summary. the open window widow, she was also able to take over as the manager of the household, with full administrative and disposition rights. She only had to ask her legal-aged offspring for permission to conduct a transaction with the immovable property. Despite these liberties, she could encounter problems because she was a woman in a patriarchal society. According to Godding, the city councils in what he considered as northern Europe protected lineal descendants. In Stockholm, as in other cities during the Middle Ages, the frequency of remarriage was high. Many families consisted of full and half-siblings, which meant that many children grew up with a stepparent. In some cases, the biological parent had died before the child became an adult and the first stepparent had remarried. When the child grew up and the inheritance was to be distributed, the adult child could stand as a co-beneficiary along with two stepparents. One of the reasons why burghers in Stockholm simplified the inheritance system can be explained by the frequency of remarriage. The customary requirement to keep separate what the parties brought into the marriage might have been maintained during the first marriage, but later this became quite complicated. The simplest solution was to divide everything equally in every instance of inheritance. Half-siblings and full siblings inherited equal amounts. Thus, full- and half-siblings inherited property that originated from a stepparent or from a surviving spouse with whom the biological parent was previously married. There was no change in this practice over time, as far as can be detected. Minors who inherited immovable property and who lacked parents or stepparents were placed under the city's guardianship. Two guardians appointed by the city managed their estates during their upbringing and later ensured that the children received their legitimate inheritance. Guardians and even stepparents were accountable to the city council. It was difficult to withhold the immovable property of the beneficiaries. However, movable property could be more easily misappropriated. But since the inheritance and what assets the child was entitled were duly 297 Direct Heirs
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