Jews’ Privilege of Stühlingen, 16151

1. Maximilian Hereditary Marshall at Pappenheim, Count at Stühlingen, hereby permits Phalen, Meierle, Lema, Sandelen, Jackle, Hirtzle, Costen, and Jerkuffen to reside under protection and with obligations, together with their present and future wives, children, farmhands, servants, and other members of the household in the town and village of Stühlingen, in the six houses they already own from this date for the next fourteen years. They shall be treated like his other citizens, subjects, and serfs, but be freed of forced labour, guard duty, and other civic responsibilities and burdens.
2. They are allowed all the privileges granted to them and other Jews by kings and emperors, or such privileges that are yet to be granted, as long as these privileges do not infringe established privileges, statutes, rights, and customs of town and county Stühlingen.
3. They are permitted to trade a variety of wares with inhabitants and strangers, except to sell salt or iron, or to run their own stores.
4. Under the watchful eye of the authorities, they are permitted to lend money to locals without Jewish usury and with or without usury to foreigners.
5. Any conflicts between them or with [other] Stühlingen subjects shall be settled in a Stühlingen court, and not in rabbinical or other external courts. Judges, magistrates, and other officials shall provide equal justice to Jews and subjects alike. However, the Jews shall bear the full court cost and legal fees. 
6. When conflicts arise because of stolen or pawned property, the Jews shall report this to the count. They shall restore extant property to the original owner free of charge or the equivalent of the moneys loaned.
7. However, Jews are not required to return objects legitimately and transparently pledged as security for a loan, except in exchange for the originally loaned amount plus interest, according to Jewish custom.
8. Jews are permitted to live according to their laws and customs [except for access to rabbinical courts], and are entitled to perform ritual slaughter, sell ritually slaughtered meat, and hold traditional funerals [implies an already existing Jewish cemetery]. 
9. They are permitted to celebrate their holidays and erect arbours [sukkoth] for themselves and with visiting Jews according to their customs; but they are not allowed to excessively shelter foreign Jews and Jewesses.
10. The Jews are permitted to have their married children live in their households or establish their own households in Stühlingen with explicit permission of the count. But without the count’s permission, they are not allowed to purchase additional houses in the town or the lands of Stühlingen.
11. Like the other subjects and serfs of the count, they are permitted to visit and trade in the public market hall. 
12. If the Jews bring a case before the imperial or other higher courts of appeal, then, upon request, the count will assist them like his other subjects with documents and other appropriate means at cost. 
13. The count will not allow additional Jews to set up households in the county.  
14. All Jews and their households are required to behave decently and not to cause any disturbance on their Sabbath.  
15. No Jew shall be permitted to collect debts from the count’s subjects on Sundays. 
16. They shall keep the lanes and houses clean and dispose of their waste. 
17. Their wives and servants are not permitted to wash their implements, meat, and clothing at public fountains. 
18. They shall not purchase defective cattle and lame horses, or let them graze on the common pasture at risk of severe punishment.2 
19. Neither Jews nor other subjects of the count shall prevent each other from either buying or selling. 
20. But town and village Stühlingen shall permit each house owner to let four heads of cattle graze.  
21. In return for these privileges, each of the six houses shall every Easter submit to the tax collector 10 fl. and an additional 7 fl. for imperial taxes and duties, and another 3 fl. for feed and rental of a horse. 
22. Any Jew who intends to move away from Stühlingen within these fourteen years shall pay only the tax due for the actual time spent here. 
23. However, Lema, Sandel, Jeckle, and Cost are relieved from having to pay protection tax for 1616. 


1FFA, Judenakte, Politica, Amt Stühlingen, giv. I, subdiv. 1, Die Annahme der Juden 1615–1784.

2It would be more logical if Jews were forbidden to sell defective horses; “purchase” might be an error in the original text.

Page 40

Source: https://www.stuehlingen.online/Book/?page_id=1311