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In early modern Europe, particularly in Germany, a court Jew (German: Hofjude, Yiddish: הויף איד, romanized: hoyf id) or court factor (German: Hoffaktor, Yiddish: קאַורט פאַקטאַר, romanized: kourt faktor) was a Jewish banker who handled the finances of, or lent money to, royalty and nobility. In return for their services, court Jews gained social privileges, including, in some cases, being granted noble status.
Examples of what would be later called court Jews emerged in the High Middle Ages[a] when the royalty, the nobility, and the church borrowed money from money changers or employed them as financiers. Among the most notable of these were Aaron of Lincoln and Vivelin of Strasbourg. Jewish financiers could use their family connections to provide their sponsors with finance, food, arms, ammunition, gold and other precious metals.[citation needed]
The rise of the absolute monarchies in Central Europe brought many Jews, mostly of Ashkenazi origin, into the position of negotiating loans for the various courts. They could amass personal fortunes and gain political and social influence. However, the court Jew had social connections and influence in the Christian world mainly through the Christian nobility and church. Due to the precarious position of Jews, some nobles could ignore their debts. If the sponsoring noble died, his Jewish financier could face exile or execution. The most famous example of this occurred in Württemberg in 1737–1738, when, after the death of his sponsor Charles Alexander, Joseph Süß Oppenheimer was put on trial and executed.[1] In an effort to avoid such fate, some court bankers in the late 18th century — including Samuel Bleichröder, Mayer Amschel Rothschild, and Aron Elias Seligmann — successfully detached their businesses from these courts and established what eventually developed into full-fledged banks.[2]
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