Conversion to Judaism in the Eighteenth Century: The Case of Burchard Mauritz von Kinsky alias Abraham Naheson

In 1746 Mauritz Wilhelm von Kinsky, disinherited his oldest son Burchard Mauritz by accusing him to have converted to Judaism. After his death Burchard Mauritz took possession of his inheritance, thereby causing a long lasting trial initiated by his younger brother at the two highest courts of the Holy Roman Empire. The trial discussed Burchard Mauritz’ conversion to Judaism to a large extent. Among the produced proofs were love letters written to his Jewish wife and witnesses about his circumcision. The paper will analyze the way these documents deal with conversion to Judaism and place them into the contexts of other conversions to Judaism.