Jews expected to have autonomy in legal matters – that is, to having their own court system. This was a legacy of Roman law. They also placed a very high priority on obtaining such autonomy, and Bishop Rudiger offered it to them in this clause. But it was probably not difficult to negotiate: It was taken for granted that corporate groups would have their own courts. Towns, universities, the Church, noble lords, and foreign merchants from another land also had their own courts in the medieval period.

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