Privileges of the Jews of Duchy of Milan. Manuscript on paper. 24 November 1533

10 leaves (9 1/8 x 6 1/8 in.; 232 x 150 mm). Folio 1 Lightly stained; shaken within  contemporary paper wrappers, stained and soiled; loss to upper board near spine.

Shlomo Simonsohn, The Jews in the Duchy of Milan, Jerusalem, 1982, vol. 2, pp. 1045-1051, no. 2438 (the same document dated 25 August 1533).

Written completely in Italian and dated 24 November 1533 in Milan, the present manuscript confirms the charter of privileges granted to the Jews of Duchy of Milan by Duke Francesco II Sforza. The charter contains twenty-nine articles pertaining to the right of the Jews to reside in the Duchy, to enjoy freedom of worship and to participate in the internal organization of the Jewish community, as well as to lend money and engage in commerce, taxation and other matters. Shlomo Simonsohn cites a nearly identical document, dated only three months earlier, in his encyclopedic work: The Jews in the Duchy of Milan, Jerusalem, 1982, vol. 2, pp. 1045-1051, no. 2438.