Court Jew
Encyclopedia
Court Jew is a term, typically applied to the Early Modern period
, for historical Jewish bankers who handled the finances of, or lent money to, Europe
an royalty and nobility.
Examples of what would be later called court Jews emerged in the early medieval period, when the royalty, the nobility and the church borrowed money from Jewish bankers, or employed them as financiers. Jewish financiers could use their family connections, and connections between each other, to provision their sponsors with, among other things, finance, food, arms, ammunition, gold and precious metals. In return for their services, court Jews gained social privileges, including being granted noble status for themselves. Some nobles wanted to keep their bankers in their own courts. And because they were under noble protection, they were exempted from rabbi
nical jurisdiction.
By the high medieval period, the majority of the European Jewish community were engaged in financial occupations, and the community was a financially highly successful part of the medieval economy (Arkin, 1975; Ben-Sasson, 1976). Ben-Sasson (p. 401) writes: "Western Europe suffered virtual famine for many years in the tenth and eleventh centuries, there is no hint or echo of this in the Jewish sources of the region in this period. The city dweller lived at an aristocratic level, as befitted international merchants and honored local financiers." In the first half of the high medieval period, by most parameters, the standard of living of the Jewish community was at least equal to that of the lower nobility (Roth, 2002). However, despite this economic prosperity, the community was not safe. In the second half of the high medieval period, religious hostility increased to the extent that it manifested itself in the form of massacres and expulsions, culminating in the eventual expulsion of all Jews from most of Western Europe in the late medieval period.
From early medieval times, Jewish financiers could amass personal fortunes and gain political and social influence. Sometimes they were also prominent people in the local Jewish community and could use their influence to protect and influence their brethren. Sometimes they were the only Jews who could interact with the local high society and present petitions of the Jews to the ruler. However, the court Jew had social connections and influence in the Christian world mainly through the Christian nobility and church. Due to the precarious position of Jews, some nobles could ignore their debts. If the sponsoring noble died, his Jewish financier could face exile or execution. A famous example of this process occurred in the 1100s, after the death of Aaron of Lincoln
(1125–1186), who had been wealthiest man of 12th century Britain, his wealth exceeding even the King's. After his death, King Henry II
requisitioned Aaron's assets over a number of decades, setting up a court for the purpose known as "Aaron's Exchequer". According to the Gervase of Canterbury
, the 'Saladin tithe' of 1188 had estimated that the Jewish community of England, numbering significantly less than 1% of the population or less than 3000 people, owned some 30% of the country's wealth; however, within just over a century, the entire Jewish community had been massacred or expelled.
The court Jews, as the agents of the rulers, and in times of war as the purveyors and the treasurers of the state, enjoyed special privileges. They were under the jurisdiction of the court marshal, and were not compelled to wear the Jews' badge. They were permitted to stay wherever the emperor
held his court, and to live anywhere in the Holy Roman Empire
, even in places where no other Jews were allowed. Wherever they settled they could buy houses, slaughter meat according to the Jewish ritual, and maintain a rabbi
. They could sell their goods wholesale
and retail
, and could not be taxed or assessed higher than the Christian
s.
Their Sovereigns sometimes assigned them the role of local tax
collection from the above named classes of the ruler’s subjects. These roles built up a long (and some would say still) standing enmity between the Jewish (educated middle and upper) professional class, and the Christian lower middle, working, lower and agricultural classes. The resentments had far-reaching consequences in the history of European Jews.
When the ruler’s bad economic decisions or profligate personal household spending resulted in a decline in national income or a rise in interest rates, with the resultant failure in small share Christian businesses and farms, the Court Jews domestically and abroad were easy to be blamed by the sovereign and his lesser nobles.
From 19th century central and eastern European industrialization and into the European wars and economic depressions of the 20th century the working classes and lower middle classes, small share entrepreneurs, and small scale farmers would draw upon these historical stereotypes. These Christian classes would rally against “International Jewish Money-Capitalism” and because of these beliefs support anti-Jewish policies.
are mentioned the following: Solomon and Ber Mayer, who furnished for the wedding of the emperor and Eleonora of Mantua the cloth for four squadrons of cavalry; Joseph Pincherle of Görz; Moses and Joseph Marburger (Morpurgo) of Gradisca; Ventura Pariente of Trieste
; the physician Elijah Chalfon of Vienna
; Samuel zum Drachen, Samuel zum Straussen, and Samuel zum Weissen Drachen of Frankfort-on-the-Main; and Mordecai Meisel
, of Prague
. A specially favored court Jew was Jacob Bassevi
, the first Jew to be ennobled, with the title "von Treuenberg".
Important as court Jews were also Samuel Oppenheimer
, who went from Heidelberg
to Vienna
, and Samson Wertheimer
(Wertheimher) from Worms
. Oppenheimer, who was appointed chief court factor, together with his two sons Emanuel and Wolf, and Wertheimer
, who was at first associated with him, devoted their time and talents to the service of Austria and the House of Habsburg: during the Rhenish, French, Turkish, and Spanish wars they loaned millions of florins for provisions, munitions, etc. Wertheimer, who, by title at least, was also chief court factor to the elector
s of Mainz
, the Palatinate, and Treves
, received from the emperor a chain of honor with his miniature.
Samson Wertheimer was succeeded as court factor by his son Wolf. Contemporaneous with him was Leffmann Behrends
, or Liepmann Cohen, of Hanover
, court factor and agent of the elector Ernest Augustus
and of the duke Rudolf August of Brunswick. He also had relationships with several other rulers and high dignitaries. Behrends' two sons, Mordecai Gumpel and Isaac, received the same titles as he, chief court factors and agents. Isaac Cohen's father-in-law, Behrend Lehman, called also Bärmann Halberstadt, was a court factor of Saxony
, with the title of "Resident"; and his son Lehman Behrend was called to Dresden
as court factor by King Augustus the Strong. Moses Bonaventura of Prague was also court Jew of Saxony in 1679.
s of Ansbach
about the middle of the seventeenth century. Especially influential was Marx Model, who had the largest business in the whole principality and extensively supplied the court and the army. He fell into disgrace through the intrigues of the court Jew Elkan Fränkel, member of a family that had been driven from Vienna. Fränkel, a circumspect, energetic, and proud man, possessed the confidence of the margrave to such a degree that his advice was sought in the most important affairs of the state. Denounced by a certain Isaiah Fränkel, however, who desired to be baptized, an accusation was brought against Elkan Fränkel; and the latter was pilloried
, scourge
d, and sent to the Würzburg
for life imprisonment November 2, 1712. He died there 1720.
David Rost, Gabriel Fränkel, and, in 1730, Isaac Nathan (Ischerlein) were court Jews together with Elkan Fränkel; Ischerlein, through the intrigues of the Fränkels, suffered the same fate as Elkan Fränkel. Nevertheless, Nathan's son-in-law, Dessauer
, became court Jew. Other court Jews of the princes of Ansbach were Michael Simon and Löw Israel (1743), Meyer Berlin, and Amson Solomon Seligmann (1763).
, also kept a court Jew at Berlin, Israel Aaron (1670), who by his influence tried to prevent the influx of foreign Jews into the Prussian capital. Other court Jews of the elector were Gumpertz (died 1672), Berend Wulff (1675), and Solomon Fränkel (1678). More influential than any of these was Jost Liebmann. Through his marriage with the widow of the above-named Israel Aaron, he succeeded to the latter's position, and was highly esteemed by the elector. He had continual quarrels with the court Jew of the crown prince, Markus Magnus. After his death, his influential position fell to his widow, the well-known Liebmannin, who was so well received by Frederick III
(from 1701 King Frederick I of Prussia
) that she could go unannounced into his cabinet.
There were court Jews at all the petty German courts; e.g., Zacharias Seligmann (1694) in the service of the Prince of Hesse-Homburg
, and others in the service of the dukes of Mecklenburg
. Others mentioned toward the end of the seventeenth century are: Bendix and Ruben Goldschmidt of Homburg; Michael Hinrichsen of Glückstadt
, who soon associated himself with Moses Israel Fürst
, and whose son, Reuben Hinrichsen, in 1750 had a fixed salary as court agent. About this time the court agent Wolf lived at the court of Frederick III of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Disputes with the court Jews often led to protracted lawsuits.
The last actual court Jews were Israel Jacobson
, court agent of Brunswick
, and Wolf Breidenbach, factor to the Elector of Hesse, both of whom occupy honorable positions in the history of the Jews.
In fiction, Isaac the Jew in Walter Scott
's Ivanhoe
serves this purpose to Prince John and other nobles.
Early modern period
In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...
, for historical Jewish bankers who handled the finances of, or lent money to, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an royalty and nobility.
Examples of what would be later called court Jews emerged in the early medieval period, when the royalty, the nobility and the church borrowed money from Jewish bankers, or employed them as financiers. Jewish financiers could use their family connections, and connections between each other, to provision their sponsors with, among other things, finance, food, arms, ammunition, gold and precious metals. In return for their services, court Jews gained social privileges, including being granted noble status for themselves. Some nobles wanted to keep their bankers in their own courts. And because they were under noble protection, they were exempted from rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
nical jurisdiction.
By the high medieval period, the majority of the European Jewish community were engaged in financial occupations, and the community was a financially highly successful part of the medieval economy (Arkin, 1975; Ben-Sasson, 1976). Ben-Sasson (p. 401) writes: "Western Europe suffered virtual famine for many years in the tenth and eleventh centuries, there is no hint or echo of this in the Jewish sources of the region in this period. The city dweller lived at an aristocratic level, as befitted international merchants and honored local financiers." In the first half of the high medieval period, by most parameters, the standard of living of the Jewish community was at least equal to that of the lower nobility (Roth, 2002). However, despite this economic prosperity, the community was not safe. In the second half of the high medieval period, religious hostility increased to the extent that it manifested itself in the form of massacres and expulsions, culminating in the eventual expulsion of all Jews from most of Western Europe in the late medieval period.
From early medieval times, Jewish financiers could amass personal fortunes and gain political and social influence. Sometimes they were also prominent people in the local Jewish community and could use their influence to protect and influence their brethren. Sometimes they were the only Jews who could interact with the local high society and present petitions of the Jews to the ruler. However, the court Jew had social connections and influence in the Christian world mainly through the Christian nobility and church. Due to the precarious position of Jews, some nobles could ignore their debts. If the sponsoring noble died, his Jewish financier could face exile or execution. A famous example of this process occurred in the 1100s, after the death of Aaron of Lincoln
Aaron of Lincoln
Aaron of Lincoln was an English Jewish financier . He is believed to have been the wealthiest man in 12th century Britain; it is estimated that his wealth exceeded that of the King. He is first mentioned in the English pipe-roll of 1166 as creditor of King Henry II for sums amounting to £616 12s...
(1125–1186), who had been wealthiest man of 12th century Britain, his wealth exceeding even the King's. After his death, King Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
requisitioned Aaron's assets over a number of decades, setting up a court for the purpose known as "Aaron's Exchequer". According to the Gervase of Canterbury
Gervase of Canterbury
Gervase of Canterbury was an English chronicler.- Life :...
, the 'Saladin tithe' of 1188 had estimated that the Jewish community of England, numbering significantly less than 1% of the population or less than 3000 people, owned some 30% of the country's wealth; however, within just over a century, the entire Jewish community had been massacred or expelled.
Positions and duties in Early Modern and Modern Europe
Court Jews, called also court factors, and court or chamber agents, played a part at the courts of the Holy Roman emperors and the German princes in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and at the beginning of the nineteenth. Not always on account of their learning or their force of character did these Jews rise to positions close to the rulers: they were mostly wealthy businessmen, distinguished above their co-religionists by their commercial instincts and their adaptability. Court rulers looked upon them in a personal and, as a rule, selfish light; as being, on the one hand, their favorites, and, on the other, their whipping-boys. Court Jews frequently suffered through the denunciation of their envious rivals and co-religionists, and were often the objects of hatred of the people and the courtiers. They were of service to their fellow-Jews only during the periods, often short, of their influence with the rulers; and as they themselves often came to a tragic end, their co-religionists were in consequence of their fall all the more harassed.The court Jews, as the agents of the rulers, and in times of war as the purveyors and the treasurers of the state, enjoyed special privileges. They were under the jurisdiction of the court marshal, and were not compelled to wear the Jews' badge. They were permitted to stay wherever the emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
held his court, and to live anywhere in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, even in places where no other Jews were allowed. Wherever they settled they could buy houses, slaughter meat according to the Jewish ritual, and maintain a rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
. They could sell their goods wholesale
Wholesale
Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services...
and retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
, and could not be taxed or assessed higher than the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s.
Their Sovereigns sometimes assigned them the role of local tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
collection from the above named classes of the ruler’s subjects. These roles built up a long (and some would say still) standing enmity between the Jewish (educated middle and upper) professional class, and the Christian lower middle, working, lower and agricultural classes. The resentments had far-reaching consequences in the history of European Jews.
When the ruler’s bad economic decisions or profligate personal household spending resulted in a decline in national income or a rise in interest rates, with the resultant failure in small share Christian businesses and farms, the Court Jews domestically and abroad were easy to be blamed by the sovereign and his lesser nobles.
From 19th century central and eastern European industrialization and into the European wars and economic depressions of the 20th century the working classes and lower middle classes, small share entrepreneurs, and small scale farmers would draw upon these historical stereotypes. These Christian classes would rally against “International Jewish Money-Capitalism” and because of these beliefs support anti-Jewish policies.
At the Austrian court
The Holy Roman Emperors from the House of Habsburg kept a considerable number of court Jews. Among those of Emperor Ferdinand IIFerdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
are mentioned the following: Solomon and Ber Mayer, who furnished for the wedding of the emperor and Eleonora of Mantua the cloth for four squadrons of cavalry; Joseph Pincherle of Görz; Moses and Joseph Marburger (Morpurgo) of Gradisca; Ventura Pariente of Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
; the physician Elijah Chalfon of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
; Samuel zum Drachen, Samuel zum Straussen, and Samuel zum Weissen Drachen of Frankfort-on-the-Main; and Mordecai Meisel
Mordecai Meisel
Mordecai Marcus Meisel was a philanthropist and communal leader in Prague; he was son of Samuel Meisel....
, of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. A specially favored court Jew was Jacob Bassevi
Jacob Bassevi
Jacob Bassevi von Treuenberg was a Bohemian Court Jew and financier. He entered business early in life, ultimately became very wealthy, and stood in high favor with the emperors Rudolph II, Matthias, and Ferdinand II, to whom he, with other Jewish capitalists, frequently rendered financial...
, the first Jew to be ennobled, with the title "von Treuenberg".
Important as court Jews were also Samuel Oppenheimer
Samuel Oppenheimer
Samuel Oppenheimer was a Jewish banker, imperial court diplomat, factor, and military supplier for the Holy Roman Emperor. He enjoyed special favor of Emperor Leopold I, to whom he advanced considerable sums of money for the Great Turkish War...
, who went from Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and Samson Wertheimer
Samson Wertheimer
Samson Wertheimer was chief rabbi of Hungary and Moravia, and rabbi of Eisenstadt. He was also an Austrian financier, court Jew and Shtadlan to Austrian Emperor Leopold I.-Family:...
(Wertheimher) from Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
. Oppenheimer, who was appointed chief court factor, together with his two sons Emanuel and Wolf, and Wertheimer
Wertheimer
Wertheimer is an Ashkenazi Jewish surname:People with this surname include:* Alain & Gerard Wertheimer, French Jewish billionaires owners of Chanel...
, who was at first associated with him, devoted their time and talents to the service of Austria and the House of Habsburg: during the Rhenish, French, Turkish, and Spanish wars they loaned millions of florins for provisions, munitions, etc. Wertheimer, who, by title at least, was also chief court factor to the elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
s of Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, the Palatinate, and Treves
Trèves
-France:Trèves is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Trèves, in the Rhône department* Trèves, in the Gard department* Trèves, former commune of the Maine-et-Loire department, now part of Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault...
, received from the emperor a chain of honor with his miniature.
Samson Wertheimer was succeeded as court factor by his son Wolf. Contemporaneous with him was Leffmann Behrends
Leffmann Behrends
Leffmann Behrends was the German financial agent of the dukes and princes of Hanover....
, or Liepmann Cohen, of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, court factor and agent of the elector Ernest Augustus
Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Ernest Augustus was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruled over the Principality of Calenberg subdivision of the duchy. He was appointed prince-elector, but died before the appointment became effective...
and of the duke Rudolf August of Brunswick. He also had relationships with several other rulers and high dignitaries. Behrends' two sons, Mordecai Gumpel and Isaac, received the same titles as he, chief court factors and agents. Isaac Cohen's father-in-law, Behrend Lehman, called also Bärmann Halberstadt, was a court factor of Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, with the title of "Resident"; and his son Lehman Behrend was called to Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
as court factor by King Augustus the Strong. Moses Bonaventura of Prague was also court Jew of Saxony in 1679.
Intrigues of court Jews
The Models were court Jews of the margraveMargrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
s of Ansbach
Ansbach
Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...
about the middle of the seventeenth century. Especially influential was Marx Model, who had the largest business in the whole principality and extensively supplied the court and the army. He fell into disgrace through the intrigues of the court Jew Elkan Fränkel, member of a family that had been driven from Vienna. Fränkel, a circumspect, energetic, and proud man, possessed the confidence of the margrave to such a degree that his advice was sought in the most important affairs of the state. Denounced by a certain Isaiah Fränkel, however, who desired to be baptized, an accusation was brought against Elkan Fränkel; and the latter was pilloried
Pillory
The pillory was a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse, sometimes lethal...
, scourge
Scourge
A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong type used to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification on the back.-Description:...
d, and sent to the Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
for life imprisonment November 2, 1712. He died there 1720.
David Rost, Gabriel Fränkel, and, in 1730, Isaac Nathan (Ischerlein) were court Jews together with Elkan Fränkel; Ischerlein, through the intrigues of the Fränkels, suffered the same fate as Elkan Fränkel. Nevertheless, Nathan's son-in-law, Dessauer
Dessauer
Dessauer is a German surname meaning "from Dessau" and may refer to:* Alois Dessauer, , German banker, manufacturer* Friedrich Dessauer , biophysician, philosopher...
, became court Jew. Other court Jews of the princes of Ansbach were Michael Simon and Löw Israel (1743), Meyer Berlin, and Amson Solomon Seligmann (1763).
The Great Elector
The Great Elector, Frederick WilliamFrederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
|align=right|Frederick William was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia – and thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia – from 1640 until his death. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as the "Great Elector" because of his military and political prowess...
, also kept a court Jew at Berlin, Israel Aaron (1670), who by his influence tried to prevent the influx of foreign Jews into the Prussian capital. Other court Jews of the elector were Gumpertz (died 1672), Berend Wulff (1675), and Solomon Fränkel (1678). More influential than any of these was Jost Liebmann. Through his marriage with the widow of the above-named Israel Aaron, he succeeded to the latter's position, and was highly esteemed by the elector. He had continual quarrels with the court Jew of the crown prince, Markus Magnus. After his death, his influential position fell to his widow, the well-known Liebmannin, who was so well received by Frederick III
Frederick I of Prussia
Frederick I , of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia in personal union . The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming the first King in Prussia . From 1707 he was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
(from 1701 King Frederick I of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
) that she could go unannounced into his cabinet.
There were court Jews at all the petty German courts; e.g., Zacharias Seligmann (1694) in the service of the Prince of Hesse-Homburg
Hesse-Homburg
Hesse-Homburg was formed into a separate landgraviate in 1622 by the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt to be ruled by his son, although it did not become independent of Hesse-Darmstadt until 1668....
, and others in the service of the dukes of Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
. Others mentioned toward the end of the seventeenth century are: Bendix and Ruben Goldschmidt of Homburg; Michael Hinrichsen of Glückstadt
Glückstadt
Glückstadt is a town in the Steinburg district of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the Lower Elbe at the confluence of the small Rhin river, about northwest of Altona...
, who soon associated himself with Moses Israel Fürst
Moses Israel Fürst
Moses Israel Fürst was a merchant and financier of Hamburg, Germany. He was also active as a Court Jew, a term describing the role of historical Jewish bankers or businessmen who lent money and managed finances of some of the European noble houses...
, and whose son, Reuben Hinrichsen, in 1750 had a fixed salary as court agent. About this time the court agent Wolf lived at the court of Frederick III of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Disputes with the court Jews often led to protracted lawsuits.
The last actual court Jews were Israel Jacobson
Israel Jacobson
Israel Jacobson was a German philanthropist and, according to Borowitz and Patz in Explaining Reform Judaism , is considered the "father" of the Reform movement in Judaism.-Origins:...
, court agent of Brunswick
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
, and Wolf Breidenbach, factor to the Elector of Hesse, both of whom occupy honorable positions in the history of the Jews.
Examples of court Jews
- Don Isaac AbrabanelIsaac AbrabanelIsaac ben Judah Abrabanel, , commonly referred to just as Abarbanel, was a Portuguese Jewish statesman, philosopher, Bible commentator, and financier.-Biography:...
(1437–1508), financier for Portuguese and Spanish courts - Abraham ZacutoAbraham ZacutoAbraham Zacuto was a Sephardi Jewish astronomer, astrologer, mathematician and historian who served as Royal Astronomer in the 15th century to King John II of Portugal. The crater Zagut on the Moon is named after him....
(c. 1450 – c. 1510) - Aron Beer of FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
- Aaron of LincolnAaron of LincolnAaron of Lincoln was an English Jewish financier . He is believed to have been the wealthiest man in 12th century Britain; it is estimated that his wealth exceeded that of the King. He is first mentioned in the English pipe-roll of 1166 as creditor of King Henry II for sums amounting to £616 12s...
(1125–1186), believed to be the wealthiest man of 12th century England, banker to Henry II of EnglandHenry II of EnglandHenry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the... - Sir Edward Brampton (c. 1440–1508), a godson of King Edward IV, he was made the Governor of GuernseyGuernseyGuernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
- Baron Peter ShafirovPeter ShafirovBaron Peter Pavlovich Shafirov , Russian statesman, one of the ablest coadjutors of Peter the Great.Shafirov was born into the family if Pavel Shafirov, a translator in the Russian Foreign Office, of Polish Jewish extraction...
(1670–1739), vice-chancellor of Russia, under Peter the Great - Moises Isaac of BambergBambergBamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
- Josce of Gloucester, the Jewish financier who funded Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of PembrokeRichard de Clare, 2nd Earl of PembrokeRichard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke , Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland . Like his father, he was also commonly known as Strongbow...
's conquest of Ireland in the 11th century. - Josel of RosheimJosel of RosheimJosel of Rosheim Josel of Rosheim Josel of Rosheim (alternatively: Joselin, Joselmann, Yoselmann, , Joseph ben Gershon mi-Rosheim, or Joseph ben Gershon Loanz; c...
; de (1476–1554) - Mordecai MeiselMordecai MeiselMordecai Marcus Meisel was a philanthropist and communal leader in Prague; he was son of Samuel Meisel....
(Miška Marek Meisel) (1528–1601) - Jacob BasseviJacob BasseviJacob Bassevi von Treuenberg was a Bohemian Court Jew and financier. He entered business early in life, ultimately became very wealthy, and stood in high favor with the emperors Rudolph II, Matthias, and Ferdinand II, to whom he, with other Jewish capitalists, frequently rendered financial...
von Treuenberg (a noble) (1580–1634) - Chajim FürstChajim FürstChajim Fürst, aka Heinrich Chajim Fürst was a merchant and court agent as well as an elder of the Jewish community of Hamburg. According to contemporary sources, Heinrich Chajim Fürst was also the richest Jew in Hamburg at the time....
, (1592–1653), court agent in Hamburg, elder of the Jewish community in HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, richest Jew in Hamburg. - Daniel ItzigDaniel ItzigDaniel Itzig was a Court Jew of Kings Frederick II the Great and Frederick William II of Prussia....
(1723–1799), a court Jew of Frederick II the GreatFrederick II of PrussiaFrederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
and Frederick William II of PrussiaFrederick William II of PrussiaFrederick William II was the King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel.-Early life:...
. - Bernhard von EskelesBernhard von EskelesBernhard, Knight and Baron von Eskeles was an Austrian-Jewish banker/financier and Court Jew....
(1753–1839), a court Jew of Joseph IIJoseph II, Holy Roman EmperorJoseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
and Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire and I of AustriaFrancis II, Holy Roman EmperorFrancis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz... - Moses and Rachel Fishel of KrakowKrakówKraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, court Jews during the reign of John I Albert of PolandJohn I Albert of PolandJohn I Albert was King of Poland and Duke of Głogów .-Life:John was the third son of Casimir IV Jagiellon, King of Poland, and Elisabeth of Austria, daughter of Albert II of Germany. As crown prince, he distinguished himself by his brilliant victory over the Tatars at Kopersztyn...
; Rachel was lady-in-waiting of the Queen Mother Elizabeth - Moses Israel FürstMoses Israel FürstMoses Israel Fürst was a merchant and financier of Hamburg, Germany. He was also active as a Court Jew, a term describing the role of historical Jewish bankers or businessmen who lent money and managed finances of some of the European noble houses...
, (1617–1692), court agent in Hamburg and Mecklenburg-SchwerinMecklenburg-SchwerinMecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1348, when Albert II of Mecklenburg and his younger brother John were raised to Dukes of Mecklenburg by King Charles IV... - Leffmann BehrendsLeffmann BehrendsLeffmann Behrends was the German financial agent of the dukes and princes of Hanover....
(Liepmann Cohen) of Hanover (c. 1630–1714) - Samuel OppenheimerSamuel OppenheimerSamuel Oppenheimer was a Jewish banker, imperial court diplomat, factor, and military supplier for the Holy Roman Emperor. He enjoyed special favor of Emperor Leopold I, to whom he advanced considerable sums of money for the Great Turkish War...
(1635–1703), military supplier for the Holy Roman EmperorHoly Roman EmperorThe Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
. - Samson WertheimerSamson WertheimerSamson Wertheimer was chief rabbi of Hungary and Moravia, and rabbi of Eisenstadt. He was also an Austrian financier, court Jew and Shtadlan to Austrian Emperor Leopold I.-Family:...
(1658–1724), Austrian financier, chief rabbiChief RabbiChief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
of HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and MoraviaMoraviaMoravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, and rabbiRabbiIn Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
of EisenstadtEisenstadt- Politics :The current mayor of Eisenstadt is Andrea Fraunschiel ÖVP.The district council is composed as follows :* ÖVP: 17 seats* SPÖ: 8 seats* Austrian Green Party: 2 seats* FPÖ: 2 seats- Castles and palaces :... - Issachar Berend LehmannIssachar Berend LehmannIssachar Berend Lehmann, Berend Lehmann, Yissakhar Bermann Segal, Yissakhar ben Yehuda haLevi, Berman Halberstadt * Essen Apr...
; de (1661–1730) - Joseph Suss Oppenheimer (1698–1738), financier for Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg
- Loew Sinzheim a.k.a. Löb Sinzheim (? – 1744?), court purveyor of MainzMainzMainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
- Raphael KaullaRaphael KaullaJacob Raphael Kaulla was a German court banker; born at Buchau on the Feder-See about the middle of the eighteenth century....
and "Madame Kaulla" - Joachim Edler von PopperJoachim Edler von PopperJoachim Edler von Popper was Court Jew to the Habsburgs.He was born Chajim Popper in Březnice , Bohemia . He was the son of Wolf Popper, Primator of the Jews of Bohemia.Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor had a monopoly on tobacco in the Austro-Hungarian Empire...
(1720–1795), court agent and lessee of the tobacco monopoly from the Habsburgs. Second Austrian Jew to be ennobled without needing to be converted (1790). - Israel Edler von Hönigsberg, (1724–1789), court agent and lessee of the tobacco monopoly from the Habsburgs. "Bankaldirektor" for Joseph IIJoseph II, Holy Roman EmperorJoseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
. First Austrian Jew to be ennobled without converting to Christianity (1789). - Israel JacobsonIsrael JacobsonIsrael Jacobson was a German philanthropist and, according to Borowitz and Patz in Explaining Reform Judaism , is considered the "father" of the Reform movement in Judaism.-Origins:...
(1768–1828), philanthropist and reformer, court agent of BrunswickBraunschweigBraunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
. - Wolf Breidenbach (1751–1829), factor to the Elector of Hesse, father of Moritz Wilhelm August BreidenbachMoritz Wilhelm August Breidenbach- Life :Breidenbach was born at Offenbach as a son of Wolf Breidenbach. After his secondary education at a gymnasium at Frankfurt, he studied law at the University of Heidelberg, from which he was graduated in 1817 as a Doctor of Law....
In fiction, Isaac the Jew in Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
's Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe is a historical fiction novel by Sir Walter Scott in 1819, and set in 12th-century England. Ivanhoe is sometimes credited for increasing interest in Romanticism and Medievalism; John Henry Newman claimed Scott "had first turned men's minds in the direction of the middle ages," while...
serves this purpose to Prince John and other nobles.
See also
- JudenhutJudenhutThe Jewish hat also known as the Jewish cap, Judenhut or Latin pilleus cornutus , was a cone-shaped pointed hat, often white or yellow, worn by Jews in Medieval Europe and some of the Islamic world...
- Jud SüßJoseph Süß OppenheimerJoseph Süß Oppenheimer was a Jewish banker and financial planner for Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg in Stuttgart...
- List of European Jewish nobility
- More Judaico
- SchutzjudeSchutzjudeSchutzjude was a status for German Jews granted by the imperial, princely or royal courts.Within the Holy Roman Empire, except of some eastern territories gained to the Empire in the 11th and 12th c. , Jews usually had the status as Servi camerae regis...
- Useful JewUseful JewThe term useful Jew was used in various historical contexts, typically describing a Jewish person useful in implementing an official authorities' policy, sometimes by oppressing other Jews....