Dec. 19, 1401

“Writ” of Count Palatine Ludwig on half of his father [Present-day Germany; Electorate of the Palatinate]: “We, Louis (‘Ludwig’) […] announce with this letter of his royal majesty and order that you are to give half of the Jewish-taxes as well as the Gulden oblation/offering/sacrifice-penny (‘Opperphenning’)* which the Jews who live among you are annually obliged to pay to us, or to the state – if so ordered – immediately, which is why we are sending Johannes Kircheim, the royal-scriber of our dear lord and father […] along with this letter …”] [Researcher’s note: The Opferpfenning was a poll tax that was initially introduced by Emperor Louis IV of Bavaria which required Jews past the age of 12 to pay a gulden as a “protection fee/tax.” The above has been abbreviated to fit the allocated space. The legal text in its entirety can be found in the cited source.]
Deutsche Reichsakten unter König Ruprecht. Zweite Abtheilung 1401-1405. Herausgeben von Julius Weizsäcker. Auf Veranlassung seiner Majestät des Königs von Bayern. Herausgegeben durch die Historische Commission bei der Königlichen Academie der Wissenschaften. (“German imperial documents under King Ruprecht. Second division 1401-1405. Edited by Julius Weizsäcker. Published by the Historical Commission at the Royal Academy of Sciences”); (Gotha; 1885); Researched and Translated by Ziba Shadjaani 12/31/2019