Aug. 20, 1573

“Extract of the Privilege of Emperor Maximilian II” [Present-day Germany; Free Imperial City of Nuremberg/Holy Roman Empire]: “We, Maximilian, the other, elected Roman Emperor by the grace of God […] expand and extend to the city of Nuremberg [… and all its citizens …] with the announcement of this [given] liberty, not to permit a Jew or Jewess, or one of their kind, to make loans [to anyone in Nuremberg …] without the prior knowledge and permission of the mayor and the [City] Council […] or to engage in barter or exchanges or such loans and other contracts, whatever they may be called, named or unnamed, [… and Jews who contravene are to lose their capital and all interests … If Jews are found with stolen items, they are to return them to the rightful owner without compensation …]” [Researcher’s note: The above privilege of Maximilian II is several pages long and has been abbreviated to fit the allocated space. The full extract with the pertinent passages relating to Jews can be found in the cited source.]
Des Reichs-Stättischen Hand-Buchs. Zweyter Theil. (Hand-book of the Imperial Cities. Second part.); (Tübingen; 1733); Researched and Translated by Ziba Shadjaani 5/10/2020