April 28, 2011
A Fundamental Document of Jewish Relations with the State and a major work of Anti-semitic Literature
PRINTED 1614: The Extremely Rare FIRST OFFICIAL EDITION of Stättigkeit and Ordnung
The Book:
Der Juden zu Franckfurt Stättigkeit und Ordnung, wie die selbe so wol von uhralten Jahren hero, als hernacher biß auff das Jahr 1613 gefunden worden. Franckfurt am Mayn, 1614. Small FOLIO, 30.3 cm x 197. COMPLETE. A handsome, wide-margined copy; light toning as usual throughout, later boards and vellum spine. Provenance: From the renowned Charles E. Weber Library. Extremely Rare. No copies sold in 30 Years of the ABPC Auction Records
FIRST OFFICIAL PRINTED EDITION after the unofficial pirated 1613 tract, and a fundamental document of Jewish relations with the State and the place of minority rights in general. While the Jews generally had lived under their own laws and administration, in response to the Frankfurt Guilds demands for increased power and rights at the expense of Jewish economic freedom and community’s rights, the Stättigkeit and Ordnung were issued to regulate and restrict Jewish behavior. The clear rejection in these ordinances of the Imperial privileges and protections granted to the City, culminated in the notorious Fettmilch Rebellion and a pogrom in the city’s Jewish ghetto. The inhabitants of the Judengasse were driven out whilst their houses were plundered and destroyed. Their forced expulsion was short-lived however, and their return in 1614 after the Fettmich Rebellion represented the first time most Christian commentators had supported the Jewish community, noting the distinction and just separation of economic and political rights and religion. Interestingly, the great symbols of anti-semitism and Jewish persecution, the tall conical hat and the yellow badge sewn to clothing, are notably illustrated on page 8 and the title page respectively.
