Izaak Hiszpan was born in Jerusalem and died in 1509 or 1510 in Kraków. He was the physician of four Polish kings of the Jagiellon dynasty: Casimir IV Jagiellon, John I Albert, Alexander and Sigismund I the Old. He was the first Jew who served Polish kings. He was mentioned in historical sources referring to Sandomierz in 1501. Berszewa (Barsaba), a famous trader in Sandomierz, was his wife. Then in the years from 1544 to 1571 his sons, Chaim and Bruno Doktorowicz, who took over their mother’s business, were mentioned. However, they were mainly known in Sandomierz as money-lenders [1.1]
Footnotes
- [1.1] F. Kiryk, F. Leśniak, Skupiska żydowskie w miastach małopolskich do końca XVI wieku (Jewish Centers in Towns of the Region of Małopolska until the end of the 16th c.), [in:] Żydzi w Małopolsce. Studia z dziejów osadnictwa i życia społecznego (Jews in the Region of Małopolska. Studies of the History of Settlement and Social Life), ed. F.Kiryk, Przemyśl 1991, p. 26; F. Kiryk, Urbanizacja Małopolski. Województwo sandomierskie XIII-XVI wiek (Urbanization of the Region of Małopolska. The Province of Sandomierz from the 13th to the 16th centuries), Kielce 1994, pp. 122-123; cf.: M. Horn, Izaak (Izaczko) z Hiszpanii (Izaaka (Izaczko) in Spain), [in:] Polski słownik judaistyczny. Dzieje – kultura – religia – ludzie (Polish Judaist Dictionary. History, Culture, Religion, People), vol. 1, Warszawa 2003, p. 641.
