Documents on Jewish History in Southern and Western Austria

A remarkably high number of medieval sources on the history of Jews has survived for the territory of today`s Austria. Therefore, the Institute for the History of Jews in Austria has engaged in preparatory work to publish this source material. In the course of the FWF projects P 15638-G08 and P 18453-G08, the sources on the history of Jews from today`s Republic of Austria were processed until the year 1365. In the course of the project "Documents on Jewish History in Southern and Western Austria", this work will be continued for today`s federal provinces of Styria (including the region of former Lower Styria), Carinthia, Tyrol, Salzburg, and Vorarlberg for the time period from 1366 until 1386. Charters as well as historiographical and literary sources containing references to Jews are being collected and processed according to scientific criteria. This material includes a number of texts which have not been published at all or treated with regard to the Jewish aspect yet. Research will be conducted in archives both in Austria and abroad; besides, material contained in earlier publications will be collected as well. The publication consists of a chronological series of document summaries. Additionally, an extensive index as well as detailed commentaries that will be added to each document will make the source texts accessible to the reader. The history of the Jews in Southern and Western Austria has for the most part not been researched in detail so far for the time period covered by the project. It is however of crucial importance to any comprehensive study of this period that it be based on the entirety of the source material, most notably on the hitherto unpublished, extensive body of business charters. The sources collected and processed in the course of this project will allow a detailed analysis of the policies of the authorities towards the Jews (of both the Habsburg dukes Albrecht III and Leopold III as well as the many scattered "minor" authorities, particularly in Carinthia and Vorarlberg) in a time period when the Jews were relatively free from open persecution but subjected to more and more restrictions that aimed at mere financial expliotation. In addition to that, the sources will provide insights into the legal, social and economic situation of the Jews during this period as well as information on the interaction of the Jews with their Christian environment.

A remarkably high number of medieval sources on the history of Jews can be found in Austria. This huge amount of sources provides information on the economic, legal and personal situation of the Jews as well as on the interactions between Christians and Jews. Therefore, the Institute for Jewish History in Austria has engaged in preparatory work to publish this source material. In the course of the previous projects, the sources from the regions of today`s Austria up until 1365 were collected and processed. With the project P 21237-G18 ("Documents on Jewish History in Southern and Western Austria"), the work was continued for the areas of today`s Styria (including Lower Styria), Carinthia, Tyrol, Salzburg, and Vorarlberg, covering the years from 1366 to 1386; and the source material collected for these years was prepared for publishing. Charters as well as historiographic and literary sources containing references to both Jews and the historical countries that make up today`s Southern and Western Austria were collected and processed according to scientific criteria. The majority of the material consists of texts which have not been published at all or treated with regard to the Jewish aspect yet. Research was carried out in archives both in Austria and abroad; furthermore, previously published material was also collected. The resulting collection consists of a chronological series of document summaries. Additionally, an extensive index was created and scientific commentaries were added to the relevant documents to make the source texts accessible to the reader. Given the volume`s topic, the Jews mentioned in the source text were the main focus of these commentaries. The source collection that has been established during the course of the project provides an indispensable basis for a detailed research on Austrian Jewish History for the time period covered by the project, particularly in combination with the results gained in the course of the project P 21236-G18 ("Documents on Jewish History in Eastern Austria"). With this collection, it is for the first time possible to base any comprehensive study on the extensive body of the source material, most notably on the hitherto unpublished, extensive body of business charters. The sources collected and processed in the course of this project allow a detailed analysis of the policies of the authorities towards the Jews (of the Habsburg dukes Albrecht III and Leopold III as well as the many local "minor" authorities, particularly in Carinthia and Vorarlberg) during a time period when the Jews were relatively free from open persecution but subjected to more and more restrictions that aimed at mere financial expliotation. In addition to that, the sources provide insights into the legal, social and economic situation of the Jews during this period as well as information on the interaction of the Jews with their Christian environment.