Loan Agreement



From medieval times until the 19th century, Jews were barred from entering craft guilds or holding public office. They could also neither buy farmland nor work as farmers. Because of this, they were limited to working as traders and money lenders. Long before the establishment of rural loan societies, Jewish money lenders therefore assumed the important function of creditors to the rural populace.

Title: Loan Agreement
Date: February 26th, 1760.
Material: paper, ink, handwritten
Dimensions: 22.5 x 15.3 cm (8.8’’ x 6‘‘)
Creator: Uri Jacob
Sponsor: Ondolf Schreyber Servas Röhrig

The loan agreement shown here is one of the documents from the Genizah which attest to the credit business being maintained by Jews from the congregation of Niederzissen. The money lender is named as Uri Jacob, who can be matched to the Feit family. In this case, he loaned a sum of 13 Reichstaler, 30 Albus and 4 silver pennies to the couple Röhrig from the village of Waldorf north of Niederzissen.

It remains unclear how such contracts came to be in the Genizah, as they contain neither the name of god nor any prayers or blessings.

Transcript of the original text

The transcript of the original German text is fragmentary because of the document’s poor condition. No verbatim translation into English is given, but the contents of the contract are presented above.

Cund und zu wißen sel …. …es m…lich

…s daß heud .a..o Im jahr 1760 des 26 Tag february daß ich ondolf schreyber Särfaß röhrig und dessen hauß fraw marya beide Ehleud fohn  waldörf daß mir Ihr uns.. nothdorfts haben an geschrochen den Uri Jacob zu niderzißen um.. ein sömma geld zu leien. olso hatt der gemele…jut den beiden ehleiden an bährem geld gelie…  ad. …… 13 rhler 30 alb 4 sgr sagen dreitzein reistaler und dreißig alb(us) und der 4 silfersgroschen ich von der schreybens ihmme ginder daß norhste zu könftigen weynnachden zeid richdig zu bezah(len) ohnrinig wider ..th.

be…….acauß Röhrig diß …                Unterschrift

daß haben ich p…ilich jut aufs servas röhrig (begehrs) geschryben und onderschryben

dahier niderziße

Further Reading:
Grübel, Monika. „Landjuden – ein Leben zwischen Stadt und Land“ Geschichte und Kultur der Juden an Sieg und Rhein. Zehn Jahre Gedenkstätte „Landjuden an der Sieg“, Claude Maria Arndt (Ed.), Zeugnisse jüdischer Kultu im Rhein-Sieg-Kreis 3, Siegburg 2005, p. 52-71.