FREDERICK II (the Belligerent) OF BABENBERG°

FREDERICK II ("the Belligerent") OF BABENBERG°, duke of Austria 1230–1246. In 1244 he granted to Jews the privilege known as the "Fridericianum," following the basic lines of the charters granted by Emperor frederick ii of Hohenstaufen in Germany in 1236, and to the city of Vienna in 1238. The "Fridericianum," regarded by the historian J.E. Scherer as a "sparkling star in a dark night," served as the model for privileges granted to Jews in hungary in 1251, in bohemia in 1254, in poland in 1264, and in silesia in 1294. rudolf of Hapsburg confirmed it in 1278 in his capacity of Holy Roman Emperor. The charter remained valid in the territory of Austria proper, until the expulsion of the Jews in 1420 (see albert ii ; wiener gesera ). The "Fridericianum" granted the Jews autonomy and equality with Christians in civil law and equal rights for trading in wines, dyes, and medicaments. It prohibited forcible conversion and exempted Jews from having persons arbitrarily billeted in their houses. Jurisdiction over the Jews was transferred from the imperial to the ducal chamber. Security of their life and property was guaranteed including defense of their cemeteries and synagogues. Freedom of transit throughout Austria was permitted, including transportation of corpses for burial without paying tolls. In lawsuits between themselves Jews were entitled to judgment by their own bet din, while for settling disputes between Jews and gentiles the post of iudex judaeorum was created. If a gentile was suspected of murdering a Jew but the charge could not be substantiated, the duke was ready to supply a champion to fight him on behalf of the Jew. The transition of Jewish occupations from commerce to moneylending is reflected by the fact that 22 paragraphs out of 30 in the charter deal with matters connected with moneylending, fixing a weekly interest rate of eight pfennigs on one mark, i.e., 173.33% yearly. The "Fridericianum" took over the concept of accepting the statement of a Jew on oath that he had taken a pledge bona fide if it was proved to have been stolen or lost though not through his fault, thus continuing to give the moneylender protection against malicious claims. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: J.R. Marcus, The Jew in the Medieval World (1965), 28–33; J.E. Scherer, Die Rechtsverhaeltnisse der Juden in den deutsch-oesterreichischen Laendern (1901), 130–4; 173–315.