1734 German Jewish History: Original Manuscript Loan Agreement with a Jewish Moneylender, Secured by Land

On offer is an original German manuscript loan agreement dated March 26, 1734, recording a debt owed to David von Büdesheim, identified in the document as a Schutzjude [protected Jew].

Executed at Framersheim, Germany, the agreement documents a loan of 21 Reichsthaler made by Büdesheim to Christoph Schröder and his wife, who pledged four portions of land as security.

Written in ink on a thick paper folio bifolium, the document occupies all four pages. The first page records the agreement between the Schröders and David von Büdesheim; the second sets out the conditions and terms of repayment; and the third contains the court’s confirmation, witness attestations, and a requirement that the debt be repaid by 1735. The final page bears several Hebrew notations, apparently added by or on behalf of the lender. The paper also displays a large watermark.

An unusual surviving primary document illustrating Jewish moneylending and Christian–Jewish financial relations in early eighteenth-century Germany. Particularly noteworthy are Büdesheim’s identification as a Schutzjude, the land pledged as collateral, the formal involvement of the local court, and the Hebrew annotations preserved on the final page.

The document bears cancellation cuts through its centre, apparently made after the obligation had been discharged; no text has been lost. Expected folds, scattered spotting, and age-related darkening are present. Otherwise, the manuscript remains in good or better condition.