Aug. 16, 1738

Patent, issued by George II of Great Britain, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg [Present-day Germany]: “1. In Our German lands, beggar-Jews shall not only be excluded from staying, but even from mere transit, regardless of the kind of passport they carry, and shall be turned away at the border. 2. Should a mendicant Jew be caught inside the country, he shall be imprisoned at once, any old clothes and rags he might carry be taken from him and burned, and the Jew be kept incarcerated for 14 days and given only bread and water. Repeat offenders shall be marked as criminals with a branding iron, and upon a third offense, a Jew shall be brought from life towards death, by way of the rope. 3. All magistrates and other officials are hereby admonished to enforce Section 2 stringently, lest they incur a penalty of 50 imperial thalers. 4. If a beggar-Jew is found inland, an investigation shall determine which official or officials let the Jew pass, so that the appropriate punishment can be inflicted on said official or officials. 5. If a farmer in the country should see a mendicant Jew, he shall report this at once to the local authorities, under penalty of imprisonment.”