Decree of King Sigismund I the Old restricting the commercial rights of Lviv Jews

Sigismund, by the grace of God King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and also Lord and Heir of Ruthenia, Prussia, etc. We announce by the wording of this [document] to all whom it concerns. Since our Lviv burghers had previously complained to us about the Jews living there, that they, by conducting all kinds of trade in the said city of Lviv more freely than is fitting and proper, and also by roaming through other neighboring cities, towns, and villages, are intercepting their profits and benefits to the great loss and detriment of those [burghers], who claimed that their public and private estates have already greatly impoverished and are impoverishing day by day more because of such unbridled freedom of Jewish trade than for any other reason, we had appointed certain of our commissioners to investigate that complaint and matter. They, having reviewed the laws and documents of the said Jews and the authorization to freely trade in all kinds of things, goods, and manners, granted to them by us, without making any limitation or moderation in it, referred that matter to our consideration. Having postponed and suspended it until the current General Sejm, finally at this same Sejm, having maturely considered it together with our advisors, having heard the submissions and responses of the parties, and having reviewed their laws and documents – although we granted the mentioned Jews living in the city of Lviv the mentioned authorization to freely trade and deal everywhere, in any manners, things, and goods according to the pleasure of our will – yet, having a gracious and greater regard, as is fitting, for the commonalty of burghers and merchants of that city of Lviv, situated on the borders of our Kingdom, for whose repair, defense, and preservation they usually bear many burdens, and wishing to care for their benefits so that they might more easily bear those burdens and earn their living, we have deemed that the said authorization granted to the Jews should be limited and weakened or diminished in its power, as we do limit it and have deemed it appropriate to bring that authorization to such moderation and order, and we do bring, decide, and command: That Jews should not sell any goods in their homes, according to the old custom; as for cloth of any kind, which they should not sell in Lviv either by cutting into ells or even in whole pieces, but only at the fairs of other cities and towns, they may trade in such cloth in whole pieces and by cutting into fathoms or ells for cash or only for oxen, or for raw ox, cow, calf, and sheep hides and for wax; they shall not be able to trade freely in any other things. They should not buy or sell any other small goods and things besides those mentioned above. [In the left margin: That Jews should not run around the city arbitrarily] Also, Jews should not run around the alleys and streets, neither in the suburbs of the city of Lviv nor in other cities, towns, and villages, even on weekly market days, buying up any things, waxes, hides of any kind, but should be content and wait for the time of the fairs, buying oxen up to the number of two thousand specified to them in another of our letters, and also hides and wax only for cloth or cash. Cloth in whole [...] they may sell within the limits of Lviv only in the manner of other foreign merchants, according to the order long established and observed there. Also, they may sell hides, wax, and oxen both during fairs and outside of fairs, but they [may not] buy any trifles from those goods, nor outside of fairs. Also, the women and wives of Jews should not wander from door to door with baskets through the city, openly or secretly [offering] for sale linen, pepper, saffron, and other spices of any kind, ounces of gold thread, silk and silk fabrics, and common and any other [...] of such their goods. Which ordinance of ours concerning all and individual above-mentioned [matters] made by us, we want to extend also to the Jews living in the suburbs of the same city of Lviv and to any other foreign Jews, abolishing and revoking, just as we abolish and revoke the freedom of conducting trade granted by us to those Jews living in the Lviv suburbs, the power of which we do not want to last, and we equate those suburban Jews in the above-mentioned matters with other Jews living in the city of Lviv, and these [provisions] are to be in force according to the pleasure of our will. Therefore, to you, the magnificent Stanisław of Chodecz, Marshal of our Kingdom and Starosta of Lviv, and to any other current Starosta of Lviv, as well as to all other and individual Starostas of other places in the lands of Ruthenia and their deputy starostas, as well as to the mayors and councilors of the cities and towns of those lands, we strictly command and order that you strictly maintain this ordinance of ours, and that you punish the Jews themselves and their wives and women who violate this ordinance of ours and act against it, whether in the purchase or sale of things and goods not permitted to them, by seizing and arresting those things, securing and keeping them for our information, which you shall not fail to do for the sake of our grace. Done and given at the General Sejm in Piotrków, on the nearest Friday on the eve of Saint Thomas the Apostle, in the year of our Lord one thousand five hundred and twenty-one, the fifteenth of our reign. [Below the text on the left side:] Peter, Bishop of Przemyśl and Deputy Chancellor, signed. [Below the text on the right side:] From the report of the mentioned Lord Peter, Bishop of Przemyśl and Deputy Chancellor of the Kingdom of Poland. [On the reverse:] [In red ink, 18th century:] Second rubric / Letter B. Number 32. [Below:] 2. B. 32. [Old archival notes and signatures, among others:] Number 6 / to Bundle 257 / Number P. 6 / M. J. Ordinance with Jews regarding trade 1521 / [...]

Sigismundus Dei gratia Rex polonie Magnus Dux Lithuanie Russie Prussieq[ue] etc dominus et heres. Significamus tenore presentium quibus expedit vniversis. Quia cum iam pridem questi essent nobis Ciues nostri Leopoldien[ses] de Judeis illic commorantibus, q[uod] ipsi quaslibet negociaciones liberius q[ua]m par et equum esset multifarie in eadem Ciuitate Leopolien[si] exercendo, et etia[m] per alias ciuitates oppida et villas vicinas discurrendo, eorum lucra et commoditates preziperent, cum magna iactura et detrimento ipsorum affirmantium se magis propter tam effrenatam negociandi Judeorum licentiam q[uam] ob aliquam aliam causam in publicis et suis priuatis facultatibus plurimum iam decresisse, magisq[ue] indies decrecere, designaueramus nonnullos Commissarios nostros ad cognoscendum de huiusmodi querela et causa, qui conspectis Juribus et munimentis predictorum Judeorum et facultate omni genere rebus mercibus et modis negociationem libere exercendi per nos eis concessa, nullum prescriptum et moderationem in illa facientes, eandem causam ad nostram cognitionem remiserunt. Quam nos ad presentem generalem Conuentum dilatam et suspensam, tandem in eo ipso Conuentu vnacum nostris consiliarijs mature examinantes, auditis partium propositionibus et responsis, Juribusq[ue] et munimentis illarum reuissis, licet concesserimus predictam facultatem mercandi et negociandi libere et passim vbiq[ue] quibuscunq[ue] modis, rebus et mercibus Judeis ipsis Ciuitatem Leopoliensem incolentibus, ad nostre voluntatis beneplacitum tamen habentes benignam et maiorem rationem, sicuti decens est, communium ciuium et mercatorum eiusdem ciuitatis Leopolien[sis] in finibus Regni nostri situate, pro cuius reparatione, munitione et conseruatione, vsi multa onera sustinent, eorumq[ue] commoditatibus prospicere volentes, quo facilius et eadem onera sustineant, ac victum sibi querant, memoratam facultatem Judeis concessam limitandam, ac viribus suis debilitandam seu diminuendam esse censuimus, prout limitamus ac ad tale temperamentum et ordinationem eam ipsam facultate[m] seducendam esse duximus, reducimurq[ue]: statuimus et ordinamus Q[uo]d Judei nullas merces in domibus suis vendere debent, iuxta consuetudinem antiquam, pannos vero cuiuslibet maneriei, quos tamen neq[ue] vlnatim incidendo, nec etiam integre vendere debent in Ciuitate ipsa Leopolien[si], sed duntaxat in nundinis aliarum ciuitatum et oppidorum, tales pannos integre et brachijs seu vlnis incidendo vendere pro parata pecunia, aut pro bobus vel pro pellibus duntaxat, bouinis, vaccinis, vitulinis et mutoninis crudis, et pro cera possint, nullis vero alijs rebus, comercia facere libere poterint. Nullas m[i]n[or]es alias merces et res preter predictas emere et vendere debent. [Margines lewy: Ne Judei passim p[er] civitat[em] / discurrant] Item Judei non debent per vicos et plateas, neq[ue] in suburbijs Ciuitatis Leopolien[sis], neq[ue] aliarum Ciuitatum, oppidorum et villarum, etiam diebus forensibus septimanatibus discurrere, quasqunq[ue] res, ceras, pelles omnis generis coemendo, sed contenti esse debent et expectare tempora nundinarum coemendo boues ad numerum duorum millium illis alijs literis nostris preffinitum, necnon pelles et ceram duntaxat pro panno aut parata pecunia. Pannu[m] vero integris [...] intra Leopolien[sem] duntaxat vendere possunt, more aliarum hospitum mercatorum iuxta ordinationem illic diu factam et obseruatam. Item possunt etiam tempore nundinarum q[ua]m preter nundinas quibusl[ibe]t diebus pelles, ceram et boues vendere, se[d] me[rcibus] istorum nec m[in]ora neq[ue] preter nundinas emere. Item mulieres et coniuges Judeorum non debent ostiatim cum sportulis in Ciuitate vagari, palam aut clandestine telas, piper, Crocum, et alia cuiuslibet generis aromata, vncias auri filati, sericum et pannos sericeos et comunes et queuis alia ad vendendum p[roferendo?] [...] mercium eorum talium. Quam quidem ordinationem nostram super omnibus et singulis premissis per nos factam, etiam extendi volumus ad Judeos in suburbijs eiusdem ciuitatis Leopolien[sis] degentes et alios quoscunq[ue] externos Judeos, tollentes et reuocantes, prout tollimus et reuocamus libertatem ipsis Judeis in suburbijs Leopolien[sibus] degentibus ad negociationes per eos exercendas per nos illis concessam, quam viribus subsistere nolumus, eosdemq[ue] Judeos suburbanos alijs Judeis in ciuitate Leopolien[si] comorantibus in premissis coequamus, presentibus ad nostre voluntatis beneplacitum valituris. Quocirca tibi Magnifico Stanislao de Chodecz Regni nostri Marschalco et Leopolien[si] Capitaneo et cuicunq[ue] alteri capitaneo Leopolien[si] pro tempore existenti, ac omnibus alijs et singulis aliorum locorum in terris Russie Capitaneis et eorum vicecapitaneis ac proconsulibus et consulibus ciuitatum et oppidorum earundem terrarum districte committimus et mandamus vt huiusmodi ordinationem nostram firmiter manuteneatis, Judeosq[ue] ipsos ac eorum coniuges et mulieres, siue in emptione siue vendicione rerum et mercium illis non concessarum, eandem ordinationem nostram transgredientes et ei contrauenientes per receptionem et arrestationem earundem rerum puniatis, zelmendo ac conseruando illas ad informationem nostram, pro gratia nostra non aliter facturi. Act[um] et dat[um] in Conuentione generali piotrkowien[si] feria sexta proxima in vigilia sancti Thome Apostoli, Anno domini Millesimo quingentesimo vigesimo primo, Regni nostri quintodecimo. [Pod tekstem z lewej strony:] Petrus Ep[iscop]us Pr[zemisliensis] et / vicecancell[arius] s[ubscripsit] [Pod tekstem z prawej strony:] Ad relacionem prefati domini Petri Ep[iscop]i Premislien[sis] / et Regni polonie Vicecancellarij [Verso:] [Czerwonym atramentem, XVIII w.:] Rubrica Secunda / Litt. B. Nro 32. [Poniżej:] 2. B. 32. [Różne dawne noty i sygnatury archiwalne, m.in.:] Nro 6 / ad Fasc. 257 / Nro P. 6 / M. J. Ordinatio cum Judaeis pro Mercatura 1521 / [...]