even have been the most important area of the law.52 With the codification of private law from 1794 on, the law of succession lost that significance and sank into a state of hibernation. If this is true on the level of national law, it is even more obvious on the level of comparative scholarship.53 Also, the law of succession has hardly been affected by the discussions about a European private law. An important reason for this startling state of affairs appears to be the stereotypical assertion that the law of succession is moulded by the cultural values of each specific society. Thus, it has been said to belong to the ‘lifeblood’ of a nation’s cultural identity.54 A few years ago, an international research group was set up to remedy the comparative neglect of this field of the law and to examine its central features in historical and comparative perspective. Following an exploratory volume, volumes on testamentary formalities and intestate succession have appeared, while work on a third volume dealing with the protection of the deceased’s close family members against being excluded or disinherited (family provision, compulsory portion, forced heirship) is under way.55 The results are very enlightening. Let me mention four issues by way of example, all in their own way interesting from a historical perspective. First, as far as testamentary formalities are concerned, we find – with many variations in detail – three basic types: the witnessed will, the notarial will, and the holograph will.56 At first glance there appears to be a sharp division between the common law and the countries of the conti52 Dirk Heirbaut, ‘A History of the Law of Succession, in Particular in the Southern Netherlands/Belgium’, in Christoph Castelain, René Foqué & Alain Verbeke (eds.), Imperative Inheritance Law in a late-modern Society (Antwerp: Intersentia, 2009), 65–84 at 65. 53 For an overview, see Marius J. de Waal, ‘Comparative Succession Law’, in Reimann & Zimmermann 2008, 1071–98. 54 Ernst A. Kramer, ‘Der Stil der schweizerischen Privatrechtskodifikation: Ein Modell für Europa?’, Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht 72 (2008), 773–93 at 788. 55 Kenneth G.C. Reid, Marius J. de Waal & Reinhard Zimmermann (eds.), Exploring the Law of Succession: Studies National, Historical and Comparative (Edinburgh:EUP, 2007); eid. (eds.), Testamentary Formalities (Oxford: OUP, 2011); eid. (eds.), Intestate Succession (Oxford: OUP, 2015). 56 Kenneth G. C. Reid, Marius J. de Waal & Reinhard Zimmermann, ‘Testamentary Formalities in Historical and Comparative Perspective’, in Reid et al. 2007, 432–448. part v • comparative legal history • reinhard zimmermann 246
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