Extract of the Privilege of Emperor Ferdinand I [Free Imperial City of Ravensburg/Holy Roman Empire; Present-day Germany]: “We, Ferdinand, elected Roman Emperor by the grace of God [bestow upon the mayor and City Council of Ravensburg and its citizens the liberty …] namely to no longer permit a Jew or Jewess to make loans – may they be usurious or not – to anyone in the City of Ravensburg without the prior knowledge and permission fo the City Council … or to enter any other kind of contract … Violators are to lose any claims on debts owed to them and pay 10 Mark soldered gold …And any legal aid/argument they may bring forth to insist on their right is revoked and made void by the power of this letter of the Roman Emperor…]”
Des Reichs-Stättischen Hand-Buchs. Zweyter Theil. (Hand-book of the Imperial Cities. Second part.); (Tübingen; 1733); Researched and Translated by Ziba Shadjaani 5/9/2020