Acts – Page 39 – OAJA.org

1. Full Date of Act	Feb. 6, 1386
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Order/Exhortation” of Wenceslaus IV (Wenzel) of Bohemia
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Czech Republic
4. Text of Act	’Wenczlaw’ by the grace of God, Roman Emperor of all time […] and King of Bohemia. Dear faithful ones, we have learnt that the Jews – our chamber-servants – who live in these and other parts of our empire, and [do all sorts of unlawful things] to the detriment/shame of Christians and the Christian faith. It is therefore, our opinion/decision, that they shall go [out] and present themselves in that way, namely in boots and Jewish hats (‘stivallen und in judenhuten’), as was done in old times […] so that one can distinguish a Jew among Christians […]. This we earnestly command you […] with this letter […].
5. Source	Urkundenbuch der Stadt Strassburg. Sechster Band. Politische Urkunden von 1381-1400 bearbeitet von Johannes Fritz. (Strassburg; 1899); (Official Documents of the City of Strasbourg. Sixth volume. Political documents from 1381-1400 edited by Johann Fritz. (Strasbourg; 1899);
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	May 18, 1387
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Order/Exhortation” of Wenceslaus IV (Wenzel,) of Bohemia
3. Geography of Act	Present-day France
4. Text of Act	We, Wenczlaw, Roman King by the grace of God, […] have previously demanded a sum of money from the Jews – our chamber-servants – in the cities Colmar, Selestat (‘Sletzstat’), and Haguenau (‘Hagenow’) […] and assumed that they would report their numbers [and pay accordingly] as the Jews in the Imperial cities of Swabia do. However, the Jews have refused to comply with our demands and orders […] and have not wanted to obey us [… therefore we] have ordered the aforementioned bailiffs (‘Landvogten’) Dietrichen and Luczen that they shall announce and enforce these [demands…]
5. Source	Urkundenbuch der Stadt Strassburg. Sechster Band. Politische Urkunden von 1381-1400 bearbeitet von Johannes Fritz. (Strassburg; 1899); (Official Documents of the City of Strasbourg. Sixth volume. Political documents from 1381-1400 edited by Johann Fritz. (Strasbourg; 1899);
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Researcher The original document can be found in the State Archives of Strasbourg – Str. St. A. AA 107 n. 37. Or. Ch. Lit. cl.

1. Full Date of Act	Aug. 25, 1387
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Act, passed by the Swabian League of Cities
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Germany
4. Text of Act	[3] From now on, no businessman shall sign a promissory note with a Jew, nor shall he accept any silver or gold from him, whether it is located in German or foreign lands; and no one shall take any gold or silver from these German lands to a Jew in foreign lands, nor promise such a thing to a Jew.
5. Source	Historical Commission of the Royal Academy of Sciences (Ed.). Deutsche Reichstagakten (Erster Band) (Documents of the German Imperial Diet (Volume 1)). Cotta: Munich, 1867. Page 567.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Researcher The Swabian League of Cities (German: Schwäbischer Städtebund) was an alliance between free imperial cities in and around the area now defined as south-western Germany. Its objective was the maintenance of the privileges, rights, and freedoms of its members, and it therefore also opposed the territorial ambitions of increasingly assertive surrounding states within the Holy Roman Empire such as Bavaria, Württemberg, and Austria.

1. Full Date of Act	Sep. 1, 1387
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Law” (‘Abschied’) of the Rhenish City Parliament of Speyer
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Germany
4. Text of Act	[…] 1) Also, one has come to an agreement with the Swabian cities […] that Jews are to be prohibited to take on any Christian [wet] nurses or maids […] and any Jew or Jewess [found to disobey this order …] is to give a fine of hundred guldens to the city in which they live […] and the nurse or maid is to be banned for a year from the city […]. 2) Also, one is to make sure that they appear/walk according to Jewish-customs and fashion […] 3) Also, Christian servants and [wet] nurses and maids [who serve Jews] are to be branded with a mark under their eyes […].
5. Source	Deutsche Reichstagsacten unter König Wenzel. Erster Band. Erste Abteilung. 1376-1387. Herausgegeben von Julius Weizsäcker. (München; 1867); (German Parliamentary Files/Documents of King Wenceslaus. First Volume. First section. 1376-1387); Munich; 1867.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Sep. 8, 1387
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Resolution” of the Swabian and Rhenish Federal Cities
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Germany
4. Text of Act	It should be known, that the Swabian cities and Rhenish cities have come to an agreement, that Jews in all of their cities shall be prohibited to have Christian wet-nurses or Christian wenches (‘cristen ammen noch cristen maget zu haben’) [and that] a Jew or Jewess (‘jude oder judynnen’) who violates this [order…] shall give the city in which they lived […] and the wet-nurse or the wench who lived and served the Jew in the city be banned for one year. […]
5. Source	Urkundenbuch der Stadt Strassburg. Sechster Band. Politische Urkunden von 1381-1400 bearbeitet von Johannes Fritz. (Strassburg; 1899); (Official Documents of the City of Strasbourg. Sixth volume. Political documents from 1381-1400 edited by Johann Fritz. (Strasbourg; 1899).
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Researcher This resolution is dated: 1387 September 8-14.

1. Full Date of Act	Sep. 16, 1388
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Order” of Sigmund Huller, Administrator of the Lower Chambers (‘Landesunterkämmerer’) in the Kingdom of Bohemia
3. Geography of Act	Kingdom of Bohemia
4. Text of Act	Sigmund Huller, Administrator of the Lower Chambers (‘Landesunterkämmerer’) of the Kingdom of Bohemia, commands on behalf of the explicit order of the King, that all cities in Bohemia are to collect and safe-keep all interests and other cash which they are to collect from each Jews using a copy of this order […] in order to turn them (the assets) over to each official City Office, until further notice/order. […]
5. Source	Zur Geschichte der Juden in Böhmen, Mähren und Schlesien von 906 bis 1620. Herausgegeben von Gottlieb Bondy, em. Präsidenten der Handels - und Gewerbekammer in Prag. Zur Herausgabe vorbereitet und ergänzt von Franz Dworsky, em. Director des Landesarchives des Königreiches Böhmens. I. 1577 bis 1620. (Prag; 1906); (Regarding the history of Jews in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia from 906 to 1620. Published by Gottlieb Bondy, fo[rmer] President of the Trade and Commerce and Industry in Prague. Prepared for publication and supplemented by Franz Dworsky, fo[rmer] Director of the National Archives of the Kingdom of Bohemia. I. 1577 to 1620.) (Prague; 1906)
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Researcher The above is a translation of a German summary of the original Latin text. The full Latin text can be found in Franz Palachy’s Ueber Formelbücher, zunächst in Bezug auf böhmische Geschichte. Nebst Beilagen.

1. Full Date of Act	Oct. 4, 1388
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Canon issued at the Council of Palencia.
3. Geography of Act	Holy Roman Empire
4. Text of Act	Jews … shall be compelled to respect the Church festivals.
5. Source	Edward H. Landon, “A Manual of Councils of the Holy Catholic Church,” Volume 2, John Grant, Edinburgh, 1909, pp. 16-17, available from archive.org.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Researcher According to the source above, this Canon was numbered five or six out of seven.

1. Full Date of Act	1389
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	"Expulsion of Jews from Kurpfalz" Issued by Ruprecht II
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Germany
4. Text of Act	Commentary from other sources: 1) "After being in power for less than a year, Ruprecht II cases out all Jews and assumes all of their properties and starts to sell them to local citizens." Löwenstein, Leopold: Beiträge zur Geschichte der Juden in Deutschland (Band 1): Geschichte der Juden in der Kurpfalz: nach gedruckten und ungedruckten Quellen dargest.— Frankfurt a. M., 1895 p. 16
5. Source	None
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	1389
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Official Registry” of Archbishop of Peter of Mainz, year 1389*
3. Geography of Act	Archbishopric of Mainz; Present-day Germany [Provisional]
4. Text of Act	“[…] the Jews are required to submit two pounds of pepper [corns] to [the estate] of the Archbishop at the beginning of each year. […]”
5. Source	Magdeburg, LHA, Cop. 1389, Orig., lat. (“Magdeburg Main (State) Archive, Copy 1389, Orig[inal], Latin.”);
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Researcher Peppercorns, like many other spices, were extremely valuable and often hard to obtain and considered a ‘luxury item.’ *The original document has been lost and was most likely recreated sometime during Archbishop Peter’s reign; the above date refers to the date of the copy which can be found in the Main State Archive of Magdeburg, Germany.

1. Full Date of Act	Apr. 19, 1389
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Order” of Sigmund Huller, Administrator of the Lower Chambers (‘Landesunterkämmerer’) in the Kingdom of Bohemia
3. Geography of Act	Kingdom of Bohemia
4. Text of Act	Sigmund Huller, Administrator of the Lower Chambers (‘Landesunterkämmerer’) orders on the explicit command of the King all mayors, judges, councilmen, jurors/aldermen in all the cities in Bohemia, that they should immediately arrest all Jews in their cities and keep them and their movable and immovable possessions locked away in safe custody [until further notice] […]
5. Source	Zur Geschichte der Juden in Böhmen, Mähren und Schlesien von 906 bis 1620. Herausgegeben von Gottlieb Bondy, em. Präsidenten der Handels - und Gewerbekammer in Prag. Zur Herausgabe vorbereitet und ergänzt von Franz Dworsky, em. Director des Landesarchives des Königreiches Böhmens. I. 1577 bis 1620. (Prag; 1906); (Regarding the history of Jews in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia from 906 to 1620. Published by Gottlieb Bondy, fo[rmer] President of the Trade and Commerce and Industry in Prague. Prepared for publication and supplemented by Franz Dworsky, fo[rmer] Director of the National Archives of the Kingdom of Bohemia. I. 1577 to 1620.); (Prague; 1906)
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Researcher The above is a translation of a German summary of the original Latin text. The original text can be found in Franz Palachy’s Ueber Formelbücher, zunächst in Bezug auf böhmische Geschichte. Nebst Beilagen.

1. Full Date of Act	Apr. 30, 1389
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Order” issued by Duke Johann
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Germany; Kingdom of Bohemia
4. Text of Act	[…] Henceforth, no Jew shall be permitted to settle or live in our land and our city of Görlitz. […]
5. Source	Bondy, Gottlieb and Franz Dworsky: Geschichte der Juden in Böhmen, Mähren und Schlesien; II 1577-1620 (History of Jews in Bohemia, Maehren, and Silesia; Vol. II 1577-1620); (Prague; 1906); p. 897;
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Sep. 15, 1389
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Writ” of King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia
3. Geography of Act	Kingdom of Bohemia
4. Text of Act	Wenceslaus IV, King of Bohemia, orders all burggraves, castellans, mayors, judges, councilmen, judges/aldermen, communities in the cities of Bohemia [… furthermore] to collect – if necessary through the use of their own means – and to prompt Jews who live in those cities and towns to exact an appropriate amount from each in order to submit the sum of money to him (the King) without delay.
5. Source	Zur Geschichte der Juden in Böhmen, Mähren und Schlesien von 906 bis 1620. Herausgegeben von Gottlieb Bondy, em. Präsidenten der Handels - und Gewerbekammer in Prag. Zur Herausgabe vorbereitet und ergänzt von Franz Dworsky, em. Director des Landesarchives des Königreiches Böhmens. I. 1577 bis 1620. (Prag; 1906); (Regarding the history of Jews in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia from 906 to 1620. Published by Gottlieb Bondy, fo[rmer] President of the Trade and Commerce and Industry in Prague. Prepared for publication and supplemented by Franz Dworsky, fo[rmer] Director of the National Archives of the Kingdom of Bohemia. I. 1577 to 1620.); (Prague; 1906)
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Sep. 16, 1390
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Decree, issued by Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia, King of Germany, for the cities of Nuremberg, Rothenburg, Schweinfurt, Windsheim and Weissenburg
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Germany
4. Text of Act	We have considered the significant and manifold damage wrought upon our subjects, noblemen and commoners alike, by the Jews and their immoderate practices, and therefore decree and order herewith, that all citizens of Nuremberg, Rothenburg, Schweinfurt, Windsheim and Weissenburg shall be free of, and unencumbered by, any loans and similar contracts with Jews in those cities, but also with any Jews in other cities or foreign places; and any disputes regarding such debts, whether brought by the Jews themselves, their representatives, or their heirs, shall be dismissed by the magistrates, the debts declared null and void, and any collateral be restored to the borrower, without compensation [to the Jew].
5. Source	Historical Commission of the Royal Academy of Sciences (Ed.). Die Chroniken der fränkischen Städte. Nürnberg (Volume 1) (The Chronicles of the Frankish Cities. Nuremberg (Volume 1)). Hirzel: Leipzig, 1862. Page 125.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	1391
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	"Mass Conversion of Jews in Iberia"
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Spain
4. Text of Act	Commentary from other sources: 1) "In 1391 a considerable number of Jews are baptized by force against their will on the Iberian peninsula." Gruyter, Walter: Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen. (2009)
5. Source	None
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Jan. 17, 1391
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	"Writ" of King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia
3. Geography of Act	Kingdom of Bohemia
4. Text of Act	King Wenceslaus IV, establishes Jews in this writ to be part of his ‘chamber-servants’ (’servi camerae regis’).
5. Source	Zur Geschichte der Juden in Böhmen, Mähren und Schlesien von 906 bis 1620. Herausgegeben von Gottlieb Bondy, em. Präsidenten der Handels - und Gewerbekammer in Prag. Zur Herausgabe vorbereitet und ergänzt von Franz Dworsky, em. Director des Landesarchives des Königreiches Böhmens. I. 1577 bis 1620. (Prag; 1906); (Regarding the history of Jews in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia from 906 to 1620. Published by Gottlieb Bondy, fo[rmer] President of the Trade and Commerce and Industry in Prague. Prepared for publication and supplemented by Franz Dworsky, fo[rmer] Director of the National Archives of the Kingdom of Bohemia. I. 1577 to 1620.); (Prague; 1906)
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Researcher Chamber-Servants (or servants of the royal chamber) was the status given to Jews in Christian Europe of the Middle Ages. It gave the king/ruler the right to tax them at will and to trade and/or sell Jews off temporarily to collect additional revenues for the royal treasury.

1. Full Date of Act	Feb. 20, 1391
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Decree of Cortes of Evora, 1391, by King John I
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Portugal; Kingdom of Portugal
4. Text of Act	That all Jews...shall wear a red star having six points, the size of my royal seal on the breast of the outer garment at the pit of the stomach in such a manner as to be visible.
5. Source	Pearlson, Twelve Centuries of Jewish Persecution (1898): 251, Date and Region by Ziba Shadjaani 2/17/2020
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Mar. 9, 1391
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Writ issued by Emperor Wenceslaus IV
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Germany
4. Text of Act	We, Wenceslaus [IV] (‘Wenezlaw’), Roman Emperor by the grace of God […] announce with this public letter to all who see, or hear [it] read […] that we have bestowed special grace upon the mayor, council, and citizens of the city of Nordhausen […] in that we completely and irrevocably free and absolve all citizens, co-habitants, […] and subjects of all capital on loans which they have come to owe or have borrowed from the Jews in Nordhausen or from those [Jews] who are settled elsewhere in the empire […] or any other exchange which they may have entered into with Jews […] and no one may sue them or hinder them from this [and Jews are to return any pledges or [debts] they hold against such debt to the borrower …]
5. Source	Förstemann, Ernst Günther: Geschichte der Stadt Nordhausen. Erste Lieferung, bis zum Jahre 1250. (History of the city Nordhausen. First issue, until the year 1250.); (Nordhause; 1827)
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Researcher The above has been abbreviated to fit the allocated space. The entire text can be found in the cited source.

1. Full Date of Act	May 24, 1392
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Decree, issued by Leopold IV, Duke of Austria, for the City of Freiburg im Breisgau
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Germany
4. Text of Act	The City shall not have anything to do with the Jews, who shall obey only the chief of police, and one third of their taxes shall be given to the chief of police, while the other two thirds shall go to Us. In addition, any fines incurred by the Jews, on account of crimes and misdemeanors, shall lawfully be Ours, and these fines shall be collected by the chief of police, and no one else.
5. Source	Lewin, Adolf. Juden in Freiburg im Breisgau (Jews in Freiburg im Breisgau). Maas & Co.: Trier, 1890. Page 62.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	1394
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Expulsion of Jew” issued by King Charles VI
3. Geography of Act	France
4. Text of Act	Commentary from Other Sources: 1) That twenty-year period was later extended another six years and then another ten in 1374. But the new king, Charles VI, declined to agree to the years added to the original twenty, and in 1394 he decreed that the following year Jews had to get out of France altogether, even in those areas where they were living under the ungratified decree extension. Kamins, Toni: The Complete Jewish Guide to France; (New York; 2001)
5. Source	None
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Aug. 27, 1394
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Decree No. 76-21-4 of the Venetian Senate expelling Jewish moneylenders, restricting Jewish travel to Venice and imposing the wearing of a Jewish badge.
3. Geography of Act	Republic of Venice
4. Text of Act	Therefore it was decided not to bring them [the Jews] back anymore but that once the end of their conduct had expired in 1396 they would have to leave, under penalty of 1000 Ducati to anyone who would take part to the contrary, and at the expiration of the said term, a Jew could not stay in Venice for more than 15 days for each time he came to Venice, and a certain Jew would have to bring [wear] in his upper garment on his chest one badge of the size of a loaf of bread of four denarii, so that it would be well visible.
5. Source	Giambattista Gallicciolli, Delle Memorie Venete Antiche Profane Ed Ecclesiastiche [Of Ancient Venetian Memories, Profane and Ecclesiastical],“ Volume 2, Venice, 1795, p. 287-288, available from books.google.com.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Researcher According to Professor Benjamin Ravid, the Jewish moneylenders were expelled after a 10 year period of permitted residence in Venice. See Benjamin Ravid, “The Legal Status of the Jews of Venice to 1509,” Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Volume 54, 1987, p. 180-181, available at academia.edu. Translator The text of the Act is available in Latin and Italian in the source above. It was translated using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	Sep. 14, 1394
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Jew-Ordinance, issued by Leopold IV, Duke of Austria, for the City of Freiburg im Breisgau
3. Geography of Act	Present-day Germany
4. Text of Act	The attire of the Jews shall henceforth consist of coats and hats of the same color, except red or green. During Holy Week, they shall remain in their homes from Wednesday evening until the morning of Easter Monday, while keeping all windows and doors closed that are facing any Christian homes. Shall they encounter a priest on his way to bring the Holy Eucharist to a dying person, they shall immediately get out of the street. They are not allowed to charge any arbitrary interest on loans; at most, two pfennings per pound per week. They shall not take any suits of armor nor wet garments as collateral.
5. Source	Schreiber, Heinrich. Geschichte der Stadt und Universität Freiburg im Breisgau (History of the City and University of Freiburg im Breisgau). Vol. III. Wangler: Freiburg, 1857. Page 41.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Sep. 17, 1394
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Order issued by King Charles VI
3. Geography of Act	France
4. Text of Act	Order issued by King Charles VI [France]: […] We have been informed repeatedly for a long time by people of faith and prosecutors and officers about several major complaints and outcries they received every day on their excesses and pleasures that they do in front of the Christians. […] From now on no Jew or Jewish woman shall live, remain or stay in this our kingdom […].
5. Source	Ordonnances des roys de France de la troisième race, volume VII, page 675.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Nov. 24, 1395
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Regulations issued in the Red Book of the City of Ulm, 1395.
3. Geography of Act	Free Imperial City of Ulm
4. Text of Act	(2) From Palm Saturday until Easter Wednesday, as well as on Corpus Christi Day, all Jews must remain within the Jewish quarter; transgressions of this ordinance will be punishable with a fine of five pounds heller. … (5) No Jew may have a Christian servant in his house.
5. Source	Gotthard Deutsch and Schulim Ochser, “Ulm,” jewishencyclopedia.com, accessed Dec. 5, 2024.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Researcher The above source also notes that, “as a result of a complaint lodged by the goldsmiths' gild the following restrictions were imposed by the city council of Ulm: (1) No Jew may melt gold, silver, or other precious metals without the knowledge of the gild. (2) Jews may neither buy nor sell silver bullion in the city. (3) They are permitted to trade only in pearls, gems, and undamaged wares in gold and silver,” however it is unclear if these laws were published in the Red Book on this date, or elsewhere. Translator The text of this Act is available in German in the source above. It was translated using Google translate.

1. Full Date of Act	1397
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	Code Regulae Juris “ad Decus,” No. CXXXIII
3. Geography of Act	Germany [Provisional]
4. Text of Act	"Jews shall not bear arms."
5. Source	Manuscript J 15, CXXXIII. Published in: Kisch, Jewry Law in Medieval Germany, New Jersey 2003, page 121.
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	None

1. Full Date of Act	Apr. 1397
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)	“Law” of Maria de Luna of Aragon
3. Geography of Act	Kingdom of Aragon; Present-day Spain [Provisional]
4. Text of Act	“[…] because these perfidious Jews are thirsty for Christian blood, as enemies would be, and it is dangerous for Christians to obtain any medical help from Jewish doctors when they are sick […] we ordain and establish that no Jew, in any case of a Christian’s infirmity, should dare to exercise his office unless a Christians doctor will [also] take part in the cure.”
5. Source	Soyer, Francois: Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories in the Early Modern Iberian World. (Leiden/Bosten);
6. Researcher	None
7. Year of Research	None
8. Notes	Researcher A punishment of imprisonment and a fine of 10 pounds was imposed.