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Privileges for Jews
Privileges were documents that until the late
eighteenth century defined Jews' legal status and
established norms in
all spheres of life and activities for Jews living in the
Polish lands.
The oldest privilege for Jews is the Kalisz privilege,
issued in
1264 by Boleslaw the Pious, prince of Wielkopolska. Later,
general
(Poland-wide) privileges were modeled on it, and for Jews
living in
specific lands. In the second half of the thirteenth
century, Silesian
princes issued several privileges for Jews, such as Bolko of
Swidnik
(1295) and Henryk of Glogow (1299). In 1287, the Jews of
Kalisz were
granted permission to establish a cemetery. The privileges
granted by
Kazimierz III the Great in 1334, 1364, and 1367 were
particularly
significant. (Some historians consider the last of these to
be a
forgery.) Later Polish kings confirmed these general
privileges for
Jews.
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From the mid-sixteenth century, however, the
privileges gradually lost their importance. In 1539,
Sigismund I (the
Old) granted property owners jurisdiction over the Jews
living on their
holdings, except in some matters-such as ritual murder
accusations. From
that time, Communities lying within private holdings strove
to secure
their own privileges. Very often, these documents were
copies of general
royal privileges, though in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries
those granted to specific Communities varied.
The increasing number of Community privileges meant that
Jewish
groups in royal cities also wanted confirmations of their
own rights.
These documents were issued by the king, or by proxy via the
starosta
[local administrator]. In the seventeenth century, each new
Jewish
Community would receive a separate privilege, which was then
inscribed
into the official records [ksiegi grodzkie]. The privileges
granted to
Jews, can be divided into two groups, depending on who
granted them: 1)
ksiazece ["princely"] and krolewskie ["royal"] - those
issued by rulers,
princes and later by kings, or by royal officials on their
behalf; 2)
private - for entire Communities or individuals. These were
granted by
the nobles beginning in 1539, and occasionally also by the
clergy who
owned estates where Jews were living.
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Some of the documents issued to Polish Jews
were papal bulls that were intended to prevent unfounded
ritual murder
accusations. The oldest of these was issued in 1540 by Pope
Paul III.
Privileges for Jews could also be categorized into three
groups.
General privileges were those affecting all Jews living in
the Kingdom
of Poland or in some of its lands, such as Wielkopolska or
Malopolska
(privileges issued by kings or princes). Community
privileges were
granted to specific Communities. These regulated the basic
principles of
a specific Community's existence, or regarded a specific
matter, such
as the foundation of a cemetery or exemption from fees
(granted by king
or a town's owner - the nobility or clergy). There were also
individual
privileges - for specific merchants and brokers (royal,
noble). Even the
greatest magnates did not issue general privileges for all
Jews living
on their lands-only for specific Communities.
Privileges for Jews issued by Polish rulers were later
annulled by the partitioning powers.
(H.W./CM)
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