Praktyka spadkobrania testamentowego a rodzina szlachecka w świetle aktów ostatniej woli z ksiąg grodzkich lwowskich i przemyskich pierwszej połowy XVIII wieku

Abstract

Nobility’s family and inheritance by testament practice in the light of the acts of last will in Lviv and Przemyśl castles books of the first half of the 18th century

Testaments belong to that documentary sources that allow one to research thoroughly the ownership and general property status of nobility’s family. The origin of the property (inherited, acquired, mortgage, etc.), the conditions of its acquisition and sometimes the history of ownership of this property by the testator and his ancestors are often referred in the acts of last will. The subject of the testament of the first half of the 18th century represents the information which can be found in the disposition of nobility’s testaments that were inscribed to Lviv and Przemyśl castles books. Nobility disposed mostly of sums of money and real estate (villages, parts of villages, lands, seldom houses). Things were mentioned only in some testaments and, only in rare cases, each thing were counted in them (mainly weapons, jewellery, rarely plates and dishes). Some testators (those, who were not wealthy and whose property consisted of personal use items, weapons, clothing, etc.) bequeathed all property which they owned, while the majority of testators not numbered all movable and immovable property. The subject of last will correlates depending on whether testator had descendants or distant relatives had a claim on inheritance. The discretional part of testament contains lots of materials for the research of patrimony and property relations in nobility’s society. It also allows us to trace the family conflicts that unfolded around heritage. Thus, the testaments illustrate how important was inheritance for the nobility’s status in the society of that period of time. The authors of testaments who had no offsprings or whose children had died till that time, appointed their descendants, instead, those testatory who had descendants only divide property among them, trying to make an even division. One followed crown hereditary laws in appointing future inheritance: 3/4 of property was divided among once sons, 1/4 – between daughters, regardless of the number of the latter. The researched testament confirm the use of such proportions in practice but sometimes cases of complete or partial elimination of inheritance were known.