Schutzjude (German: [ˈʃʊtsˌjuːdə], "protected Jew") was a status for German Jews granted by the imperial, princely or royal courts. Within the Holy Roman Empire, except some eastern territories gained by the Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries (e.g. Brandenburg), Jews usually had the status of Servi camerae regis. This status included imperial protection and the levying of special taxes on the Jews for the Empire's treasury (Latin: camera regis). But the emperors, always short of money, alienated — by sale or pledge — their privilege to levy extra taxes on Jews, not all at once, but territory by territory to different creditors and purchasers. Thus Jews lost their — not always reliable — imperial protection.