Charter (10 1/2 x 6 3/8 in.; 271 x 162 mm) on vellum; nineteen long lines written in Latin. Decorative opening initial; fine brown wax municipal seal of the city of Koblenz (about 85 mm in diameter) on vellum tag showing the walled city of Koblenz with three elaborate towers among houses, edges chipped and defective. Fine gilt wood frame. Matted, glazed, and framed.

In the present document, Hermann de Leye, canon of the collegiate church of St. Beatusberg (later, a Carthusian charterhouse) outside the walls of Koblenz, grants to the dean and chapter of the church of St. Florian, Koblenz, the “arca” of Johann de Binecke, the late provost of the latter church, situated at the Jews’ Gate next to the provost’s court. The first documentation of the Jews’ Gate in Koblenz comes from 1282; during the period covered by this charter, Jews worked as moneylenders to the city council, the archbishop of Trier, and the local nobility.

Literature

Anon., Analyse critique de la Collection des Diplomes, Sceaux, Cachets et Empreintes, formant une partie du cabinet de Mr le Comte C.W. de Renesse-Breidbach (Antwerp: Ancelle, 1836), 42 (no. 308).