Statute of Kalisz


The General Charter of Jewish Liberties known as the Statute of Kalisz, and as the Kalisz Privilege, was issued by the Duke of Greater Poland Boleslaus the Pious on September 8, 1264 in Kalisz.
The statute granted Jews unprecedented legal rights in Europe, including exclusive jurisdiction over Jewish matters to Jewish courts, and established a separate tribunal for other criminal matters involving Christians and Jews. The statute was ratified by subsequent Polish Kings: Casimir III in 1334, Casimir IV in 1453, and Sigismund I in 1539.

Excerpts

Following are abridged and translated excerpts from the thirty-six clauses of the Statute of Kalisz:

Criticism

Some Polish researchers, for example Romuald Hube, having analyzed source documents, claimed that both the original and its authenticated copies could not be found, so the document was a 15th century falsification done for political purposes.

20th century edition

In the 1920s, Polish-Jewish artist and activist Arthur Szyk illuminated the Statute of Kalisz in a cycle of 45 watercolor and gouache miniature paintings. In addition to the original Latin, Szyk translated the text of the Statute into Polish, Hebrew, Yiddish, Italian, German, English, and Spanish. In 1929, Szyk's Statute miniatures were exhibited throughout Poland, namely in Lodz, Warsaw, Kraków, and Kalisz. With support from the Polish government, selections of the Statute miniatures were exhibited in Geneva in 1931, once again in Poland as part of a 14-city tour in 1932, in London in 1933, in Toronto in 1940, and in New York in 1941 and then, without government patronage, in New York in 1944, 1952, and 1974–75. In 1932, the Statute of Kalisz was published by Éditions de la Table Rode de Paris as a collector's luxury limited edition of 500. Szyk's original miniatures are now in the holdings of the Jewish Museum.