Description

LAW – Rudolf II of Habsburg
Gastronomy and trade
Judaica

[also: Der Röm. Kay. Mtt. etc. Unsers allergenedigsten Herrn Ordenung unnd Satzung, wie es auff jetzigem Reichßtag allhier zu Augspurg gehalten solle]

Augsburg: [s. n., prob. Valentin Schönig] 1582.

4°, [12 pp.] letterpress and title page with originally coloured coat of arms, later (18th century?) wrappers (minor staining, overall good).

The Diet of Augsburg on July 7 1582 (Augsburger Reichstag von 1582) was a pivotal imperial assembly of the Holy Roman Empire. Summoned by Emperor Rudolf II, it stands as the final major, fully attended Reichstag held in the Free Imperial City of Augsburg before the Perpetual Diet of Regensburg permanently altered the empire’s legislative landscape in 1663. Beyond its high-stakes geopolitical debates, the resulting imperial recess established a comprehensive framework of statutory controls designed to regulate daily commerce, public welfare, and municipal trade throughout the realm.

A substantial portion of the decree focuses directly on the general population and the marketplace, introducing strict public health and economic regulations for essential foodstuffs and staple goods. It mandates precise weight standardization and quality metrics for bread and wheat, implements rigorous safety guidelines for the butchering and sale of meat and fish, and outlines clear taxation and production rules for wine and beer.

These economic controls extended deep into the hospitality sector. The document details intricate statutes for gastronomy, introducing multi-tiered restaurant regulations where different rules and mandatory price points applied depending on the specific menus and dishes served. It even dictates operational limits for commercial establishments, governing the serving of traditional warm morning meals (Morgensuppen) and evening nightcaps (Schlafftrüncken). Beyond human consumption, the text standardizes the distribution of animal feed, governs the timber and wood trade, and establishes strict legal frameworks for the commercial trade of horses, cattle, and pigs.

To ensure economic stability across these industries, the recess introduces major updates to imperial finance, implementing currency regulations to stabilize the monetary system and combat counterfeiting. Finally, the document outlines critical judicial protections for minority populations. It explicitly decrees that Jewish citizens who reached a formal agreement with the Imperial Earl Marshal at this Diet shall remain entirely unmolested. To prevent local harassment and legal overreach, the text mandates that any claims or legal grievances brought against them must bypass standard municipal channels and be heard exclusively before the Court of the Imperial Earl Marshal.

We could find examples in the following libraries: Universitätsbibliothek Erfurt, Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, Harvard Law School Library, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek and Staats- und Stadtbibliothek Augsburg.

References: OCLC 163820227, 79357772, 838933607.