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History of the Jews in Russia and Poland, Volume I (of 3)

Chapter 3 The Charter of Prince Boleslav and the Canons of the Church

Word Count: 1805    |    Released on: 06/12/2017

re of cultivating industrial activities in their dominions, these princes gladly welcomed settlers from Germany, without making a distinction between Jews and Christians.

state," acting as the pioneers of trade and finance. They put their capital in circulation, by launching industrial undertakings, by leasing estates, and farming various articles of revenue (salt mines, customs

During the same period the Polish princes, in particular Boleslav the Shy (1247-1279), endeavored to draw German emigrants into Poland, by bestowing upon them considerable privileges and the right of self-government, the so-called "Magdeburg Law," or ius teutonicum.[24] The Germans, while settling in the Polish cities as merchants and tradesmen,[25] and thus becoming the competitors of the

state, he promulgated a statute defining the rights of the Jews within his dominions. This charter of privileges, closely resembling in its contents the statutes of Frederic

of this, we, Boleslav, Prince of Great Poland, make it known to our contemporaries as well as to our descendants, to whom this writing shall come down

y pawnbroking; the rules prescribed there protect equally the interests of the Jewish creditor and the Christian debtor. Lawsuits between Jew and Jew do not fall within the jurisdiction of the general municipal courts, but are tried either by the prince himself or by his lord lieutenant, the voyevoda[26], or the special judge appointed

ting from them higher customs duties than from Christians, demolishing Jewish cemeteries, and attacking synagogues or "schools" (§§12-15). In case of a nocturnal assaul

rely punished (§27). The charter further prohibits charging the Jews with the use of Christian blood for ritual purposes, in view of the fact that the groundlessness of such charges had been demonstrated by papal bulls. Should nevertheless such charges be raised, they must be corrob

while enjoying liberty of conscience and living in harmony with the non-Jewish population. Boleslav's enactment expresses, not the individual will of the ruler, bu

ned all their energies to detach the Jews from the general life of the country. They segregated them from the Christian population because of their alleged injuriousness to the Catholic faith, and reduced them to the position of a despised caste. The well-known Church Council of Breslau, convened in 1266 by the Pap

d evil habits of the Jews living among them, the more so as the Christian religion took root in the hearts of the faithful of these countries at a later date and in a more feeble manner. For this reason we most strictly enjoin that the Jews residing in the diocese of Gnesen shall not li

n quarter shall be compelled to sell t

ey shall possess no more than one synagogue; that, "in order to be marked off from the Christians," they shall wear a peculiarly shaped hat, with a horn-like shield

nk with them, or dance and make merry with them at weddings and other celebrations. The Christians are barr

t-nurses, and barring them from collecting customs duties and exercising any other public function. A Jew living unlawfully with a Christ

be obliged to wear a ring of red cloth sewed on to their upper garment, on the left side of the chest. The Jew appearing on the street without this sign shall be accounted a vagrant, and no Christian shall have the right to do business with him. A similar sign, only of saffron

e Jews from civil life. As long as patriarchal conditions of life prevailed, and Catholicism in Poland had not yet assumed complete control over the country, the policy of the Church was powerless to inflict serious damage upon the Jews. They lived in safety, under the protection of the Polish princes, and, except for the German immigrants, man

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1 Chapter 1 The Kingdom of the Khazars2 Chapter 2 The Jews in the Early Russian Principalities and in the Tataric Khanate of the Crimea[15]3 Chapter 3 The Charter of Prince Boleslav and the Canons of the Church4 Chapter 4 and His Sons5 Chapter 5 No.56 Chapter 6 Liberalism and Reaction in the Reigns of Sigismund Augustus and Stephen Batory7 Chapter 7 and Vladislav IV.8 Chapter 8 Kahal Autonomy and the Jewish Diets9 Chapter 9 The Instruction of the Young10 Chapter 10 Water Mark of Rabbinic Learning11 Chapter 11 Economic and National Antagonism in the Ukraina12 Chapter 12 164913 Chapter 13 1658)14 Chapter 14 1697)15 Chapter 15 Social and Political Dissolution16 Chapter 16 A Frenzy of Blood Accusations17 Chapter 17 Government18 Chapter 18 Rabbinical and Mystical Literature19 Chapter 19 The Sabbatian Movement20 Chapter 20 The Frankist Sect21 Chapter 21 Shem-Tob22 Chapter 22 The Hasidic Propaganda and the Growth of Tzaddikism23 Chapter 23 Jewish Attitude of Muscovy during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries24 Chapter 24 and His Successors25 Chapter 25 The Jews of Poland after the First Partition26 Chapter 26 1791)27 Chapter 27 The Last Two Partitions and Berek Yoselovich28 Chapter 28 (1772-1796)29 Chapter 29 No.2930 Chapter 30 31 Chapter 31 The Jewish Constitution of 180432 Chapter 32 The Projected Expulsion from the Villages33 Chapter 33 The Patriotic Attitude of Russian Jewry during the War of 181234 Chapter 34 Kahal Autonomy and City Government35 Chapter 35 The Hasidic Schism and the Intervention of the Government36 Chapter 36 The Deputation of the Jewish People 37 Chapter 37 Christianizing Endeavors38 Chapter 38 Judaizing Sects in Russia39 Chapter 39 Jewish Legislation40 Chapter 40 The Russian Revolutionaries and the Jews