Court Jew

In the middle ages, Christians under the church’s canon law were not permitted to accept interest on loans, as a fundamental Christian belief is that the practice of making profit from a loan with interest was considered unethical and immoral. This was essential to the Jews who in Christian society were banned and prohibited to almost every other profession. This opened a gap as an economic niche that the Jews would prosper from for years to come. Christian society still needed the act of money lending to occur in order to promote positive economic growth. Jews began as moneylenders and with time majority of the Jewish community of the world was engaged in financial occupations. Due to the religious ban of Christians acting as pre-modern …show more content…
By the 16th century the Jewish moneylenders began to be referred as court Jews due to the increasing Jewish financier connection to the rulers and high court. Court Jews lived life at a level that the common Jew was restricted from in Christian ruled society. Sometimes a court Jew was able at his own will to choose were he lived within an empire, to legally have a rabbi and be permitted to follow the kashrut laws of Judaism. One of the world’s most famous court Jews is Mayer Amschel Rothschild who served as a court Jew in Frankfurt under the rule of William the first. Meyer Rothschild was born in the Jewish Ghetto in Frankfurt and was one of eight children in his family. The Frankfurter Judengasse existed from the year 1462 until 1796 and was home to the world’s largest Jewish community in modern times. Many get confused with the dates and believe that Jewish Ghetto’s only came to existence once Adolf Hitler rose to power in 20th Century. This could not be more false, as Jews have had housing restrictions in Christian society before Adolf Hitler was ever born. Life within the ghetto was far from luxurious as the Ghetto was jam-packed. The Jews were restricted from leaving the Ghetto at night or on Sundays (the holy day for …show more content…
Jacob’s intense knowledge on foreign exchange and currency exchange stemmed from his learning experience shadowing Oppenheimer. Frankfurt at the time was an international center of trade with many early bankers and wholesale merchants. At the end of his apprenticeship, Mayer returned home to Frankfurt and joined his brother’s money changing business. Mayer brought a new spin to the business and added trade of rare and expensive items such as rare coins, medals, curios, Jewels, engravings and antiques. Through engaging in business, Mayer was introduced and with time befriended the young Crown-Prince Wilhelm, the future Landgrave (Prince) of Hesse who happened to be heir to a massive royal fortune. In 1769, Mayer requested the title of court factor or court-Jew, which showed that he had done business with Royalty (The Rothschild Archive, House of Green Shield, Pg. 14). On August 29, 1770, Mayer married 17-year-old Guttle Schnapper and the following year they had their first kid together. By 1784, Mayer and Guttle shared 9 children together. With 9 children, Mayer wanted and needed a larger semi-detached house in the Ghetto and he was able to buy one as it became available due to the fact that business was going well in Frankfurt (Coincidentally, Jacob Schiff Ancestors lived next door) At the time it was a common practice to take