Unconfirmed Acts

The following are Acts that are missing either a full date and/or an Official source.

Displaying 350 – 375 of 742
1. Full Date of Act
1489
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Expulsion of Jews from Lucca”
3. Geography of Act
Present-day Italy
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) “Jews were expelled from Lucca.” House of Medici “The Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal. King Manuel I and the End of Religious Tolerance (1496–7) [The Medieval Mediterranean. Peoples, Economies and Cultures, 400–1500. Volume 69];” history.ac.uk

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1490
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Canceling of Debt Owed to Jews”issued by King Ladislas VI
3. Geography of Act
Hungary
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) “King Ladislas VI canceled all debts owing to the Jews.” “Middle Ages to the Ottoman Conquest;” porges.net

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1492
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Order issued by King John II
3. Geography of Act
Portugal
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) “…the vast majority of the Jews who left Spain in 1492 went to Portugal. King John II made them pay for the privilege of settling in his kingdom. He charged each individual for the right to stay in the country for eight months. When that time was up, the person had to go elsewhere or convert to Christianity. Wealthier Jews paid even more money for the right to settle permanently in the country.” Phyllis Goldstein: “A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism.” p. 110 2) “King John II did not extend his anger against the Abarbanels to the other Jews of Spain. He invited the expelled Jews [from Spain in 1492] to come to Portugal, over 150,000 of them. Portugal with a population at that time of a million and a half now had more than 300,000 Jews. Lots of pressure was put on the king to either convert the Jews or expel them. By the time he died in 1495 he began to treat the Jews brutally, even enslaving some of them and sending Jewish children to the Island of Sao Tome in West Africa where most died or were never heard from again. Fortunately for the Jews he died and was succeeded by his cousin and brother in law, Manuel I.” “The Abarbanel Family’s Sojourn in Portugal.” Online article

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1492
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Ordinance issued by Emperor Askia Mohammad
3. Geography of Act
Songhai Empire
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) “[Aksia Mohammad I prohibit[s] Jews to live or trade in his Kingdom on urging from Al-Maghili.” “C. 1490 MUHAMMAD AL-MAGHILI (Tlemcen, North Africa);” jewishhistory.org

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1493
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Jews expelled from Sicily
3. Geography of Act
Italy
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) Jews expelled from Sicily Around 1492-1493 Langham, Raphael: The Jews in Britain: A chronology

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1493
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Order issued by the Council of Donauwoerth
3. Geography of Act
Germany
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) “Orders applicable to Jews issued by the Council of Donauwoerth, which included restrictions in the trading of grain, prohibiting the setting up market stalls, prohibiting adult male Jews leaving the ‘Judengasse’ (Jews’ alley) on Sundays and on many church holy days, remaining on top of the town wall only when on guard duty, compulsory wearing of a skull cap and a coat to which a yellow ring was affixed, prohibiting gambling with Christians.” H. Peter Sinclair: “Chronology of the History of the Jews in Bavaria 906-1945.” Online article

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1494
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Expulsion of Jews”
3. Geography of Act
Tuscany
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) Jews are expelled from Tuscany. Armstrong, Karen: The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism (New York); p. 8

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1495
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Expulsion of Jews and Confiscation of Property”
3. Geography of Act
Lithuania
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) “Jews expelled and their property confiscated and distributed among local Christians.” [Jews were allowed to return 1501 and some of the properties were returned.]

Morgan, Howard: So Deeply Scarred: A History of “Christian” Antisemitism. (2017)

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1496
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Expulsion of Jews from Naples”
3. Geography of Act
Present-day Italy
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) “Jews were expelled from Naples.” Kingdom of Naples

“The Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal. King Manuel I and the End of Religious Tolerance (1496–7) [The Medieval Mediterranean. Peoples, Economies and Cultures, 400–1500. Volume 69];” history.ac.uk

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1497
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Secret Baptism of Jewish Children” issued by King Manuel of Portugal 3/19/1497
3. Geography of Act
Kingdom of Portugal
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) “King Manuel I, in an effort to prevent Jews from fleeing the persecutions, secretly ordered the baptism of all children between the ages of four and fourteen.” “1497 March 19, PASSOVER IN PORTUGAL;” jewishhistory.org

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1498
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Banning of Jews from Vienna”
3. Geography of Act
Present-day Austria
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources:

1) “Archbishop of Salzburg issues a ‘Judenverbot’ [ban on Jews].”
“Anti-Semitism in Austria – a historical overview;” anarchismus.at

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1500 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Toll/Custom (Zollordnung) Tariff of Fernstein near Tyrol, year 1500
3. Geography of Act
House of Habsburg [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“If a Jew comes/walks (‘fürget’)* or rides [across] and does not announce himself**, he forfeits his body and possessions, if he however announces himself, he is to pay as much as a swine/pig*** which is four (‘fierer’ [=1/5 Austro-Hungarian Krone]) and dice.”

5. Source
Rauscher, Peter: Den Christen gleich sein. Diskriminierung und Verdienstmöglichkeiten von Juden an österreichischen Mautstellen in der Frühen Neuzeit (16./17. Jahrhundert); (“Egal to Christians. Discrimination and Earning-Potential/Opportunity of Jews in Austrian Toll-Crossings”);
6. Researcher & Translator
Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research & Translation
2018
8. Notes
Researcher
*This word, which no longer exists in German, seems to have referred to the act of passing through on foot. **Meaning someone who sneaks through without paying the toll. ***It’s noteworthy that Jews are equated in this text to swine/pigs. The origins of giving dice when crossing a toll crossing is obscure.
1. Full Date of Act
1500
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Papal Bull” issued by Pope Alexander VI
3. Geography of Act
Papal States
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources:
1)
Demanded one-twentieth of Jewish property throughout the world for three years in order to finance the war against the Turks.
Jewish Encyclopedia: The Popes, jewishencyclopedia.com

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1502 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Medical Ordinance” (‘Medizinalverordnung’) issued in the Principality of Frankonia, year 1502
3. Geography of Act
Present-day Germany [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“[…] Jews are not permitted to be (hold a practice) as doctors. […]”

5. Source
Die Juden in Franken. Ein unpartheiischer Beitrag zur Sitten- und Rechtsgeschichte Frankens von Dr. Ludwig Heffner, praktischer Arzt zu Würzburg, Konservater des historischen Vereins daselbst. Mit 29 Urkunden-Beilagen (Nürnberg; 1855); (Jews in Frankonia. An Non-Partisan Contribution Regarding the Moral and Legal History of Franconia by Dr. med. Ludwig Heffner, practical physician to Würzburg, Conservator of the Historical Association there (of the same city). With 29 [Official] Documents Attached.); (Nuremberg; 1855);
6. Researcher & Translator
Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research & Translation
2018
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1503 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Employment of Christian Servants Prohibited to Jews
3. Geography of Act
Germany [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“It is not allowed for Jews to employ Christians in their houses on a permanent basis, as it has been banned by the popes. It is however allowed that Jews hire Christians as day laborers as long as they don’t spend the night in the house and take their meals separately.”

5. Source
Das Rechtsbuch Johannes Purgoldts, book VIII, article CIII. Ed. by Dr. Friedrich Ortloff, page 256. Accessed online
6. Translator
Franziska Wagener
7. Year of Translation
2016
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1505 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Synod” issued by Bishop Georg Schenk von Limpurg, 1506
3. Geography of Act
Present-day Germany; Prince-Bishop of Bamberg [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“[…] 44) Christians and Jews are not to have any fellowship with each other [… including in terms of eating and drinking], […] buying and selling or any other kind, since all of the above mentioned matters can lead to fraud and usury (‘cum verisimile sit, omnia hec supra dicta in fraudem fieri usurorum’) […]”

5. Source
Eckstein, Adolf (District Rabbi): Geschichte der Juden im ehemaligen Fürstbistum Bamberg, bearbeitet auf Grund von Archivalien, nebst urkundlichen Beilagen, (History of the Jews in the Former Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg, edited on the basis of archiving, together with documented supplements); (Bamberg; 1898);
6. Researcher & Translator
Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research & Translation
2018
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1509
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Burning of the Talmud” issued by Maximilian I
3. Geography of Act
Holy Roman Empire
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) A converted Jew Johannes Pfefferkorn receives the authority of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, to destroy the Talmud and other Jewish religious books in Frankfurt, except the Hebrew Bible. Avraham, Yerachmiel Ben: All in the Name of Jesus: The Murder of Millions (2016)

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1511
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Mandate” addressed to Duke Salm
3. Geography of Act
Vienna
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) “A mandate to Duke Salm is the first [document] to mention [the wearing of] a Jewish sign [in Vienna].” Braumüller, Wilhelm: Urkunden und Akten zur Geschichte der Juden in Wien. Erste Abteilung. Allgemeiner Teil 1526-1847. Erster Band. (Wien; 1918) p. 3

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1515
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Order” issued by Eldermen (“Schöffen”) of Prague
3. Geography of Act
Kingdom of Bohemia
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) “When the guilds of sword-makers complained to the city that individual Jews were engaging in sword making and were selling these along with other handmade items to Christians, the Eldermen (‘Schöffen’) of Prague ordered the Christian business-overseers to confiscate any new goods which they found on Jews.” [“Schöffe” were honorary laymen who could issue orders and impose punishments for crimes that were legally binding.] “Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Juden in der Cechoslovakischen Republik; VIII Issue; 1936; Herausgegeben von Prof. Dr. Samuel Steinherz;” (“Year-book of the Society for History of Jews in the Czech Republic; edicted by Prof. Dr. Samuel Steinherz”);(Frankfurt am Main; 2008)

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1515 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Jewish Edict” issued by the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg Georg Schenk of Limpurg
3. Geography of Act
Germany [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“… and we also command that Jews in general and in particular are not allowed to enter or to pass through our cities, markets and places, courts and territories, They may not have any community or trade with others. Be it to buy, to sell or to lend. They must be avoided altogether.”

5. Source
Contributions to the History of the Bamberger Civil and Criminal Law (Beiträge zur Quellengeschichte des Bamberger Civil- und Kriminalrechts) by Carl Gahn, Bamberg 1893, page 36. Translation by Franziska Wagener 4/25/2017
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1526 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Ordinance” issued by the Conrad III of Thuringia, year 1526
3. Geography of Act
Present-day Germany [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“[…] 43) We also want and order that the Jews are not exempt (not forbidden) from appearing in court and from swearing an oath on their Sabbath, and command for the benefit of the common good that they shall not practice usury or make loans on pledges in our city of Würzburg, in our principality, and domains, but [that they] make a living through their art and work accomplished by their hands, however, if anyone has the audacity to use usury or make loans on pledges, he shall give us each time one Mark silver or its equal value, and our bailiff or assistant bailiff (‘Schulthais oder Unterschulthais’) if such rumor or proper report [should surface] […] shall make inquiries and investigate it as it is customary.”

5. Source
Die Juden in Franken. Ein unpartheiischer Beitrag zur Sitten- und Rechtsgeschichte Frankens von Dr. Ludwig Heffner, praktischer Arzt zu Würzburg, Konservater des historischen Vereins daselbst. Mit 29 Urkunden-Beilagen (Nürnberg; 1855); (Jews in Frankonia. An Non-Partisan Contribution Regarding the Moral and Legal History of Franconia by Dr. med. Ludwig Heffner, practical physician to Würzburg, Conservator of the Historical Association there (of the same city). With 29 [Official] Documents Attached.); (Nuremberg; 1855);
6. Researcher & Translator
Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research & Translation
2018
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1528 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Jewish Ordinance” issued by Ferdinand I
3. Geography of Act
Present-day Austria [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“Ordinance as to how to henceforth deal with local and resident Jews who are the royal property (‘Kammergut’) […], as well as all foreign Jews who come to Vienna from other places; […] all foreign Jews, who stay in the city of Vienna or its suburbs for more than one night, are to immediately – or the latest in the morning of the next day – report to the authorities who are to issue them a permit (‘Aufenthaltsschein’); furthermore, all Jews are required to wear their badge uncovered and unconcealed on the front of their clothing […] und under no pretext – lest they wish to be punished severely – engage in the city of Vienna or its suburbs in any kind of trade, business or exchange, […] so that any complaints and burden which are the results of the[ir] trading, business and usury practices and similar secret dealings of the aforementioned Jews that befall the common man and the city of Vienna […] are prevented. […]”

5. Source
Engelman, Wilhelm: Das Judentum in Oesterrich und die böhmischen Unruhen (“The Jewry in Austria and the bohemian Unrest”); (Leipzig; 1845)9/21/2017
6. Researcher & Translator
Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research & Translation
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1529
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Expulsion of Jews”
3. Geography of Act
Habsburg Empire
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) “The Jews were also expelled from Pressburg, Oedenburg (Sopron), and Tyrnau.” “Middle Ages to the Ottoman Conquest;” porges.net

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None
1. Full Date of Act
1535 C.E.
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
“Toll/Customs Ordinance” (Zollordnung) of Kintzheim (‘Kungßheim’), year 1535*
3. Geography of Act
Present-day France [Provisional]
4. Text of Act

“16) Addendum. No toll/customs officer shall permit a Jew or Jewess to pass through without paying a toll [of 2 [Gulden]; [a] dead Jew, if he crosses pays 1 fl [Gulden].”

5. Source
Oberrheinische Stadtrechte. Dritte Abteilung: Elsässische Rechte. Veröffentlich von der Kommission zur Herausgabe Elsässischer Geschichtsquellen. Schlettstadter Stadtrechte bearbeitet von Joseph Gény. Zweite Hälfte. (“Upper Rhinian City Laws. Third Division. Alsatian laws. Published by the Commission for the Publication of Alsatian Historical Sources. City Laws of Sélestat edited by Joseph Gény. Second Half.”); (Heidelberg; 1902);
6. Researcher & Translator
Ziba Shadjaani
7. Year of Research & Translation
2018
8. Notes
Researcher
It appears that #16 was an addendum to the original text. The exact date for this ordinance has been lost. Experts place it around 1535.
1. Full Date of Act
1536
2. Name of Act (or Short Description)
Mandate issued by Prince Elector John Frederick I
3. Geography of Act
Germany
4. Text of Act

Commentary from other sources: 1) “Since 1432 Jews had been forbidden to take up permanent residence in Electoral Saxony. It is unclear why Elector John Frederick issued a mandate at the beginning of August 1536 that prohibited them from staying there, engaging in business, or passing through…He appears to have approved the mandate because of the Jews’ unwilling to repent and because of their usury.” Martin Brecht & James L. Schaaf: “Martin Luther: The Preservation of the Church, 1532-1546.” (1993) p. 336 2) “By 1537, [in 1536] a disappointed [Martin] Luther became convinced that most Jews had no intention of converting to Christianity. If conversion was not a possibility, Luther believed there was no reason to tolerate the Jews. He therefore persuaded one of his strongest supporters–the prince of Saxony–to expel Jews from his territory. They could no longer live in, engage in business in, or even pass through Saxony.” Phyllis Goldstein: “A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism.” p. 123

5. Source
None
6. Researcher
None
7. Year of Research
None
8. Notes
None