preface cuss pilgrims’ wills (sometimes of an illegal nature) issued by members of religious orders. Women’s testaments in Denmark and parts of the German Empire are investigated, as are royal testaments in Portugal, England, France, and elsewhere. Several articles focus on specific regions, for instance Scandinavia, Wales, the Asturias, Catalonia, Portugal, the Czech lands, some German towns, and the border regions of Germanic and Slavic areas. The testamentary practices at the comital court in Flanders and Hainaut also enter into focus. Furthermore, a testament can be a tool for understanding individual persons and everyday life in all layers of society. The wills issued by the rich and powerful can be revealing, but testaments preserved from ordinary farmers or burghers can be just as interesting and rewarding. For instance, we learn how the lives of Swedish servants can be studied through medieval testaments, and they can also be used as a tool to understand gender differences and mortality rates. On an individual level, we come to learn how a bishop of Valencia drew up his informative will in 1288 with a notary present. Many other such examples are to be found in this volume. A number of articles treat testaments in relation to diplomatics and legal aspects. We follow the development of certainformulae andclausulae that are typical of the genre, and we learn about the roles played by testamentary executors. The difference between a testament and adonatio mortis causais pointed out. We meet bishops who present petitions to the pope in order to claim their rights to issue testaments. Certain types of archival depositories are also discussed: monastic, episcopal, and municipal and royal archives in various countries can be compared. We learn how testaments as legal acts transform from being memorial records of oral declarations to dispositive deeds, for instance in the Czech lands. An analysis of the diplomatic form and content of 16th-century testaments issued by Spaniards in the new colonies of America can give us insight into the practicalities in administering new and far-away territories. Much more can and should be said about the scientific results found in these articles, and a final chapter in this book presents some further thoughts and conclusions. 10
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