FAQ
Logo of Jagiellonian University

Jews, Christians, and Violent Crime: Two Cases from Lublin’s Castle Court at the Turn of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

Publication date: 31.07.2024

Studia Judaica, 2024, Issue 1 (53), pp. 1 - 29

https://doi.org/10.4467/24500100STJ.24.001.19894

Authors

Mikol Bailey
All publications →

Titles

Jews, Christians, and Violent Crime: Two Cases from Lublin’s Castle Court at the Turn of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

Abstract

This article describes two capital cases involving Jews heard in the Lublin castle court at the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the case from 1596, a Christian man staying in a Lublin suburb, who posed as a subject of a Princess Zbaraska, was executed for having attempted to murder a Jewish merchant after ten Christian witnesses testified against him. In the second case, which took place ten years later, in 1606, three members of the Lublin Jewish community were accused of murdering and robbing a Jewish convert to Christianity who was the subject of the magnate Janusz Ostrogski. The complaint implicated the Jewish community of Lublin as a whole and referred to the accused as being innately disposed to violence against the Christian faith. Both cases illustrate the complex position of Jews within the evolving legal and social situation in post-Union Lublin, as well as the ways Jews were conceived of by their Christian neighbors.

References

Primary sources

Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych, collection: Metryka Koronna, call number 101.

Archiwum Państwowe w Lublinie; collection: Akta Miasta Lublina, call number 693;

Archiwum Państwowe w Lublinie; collection: Księgi grodzkie lubelskie – Relacje, call numbers 30, 37.


Secondary sources

Anusik, Zbigniew, “Latyfundium Tęczyńskich w XVII wieku. Dobra i właściciele” [The Tęczyński Latifundium in the Seventeenth Century. The Estate and Its Owners], Kwartalnik Historyczny 128 (2021), 3.

Bałaban, Majer, Żydowskie miasto w Lublinie [The Jewish City in Lublin], trans. Jan Doktór (Lublin, 1991).

Bystroń, Jan Stanisław, Dzieje obyczajów w dawnej Polsce. Wiek XVI–XVIII [The History of Customs in Old Poland from the Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries] (Warsaw, 1933).

Colson, Justin; Steensel, Arie van, “Cities and Solidarities: Urban Communities in Medieval and Early Modern Europe,” in Justin Colson, Arie van Steensel (eds.), Cities and Solidarities: Urban Communities in Pre-Modern Europe (New York, 2017).

Czwojdrak, Bożena, “Governance System in Poland during the 15th Century,” in Grischa Vercamer, Dušan Zupka (eds.), Rulership in Medieval East Central Europe: Power, Ritual and Legitimacy in Bohemia, Hungary and Poland (Leiden, 2021).

Dubnow, Simon (ed.), Pinkas ha-medinah o Pinkas Va’ad ha-kehilot ha-rashiyot bi-medinat Lita [The Register of the State, or the Register of the Council of the Major Communities in the Duchy of Lithuania] (Berlin, 1925).

Gmiterek, Henryk, Materiały źródłowe do dziejów Żydów w księgach grodzkich lubelskich z doby panowania Zygmunta III Wazy 1587–1632 [Source Materials to the History of Jews in the Lublin City Register from the Reign of Sigismund III Vasa, 1587–1632] (Lublin, 2014).

Goldberg, Jacob, “‘De non tolerandis Judaeis’: On the Introduction of Anti-Jewish Laws into Polish Towns and the Struggle against Them,” in Shmuel Yeivin (ed.), Studies in Jewish History Presented to Professor Raphael Mahler on His Seventy-Fifth Birthday (Merhavia, 1974).

Heyde, Jürgen, “Ewolucja zwierzchności królewskiej nad ludnością żydowską w XVI wieku” [The Development of Royal Sovereignty over the Jewish Population in the Sixteenth Century], in Marcin Wodziński, Anna Michałowska-Mycielska (eds.), Małżeństwo z rozsądku? Żydzi w społeczeństwie dawnej Rzeczypospolitej [A Marriage of Convenience? Jews in the Society of the Old Commonwealth] (Wrocław, 2007).

Heyde, Jürgen, “Relations between Jews and Non-Jews in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: Perceptions and Practices,” in Antony Polonsky, Hanna Węgrzynek, Andrzej Żbikowski (eds.), New Directions in the History of the Jews in the Polish Lands (Boston, 2018).

Hundert, Gershon David, The Jews in a Polish Private Town: The Case of Opatów in the Eighteenth Century (Baltimore, 1992).

Jakimińska, Grażyna, “Zamek Lubelski w XVI i pierwszej połowie XVII wieku” [The Lublin Castle in the Sixteenth Century and in the First Half of the Seventeenth Century], Roczniki Humanistyczne 53 (2005), 4.

Jakubowski, Andrzej; Bronisz, Urszula; Łoś, Elżbieta (eds.), History of Lublin in Figures (Lublin, 2018).

Janus, Krzysztof, “O najnowszych badaniach architektonicznych w pałacu Lubomirskich” [On the Latest Architectural Research in the Lubomirski Family Palace], Studia i Materiały Lubelskie 22 (2020).

Kalik, Judith, “Szlachta Attitudes towards Jewish Arenda in the 17th and 18th Centuries,” Gal-Ed 14 (1995).

Kamler, Marcin, Złoczyńcy. Przestępczość w Koronie w drugiej połowie XVI i w pierwszej połowie XVII wieku (w świetle ksiąg sądowych miejskich) [Villains. Crime in the Kingdom of Poland in the Second Half of the Sixteenth and the First Half of the Seventeenth Century (in the Light of City Court Books)] (Warsaw, 2010).

Kaplan, Debra; Teter, Magda, “Out of the (Historiographic) Ghetto: European Jews and Reformation Narratives,” The Sixteenth Century Journal 40 (2009), 2.

Kaźmierczyk, Adam, Rodziłem się Żydem… Konwersje Żydów w Rzeczypospolitej XVII–XVIII wieku [I Was Born a Jew… The Conversion of Jews in the Polish Commonwealth in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries] (Kraków, 2015).

Kaźmierczyk, Adam, “Sądy grodzkie a Żydzi w drugiej połowie XVII wieku (na podstawie akt grodzkich województwa krakowskiego)” [Castle Courts vs. Jews in the Second Half of the Seventeenth Century (Based on the Castle Court Acts of the Kraków Voivodeship)], Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka 51 (1996), 1–3.

Kaźmierczyk, Adam, Żydzi w dobrach prywatnych w świetle sądowniczej i administracyjnej praktyki dóbr magnackich w wiekach XVI–XVIII [Jews in Private Estates in the Light of the Judicial and Administrative Practice of Magnate Estates from the Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries] (Kraków, 2002).

Kaźmierczyk, Adam, “Żydzi w sądach grodzkich (na podstawie akt grodzkich województwa krakowskiego)” [Jews in Castle Courts (Based on the Castle Court Acts of the Kraków Voivodeship)], Miscellanea Historico-Archivistica 10 (1999).

Kopaczek, Janusz, “Via Jagellonica: The Kraków–Lublin–Vilnius Route and the Challenges of Its Gaining Recognition for the UNESCO World Heritage List,” The Polish Review 63 (2018), 3.

Kurzątkowski, Mieczysław, “Pałac Komisji Województwa Lubelskiego zwany Radziwiłłowskim w Lublinie” [The Palace of the Voivodeship Commission Called the Radziwiłł Palace in Lublin], Kwartalnik Architektury i Urbanistyki 13 (1968), 3.

Kuwałek, Anna; Kuwałek, Robert, “Żydzi i chrześcijanie w Lublinie w XVI i XVII wieku. Przyczynek do dziejów Żydów w Lublinie w okresie staropolskim” [Jews and Christians in Lublin in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: A Contribution to the History of Jews in Lublin in the Old Polish Period], in Tadeusz Radzik (ed.), Żydzi w Lublinie. Materiały do dziejów społeczności żydowskiej Lublina [Jews in Lublin. Materials on the History of the Jewish Community of Lublin], vol. 2 (Lublin, 1998).

Mazurkiewicz, Józef, Jurydyki lubelskie [Privately Owned Districts of Lublin] (Wrocław, 1956).

Michałowska, Anna, Sejmy i sejmiki koronne wobec Żydów. Wybór tekstów źródłowych [Sejms and Crown Assemblies towards the Jews. A Selection of Source Texts] (Warsaw, 2006).

Mikołajczyk, Marian, Proces kryminalny w miastach Małopolski XVI–XVIII wieku [The Criminal Trial in the Cities of Lesser Poland from the Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries] (Katowice, 2013).

Mojecki, Przecław, Żydowskie okrucieństwa, mordy, y zabobony [Jewish Cruelties, Murders, and Superstitions] (Kraków, 1598).

Murphy, Curtis G., “Foul-Weather Friends: Reinterpreting Jewish-Christian Urban Interaction in the Final Decades of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth,” Polin 33 (2021).

Myśliński, Kazimierz, “Lublin na dawnych szlakach handlowych” [Lublin on the Old Trade Routes], in Tadeusz Radzik, Adam A. Witusik (eds.), Lublin w dziejach i kulturze Polski [Lublin in the History and Culture of Poland] (Lublin, 1997).

Pawlikowski, Michał, Sądownictwo grodzkie w przedrozbiorowej Rzeczypospolitej [The Castle Judiciary in the Pre-Partition Commonwealth] (Strzałków, 2012).

Pawłowska-Kubik, Agnieszka, Rokosz sandomierski 1606–1609. Rzeczpospolita na politycznym rozdrożu [The Sandomierz Rebellion 1606–1609. The Commonwealth at a Political Crossroads] (Toruń, 2019).

Riabinin, Jan, Materiały do historii miasta Lublina, 1317–1792 [Materials on the History of the City of Lublin, 1317–1792] (Lublin, 1938).

Rosman, Moshe, “The Indebtedness of the Lublin Kahal in the Eighteenth Century,” in Adam Teller (ed.), Studies in the History of the Jews in Old Poland: In Honor of Jacob Goldberg (Jerusalem, 1998).

Rosman, Murray Jay, The Lords’ Jews: Magnate-Jewish Relations in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Eighteenth Century (Cambridge, 1990).

Sadownik, Jerzy, Przyjęcia do prawa miejskiego w Lublinie w XVII wieku [The Admission to City Law in Lublin in the Seventeenth Century] (Lublin, 1938).

Szczerbic, Paweł, Speculum Saxonum, albo prawo saskie i majdeburskie, porządkiem obiecadła z łacińskich i niemieckich egzemplarzów zebrane. A na polski język z pilnością i wiernie przełożone [Speculum Saxonum, Or Saxon and Magdeburg Law, the Order of Promises Collected from Latin and German Copies. And Faithfully and with Diligence Translated into the Polish Language] (Warsaw, 1581).

Szczygieł, Ryszard, Konflikty społeczne w Lublinie w pierwszej połowie XVI wieku [Social Conflicts in Lublin in the First Half of the Sixteenth Century] (Warsaw, 1977).

Szczygieł, Ryszard, “Lublin czasów renesansu i baroku. Gospodarczy, polityczny i kulturalny wizerunek miasta” [Lublin in the Renaissance and Baroque Eras. The Economic, Political and Cultural Image of the City], Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska 23 (2005).

Szczygieł, Ryszard, “Ugoda Żydów lubelskich z gminą miejską w sprawie udziału w życiu gospodarczym miasta z 1555 r.” [The Agreement of Lublin Jews with the Municipal Office in Regard to Their Involvement in the Economic Life of the Town], in Waldemar Kowalski, Jadwiga Muszyńska (eds.), Żydzi wśród chrześcijan w dobie szlacheckiej Rzeczypospolitej [Jews among Christians during the Nobles’ Commonwealth] (Kielce, 1996).

Szewczyk, Roman, Ludność Lublina w latach 1583–1650 [The Population of Lublin in the Years 1583–1650] (Lublin, 1947).

Teller, Adam, “Early Modern Poland-Lithuania, 1507–1795,” in François Guesnet, Jerzy Tomaszewski (eds.), Sources on Jewish Self-Government in the Polish Lands from Its Inception to the Present (Leiden, 2022).

Teller, Adam, “‘In the Land of Their Enemies’? The Duality of Jewish Life in Eighteenth-Century Poland,” Polin 19 (2007).

Teller, Adam, Money, Power, and Influence in Eighteenth-Century Lithuania: The Jews on the Radziwiłł Estates (Stanford, 2016).

Teller, Adam, “Telling the Difference: Some Comparative Perspectives on the Jews’ Legal Status in Poland and in the Holy Roman Empire,” Polin 22 (2010).

Teter, Magda, Sinners on Trial: Jews and Sacrilege after the Reformation (Cambridge, 2011).

Trunk, Y[eḥiel] Y[eshaya], “Toledot yehudei Lublin” [A Chronology of the Jews of Lublin], in Itzhak Gruenbaum (ed.), Entsiklopedyah shel galuyot [Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora] (Jerusalem, 1953).

Vaturi, Anat, “Voivodes and Their Office as Agents of the Law in Christian-Jewish Coexistence: The Example of Early Modern Krakow,” in Yvonne Kleinmann, Stephan Stach, Tracie L. Wilson (eds.), Religion in the Mirror of Law: Eastern European Perspectives from the Early Modern Period to 1939 (Frankfurt am Main, 2016).

Waltoś, Stanisław, “Z procesów w dawnej Polsce. Zabójstwo w kościele Mariackim w Krakowie” [From Trials in Old Poland. A Murder in St. Mary’s Church in Kraków], Palestra 3 (1959), 9.

Węgrzynek, Hanna, “Agreements between Towns and Kahals and Their Impact on the Legal Status of Polish Jews,” in Antony Polonsky, Hanna Węgrzynek, Andrzej Żbikowski (eds.), New Directions in the History of the Jews in the Polish Lands (Boston, 2018).

Węgrzynek, Hanna, “Fala napaści na miasto żydowskie pod Lublinem w latach 1633–1635 jako przejaw siłowego rozwiązania długotrwałego konfliktu” [The Wave of Attacks on the Jewish Town of Lublin in 1633–1635 as a Manifestation of the Violent Solution to Long-Term Conflict], Czasy Nowożytne 28 (2015).

Węgrzynek, Hanna, “Jewish-Christian Agreements and Their Impact on the Legal Status of Jews in Polish Towns (The Case of Lublin),” Kwartalnik HistoriiŻydów (2011), 1.

Węgrzynek, Hanna, “The Role of Legal Agreements in Developing Christian-Jewish Relations in Polish Towns and Cities,” Polin 34 (2022).

Wejnert, Aleksander, O starostwach w Polsce do końca XVIII wieku z dołączeniem wykazu ich miejscowości [On starosta Offices in Poland until the End of the Eighteenth Century, Including a List of Their Places] (Warsaw, 1877).

Wiślicz, Tomasz, Zelman Wolfowicz i jego rządy w starostwie drohobyckim w połowie XVIII w. [Zelman Wolfowicz and His Rule in the Drohobych starostwo in the Mid-Eighteenth Century] (Kraków, 2020).

Wojciechowski, Stefan, “Gmina żydowska w Lublinie w XVI wieku” [The Jewish Community in Lublin in the Sixteenth Century], Biuletyn Żydowskiego Instytutu Historycznego (1952), 2.

Wójciuk, Michał Tomasz, “Podstawy prawne relacji między ludnością żydowską a chrześcijańską w Lublinie i na Podzamczu Lubelskim od połowy XVI do połowy XVII wieku” [The Legal Bases of Relations between the Jewish and Christian Population in Lublin and Podzamcze from the Mid-Sixteenth to the Mid-Seventeenth Century], Pogranicze (Lublin) 4 (2012).

Zarubin, Przemysław, “Resources Concerning the History of Polish Jews in Castle Court Records of the 17th and 18th Centuries in the Central State Historical Archives in Kyiv and Lviv,” Scripta Judaica Cracoviensia 18 (2020).

Information

Information: Studia Judaica, 2024, Issue 1 (53), pp. 1 - 29

Article type: Original article

Titles:

English: Jews, Christians, and Violent Crime: Two Cases from Lublin’s Castle Court at the Turn of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

Published at: 31.07.2024

Article status: Open

Licence: CC BY  licence icon

Percentage share of authors:

Mikol Bailey (Author) - 100%

Article corrections:

-

Publication languages:

English