businessman Abraham May used a fund situated in the pawn office of Hall to support the city hospital of Innsbruck with a donation of 7,000 guilders in 1659. A conflict arose between Abraham and the city council, representing the hospital, over the interest on the fund, which had expired. The council petitioned for a decision from the authority of Innsbruck in this process.
Details about the household of Abraham May can be found in a document of 1665, which records that he complained about the housing situation, saying his house was too squalid for him and his sons. This complaint followed the authority’s resolution of February 1665, in which it ordered the whole May family to share a house. The authority ordered a visit to assess the size and condition of the house to inform their decision. A document of June 1665 states that the assessment revealed that the house was not only too small but also derelict. The authority decided that Abraham May should find a house to rent large enough for the family to share. It should be noted that the authority had made efforts to confine Jewish people to one part of Innsbruck, because they would “squat” in Christian houses, but the documents (one example comes from 1667) show that the Jews of Innsbruck did not obey the order.
A document of January 1667 deals with the petition of Abraham May asking the authority to confirm or reconfirm his privileges. At the time the petition was refused as the privileges included exemption from the personal toll or “Leibzoll”, which could not be reconfirmed. The reason for the decision was that other travelling Jewish people would also take advantage of the exemption or try to reduce custom duties on their goods, which the authority would not tolerate. The refusal applied to Abraham May and his three sons. A later document, issued in April 1668, states that on 25 July 1667 his privileges, including exemption from the “Leibzoll”, were granted for a further ten years, but that the May family was ordered to share one house and had to leave the Christian houses within three months. Other documents about the May family deal with financial matters including transactions and disputes over debts and tolls.
The documents about the Levi family of Feldkirch in Vorarlberg state that Joseph Levi, the head of the family, asked for permission to rent a new flat or house for himself and his family in Feldkirch in February 1665 against a payment of 60 guilders. The authority refused his petition. A later document of May 1665 records that he and his family were permitted to stay for a further three months to conclude his business matters and were to leave after this time. However, according to a document of 1667, they still lived in Feldkirch and had not left despite the orders of the authority.
Several documents of 1667 refer to the Jewish traders Abraham Navarro and Salvador Norsa of Bolzano, businessmen or “Sensalen” (intermediaries) at the market in Bolzano. In a document of 1667, Salvador Norsa petitioned to extend his permission to work as an intermediary. The petition was refused, but he was given permission to apply again at the next Corpus Christi, as this was day the intermediaries were chosen. A document of 1667 records that Abraham Navarro’s Sensaria was confirmed, but that, as he was the third Jewish intermediary, his permission should be withdrawn on the next occasion in accordance with a resolution of 1661, issued by Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Tyrol (1628–1662), stating that only two were allowed.
A document of 1667 concerns the Jewish people in the Margravate of Burgau, dealing with the reconfirmation of their protection and privileges and the moderation of hunting and protection fees. The Jewish community of Burgau was ordered to pay an annual fee of 1,100 guilders, extended for five or six years, and to deliver a cart full of new high-quality hunting ware and yarn worth 300 guilders.
The books from 1715–1725 contain records of the Jewish Iseron brothers, the court Jew Michael May and businessmen Isaac and Mayr Landau(er), who were brothers, and Jonathan Uffenheimer, all of whom were related by marriage. The record also contains documents about the court Jews Emanuel Oppenheimer and his father Samuel of Vienna.
Records of 1720–1722 concerning the insolvency of Michael May and his business partners, the Iseron brothers, are especially plentiful. For example, in January 1722 Jacob and Joseph Iseron asked the authority of Innsbruck for safe conduct to contact their creditors about their claims (“Schuldforderungen”). The records give insights into the disputes between May and Iseron and their creditors in relation their insolvency, debts and business practices. There was also a legal dispute between the former business partners Iseron and May.
A record of 14 July 1722 states that foreign Jewish people had stayed in Innsbruck due to the May/Iseron case, to which the authority of Innsbruck objected. The government was mistrustful and assumed that May/Iseron insolvency was a pretext for these people to stay in Innsbruck. The authority discussed the next steps concerning the unwanted residents.
These documents record some details of Jewish business life, but for an overview of the content, it is necessary to consider them alongside other collections of the Upper Austrian Second Privy Council and the counterpart collection of incoming records.
- 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 Privy Council established by Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol in c.1564 was succeeded by the Second Privy Council, which was established in Innsbruck in the early 17th century with the assistance of Maximilian III, the governor of Tyrol and Anterior Austria from 1602–1619. Like the earlier Privy Council, this commission of loyal councillors was the highest administration and judiciary authority in Tyrol and Anterior Austria until 1749. The Upper Austrian government as administrative body and the chamber for financial matters were subordinated to this commission. In 1749, the administrative triad of Privy Council, government and chamber was abolished in the administrative reforms of Maria Theresa and replaced by the comprehensive authority “Repräsentation und Kammer” (Representation and chamber) [q.v. Beimrohr, Das Tiroler Landesarchiv und seine Bestände, 88–89; q.v. Repertory B. 701/8].
- Access points: persons/families:
- Iseron
- Landau
- Landauer
- Levi family
- May family
- May, Michael
- Navarro, Abraham
- Norsa, Salvador
- Oppenheimer, Emanuel
- Oppenheimer, Samuel
- Uffenheimer, Jonathan
- System of arrangement:
- The collection includes copied and transcribed records and is composed of book-like cartularies.
- Access, restrictions:
- The collection is publicly accessible.
- Finding aids:
- Volume indices; Rep. B 701/8
- Yerusha Network member:
- Jewish Museum Hohenems
- Author of the description:
- Rebecca Muršec; Tyrolean Regional Archive Innsbruck; 2018
