More Judaico. The Jewish Oath

(ANTISEMITICA)

Augsburg, 1508

Woodcut by Hans Frutenbach from Ulrich Tengler, Laienspiegel [Mirror of the Layman] (Augsburg, 1508), f. MVI. Framed

Despite what we might have erroneously assumed, the man of noble bearing seated center stage, wearing a patriarchal beard, brimmed hat, and fur-trimmed coat is not the Jew, but rather the pitiful figure kneeling on the floor. Jews were required to take oath while resting one hand upon a Hebrew Bible (shown lying open on the floor). One espies a few Hebrew characters in this crude representation of the Torah. Two more Jews stand off to the side. All three are marked by a Jewish ring or rota on their epaulettes. The Jewish oath or More Judaico is being administered in a Christian court of law