<roleName>King</roleName> <persName ref="http://d-nb.info/gnd/118676059">Christian <genName>IV</genName> <roleName>of <placeName ref="http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/1000066">Denmark</placeName>, etc.</roleName></persName>, in his capacity as <roleName>Duke of <placeName ref="http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7003694">Schleswig</placeName>, <placeName ref="http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7003679">Holstein</placeName>, <placeName ref="http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/1112161">Stormarn</placeName>, and <placeName ref="http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/1111963">Dithmarschen</placeName></roleName>, grants the <ref type="editorialNote" target="#Ashkenaz">Ashkenazi Jews</ref> in <placeName ref="http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/7012310">Altona</placeName> a Letter of Protection and confirms the privileges individually listed [“General Privilege”] Ellen Yutzy Glebe Institute for the History of the German Jewsredaktion@juedische-geschichte-online.net
Beim Schlump 83, 20144 Hamburg

after: Günter Marwedel (Hg.), Die Privilegien der Juden in Altona (Hamburger Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Juden), Hamburg 1976, S. 134-139. With the kind permission of the Institute for the History of the German Jews.

jgo:source-2 Generalprivileg Christians IV. für die hochdeutschen Juden in Altona, 1863jgo:article-3Christian IVAltonaAugust 1641IGdJIGdJ, GL Ham Marw.IGdJhttp://www.igdj-hh.de/files/IGDJ/pdf/hamburger-beitraege/guenter-marwedel_privilegien-der-juden-in-altona.pdf EnglishSource:Textdeu

August 1, 1641

(August 11 n. St.)

General Privilege Christian IV. for the High German Jews in Altona.

We, Christian the Fourth

hereby declare for everyone: Because the protectedSchutzverwandt, translated here as “protected,” means they were granted certain limited rights but not citizenship. Jews in Altenahe Altona most humbly requested the confirmation of those privileges and securities which they enjoyed under the former ruler of this town, we mercifully grant their request under these conditions, namely: that they pay protection money of five reichstal[l]Inserted by the editor Günter Marwedel [G.M.]er per year per family, and that the same shall apply to those who live in Hamburg. In exchange they should be permitted to settle wherever they choose. We afford them our royal protection and patronage, in addition to safe conduct for them and their women and children, servants , and all others belonging to their party. And we confirm preexisting privileges which are approximately described in the following :

1. They are allowed to maintain a synagogue and to hold worship services there in accordance with Jewish ritual . Also, they may maintain a cemetery where they bury their dead according to Jewish tradition.

2. Their synagogue, including the rabbi, cantor , and beadle should be freed from all duties and tithes.

3. Their children, as long as they remain in sacris pater-nis should enjoy this protection and liberty. When, however, they leave the families of their parents, they are required to pay their own protection money.

4. They are permitted to exercise all manner of honest buying and selling, and are allowed to butcher according to their tradition.

5. For the sake of Jewish usury they are permitted one pfenning per mark , whereby they are required to note the year and day of the deposit for the depositor [?][G.M.] ; after the lapse of one year, however, if the interest has not been paid off, they are to report to the Vogt [bailiff]zu Ottensen the datewhen the deposit was made and to inform the depositors , if they are nearby, of their chance to redeem the loan. If this does not occur within six weeks, they are permitted to sell the pawned object and they no longer are responsible to the depositor for the object.

6. If they should buy or lend money against property that has been lent to the depositor and this is contested within six weeks , they should return the property to the original owner as long as the pretii, or money,is returned, without interest.

7. The same should hold if they should unknowingly purchase or lend against stolen property, the pretium or money paid should be returned. However, if they did so in full knowledge or with malice , then they should return the purchased or deposited property without recompense (and furthermore be subject to a punishment imposed by us as the high authority).

8. They should be allowed to mediate and resolve minor disagreements and infractions among themselves in their synagogue without the intervention of the Vogt.

And if 9. one of them , does something punishable, this individual alone should be disciplined, but the others who have paid for protection, if they were not involved , should not be punished.

Whereas, 10., they should for their own sake be law-abiding, amicable, and peaceable , both in their dealings with each other as wellas with others and, most especially towards us, [be] most subservient,acting to our advantage and promoting our gains, while avoiding all possible damages and harm. And then to pay and surrender their annual protection money, each for himself at the appointed time, at Easter.

And finally,11., they are to allow no foreign Jew who is not one of those who pay for protection to live among them for more than fourteen days without the knowledge of our officials, or face the preordained punishment, and even less is it allowed that such foreigners be permitted to reside here or to conduct trade or other dealings.

Confirmed under Your Royal Majesty’s hand sign and seal. Con-ferred at our residence at Glücksburg on August 1, 1641.