Sterneberch. Von den böfen Juden folget hier eine Geschichte

Rare facsimile made from a unicum first printed in Lübeck by Matthaeus Brandis c.1492. It concerns charges that were brought against the Jews of Mecklenburg in 1492, of desecrating the Host. A Jew was accused of having persuaded a priest to convert to Judaism and subsequently induced him to steal the Host. Upon arrest, some two dozen Jews were subjected to horrible torture in order to extort a confession. Though they denied the charge, they were sentenced to be burnt at the stake. On October 24th, 1492, they were taken to a hill near the city of Sternberg—since renamed "Judenberg" - where they died on the pyre. See G. Kohut, Geschichte der Deutschen Juden (1898) p. 479. The opening leaf of this work depicts a striking image of Jews desecrating the Host. Since the unicum was lost- this fine 19th-century facsimile represents the only known example of this image. Provenance: Acquired by the present owner from H. P. Kraus, New York