Manasse judìo todesco e Josep medico ebreo. Suppliche, ebrei e fisco nel regno di Napoli alla fine del Quattrocento

Abstract

Manasse judìo todesco and Josep medico ebreo: Jews, supplications, and revenue authorities in the Kingdom of Naples at the end of the 15^th century

Many petitions of the Jews to the Aragon Kings of Naples during the 15^th century are included in letters sent by the Regia Camera della Sommaria, whose registers have been the most important sources used in the research of scholars such as Ferorelli and Colafemmina. The essay offers a critical edition of two rare original petitions presented around 1495-98 by Manasse, probably an Ashkenazi Jew, and Joseph, a Sicilian physician and recent immigrant to the Kingdom. Manasse proposed an innovative reform of the taxes on the Jewish communities. Complaining about his illegal detention, Joseph asked the Royal secretary to transfer his case to another judge. It emerges that both Jews were skilled in dealing with the Royal administration and were in control of the political and juridical language of the Royal officers. Despite the critical conditions in which they lived in those years, it is clear that Jews regularly interacted with Christian authorities in order to pursue their political and private issues.