History of Wills, Testators and Their Families in Late Medieval Krakow

Tools of Power
Erscheinungsjahr 2021
ISBN: 978-90-04-44816-2
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 23, 406 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 821 g

Reihe: Later Medieval Europe

This volume offers the first comprehensive analysis of wills in late medieval Krakow. It presents the origins of testamentary acts in the Kingdom of Poland and its centre, Krakow, and their subsequent transformation from so called ‘canonical wills’ to ‘communal wills’. Wysmulek discusses the socio-cultural role of wills and sets them in their contemporary legal, social, and economic context. In doing so, he uncovers their influence on property ownership and family relations in the city, as well as on the religious practices of the burghers. Ultimately, this work seeks to change the perception of wills by treating the testamentary act itself as an important agent of historical social change – a ‘tool of power’.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Wysmulek, Jakub

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Recht, Rechtswissenschaft Allgemein Rechtsgeschichte, Recht der Antike
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

List of Figures and Tables

Abbreviations

Introduction

1 Definition of a ‘Will’

2 The Will – A Theoretical Perspective

3 Source Base

4 Subject Literature

5 Structure of the Work

1 The Institution of the Will

1 Wills in Poland in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries

2 Church Guardianship over Wills

3 Property Laws in Medieval Cities

4 The Influence of Roman Law

5 Property Bequests and Canonical Wills in Fourteenth-Century Krakow

6 Emergence of the Communal Will in Krakow

7 Open and Closed Wills in the Fifteenth Century

8 Fifteenth-Century Wills “Made in Sickness and in Health”

9 Formula for Wills from 1485

10 Liber Testamentorum from 1450

11 The Number of Wills in Krakow from 1300 to 1500

12 The Reasons for Writing Wills

2 The Socio-economic Position of Testators

1 Social Characteristics of the Late Medieval City

2 Categories of Urban Social Subdivisions

3 Municipal Authorities as Testators

4 Occupational Structure of Testators

4.1 Merchants and Stallholders

4.2 Goldsmiths and Belt Makers

4.3 Food-Related Crafts

4.4 Clothing-Related Crafts

4.5 Metalworking and Armour-Making Crafts

4.6 Professionals of the Written Word

4.7 Other Crafts

4.8 Summary: Trade and Handicraft

5 The Financial Situation of Krakovian Testators

6 Social Structure in Other Cities and Towns

7 Wealth and Social Status

8 Dower Records in Krakovian Wills

9 Estimates of Testators’ Wealth

10 Characteristics of Particular Social Groups

10.1 Impoverished Testators

10.2 Testators of Modest Means

10.3 Moderately Well-Off Testators

10.4 Wealthy Testators

10.5 Extremely Wealthy Testators

11 Female Testators

12 Immigrant Testators

12.1 Immigration and the City’s Population

12.2 Newcomers to the City

12.3 Cultural Capital of Newcomers

13 Determinants of Testators’ Social Position

13.1 Economic Capital

13.2 Cultural Capital – Education

13.3 Social Capital – Quarter Captains, Tower Commanders and Administrators

14 Changes in Social Position

14.1 The Dower and Level of Wealth

14.2 Social Mobility

3 The Burgher Family

1 Family and Marriage in the Light of Law and Tradition

2 New Forms of Bequests for Wives

3 The Situation of the Widow

4 Children

5 Grandchildren

6 Siblings, Nieces and Nephews

7 Other Relatives

8 Servants and Co-workers

9 The Image of the Burgher Family as Presented in Late-Medieval Wills

4 The Burgher Religiosity

1 A Personal Relationship with God

1.1 Clergy

1.1.1 Confessors

1.1.2 Preachers

1.1.3 Other Clergy

1.2 Religious Objects in Wills

1.2.1 Rosaries

1.2.2 Books and Paintings

1.2.3 Expensive Symbols of Piety: Crosses and Agnus Dei Medaillons

1.3 Participation in the sacrum: Personal Belongings Used for Religious Purposes

2 The Familial Dimension of Piety

3 The Corporate Dimension of Burghers’ Piety

4 Parish Identity and Ties to Other Religious Institutions in the Medieval City

5 Religion Civique – Communal Religiosity

5.1 Beguinages

6 Christian Duty

7 Summary

Conclusion

Appendix

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Jakub Wysmulek, Ph.D., (2013), University of Warsaw, is a historian and sociologist at the Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences (Warsaw). His main fields of research are premodern urban social history and collective memory in the contemporary world.