Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture Online

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Court Jews
(3,602 words)

Court agents or Court Jews were those Jewish merchants and lenders who provided services to an aristocratic center of power on a continuous basis. In return they were granted privileges, rights, and titles. Since the Middle Ages, there were Jewish functionaries for Christian rulers and their power centers in Central Europe; however, only in the period of around 1…

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Ries, Rotraud, “Court Jews”, in: Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture Online, Original German Language Edition: Enzyklopädie Jüdischer Geschichte und Kultur. Im Auftrag der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig herausgegeben von Dan Diner. © J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart/Springer-Verlag GmbH Deutschland 2011–2017. Consulted online on 03 December 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2468-8894_ejhc_COM_0321>
First published online: 2017
First print edition: 20180401



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