Josel of Rosheim
the great advocate ("shtadlan") of the German and Polish Jews during the reigns of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and Charles V
Years: 1480 - 1554
Josel of Rosheim (alternatively: Joselin, Joselmann, Yoselmann, German: Josel von Rosheim; Hebrew: Joseph ben Gershon mi-Rosheim, or Joseph ben Gershon Loanz; c. 1480 – March, 1554) is the great advocate ("shtadlan") of the German and Polish Jews during the reigns of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and Charles V. Maximilian I appoints him as governor of all Jews of Germany, a position that is confirmed after his death by his grandson, Charles V. His stature among the Jews, and the protected status he gains for himself and for the Jews within the Holy Roman Empire, rests in part on his skills as an advocate and in part from the Jewish role in financing the expenses of the emperor.
Josel of Rosheim remains a major figure of the history of Jews in Alsace.
