Jews and Christians

Jews and Christians lived as neighbours in the heart of the city, did business, shopped at the markets, took disputes to court – in other words led their everyday lives. Regensburg's Jews also had contact with people from outside the city. Encounters between Jewish and Christian residents are recorded in many different sources.

This entry in the city law book shows that the Jew Abraham sought assistance from the city council at the start of the year. Fridrich der Awer and Hans vom Degenberg mediated on behalf of the city between Abraham and the Parsberger. The result was an agreement, valid until the end of June, under which the man from Parsberg had to seek the escort of the Regensburg chamberlain if he wished to ride into the city. Abraham could, as the (promissory) note mentioned stated, issue a warning to the Parsberger if he so wished.

One entry in the Gelbes Stadtbuch (Yellow City Book) recounts the case of Hanns the Ingolsteter. He was a Judenrichter (judge of the Jews) and, together with a second judge of the Jews, was responsible for ruling on disputes between Christians and Jews. According to this entry, he had taken the Jew Sadia and Sadia's wife (the woman in question is Dislaba, the Jewish woman with her own seal) into his house by force and hit the woman on the head.

The councillors called on him to appear before them with the Jewish couple to settle the matter. After prolonged proceedings and a number of hearings, it emerged that not just the Ingolsteter but also the Jews had acted wrongly. The judge of the Jews was, however, strictly admonished on the grounds that a judge could not take the law into his own hands. As punishment, he had to spend eight days in the tower.

Clearly, therefore, there were disputes between Christians and Jews both within and outside Regensburg. At the same time, the Jews could seek the legal assistance and protection due to citizens of the city from the competent bodies.