testamenta religiosorum – illegal charters? shortly after the Latin conquest of Jerusalem in 1099. The Hospitallers called such documents despropriamenta, dispropriamenta, or spropriamenta. When admitted into a medieval hospital, people usually were supposed to list the personal belongings they had with them. Two reasons for this were obvious: Firstly, stealing from the helpless sick was a danger and did occur in hospitals. Secondly, if the sick person died, the hospital had to prove what the patient had brought with him or her. When such a despropriamentumwas made, the person in charge of the hospital and two or three witnesses were to be present. The list had to be sealed and kept until the sick person either died or was sound again and left the hospital. Hospitaller brethren also drew up such despropriamenta. In 1262 the Master Fr. Hugues Revel declared: Non licet fratribus heredem instituere aut legata facere seu testamentum condere, sed tantum despropriamentum.15 Inlater times this was followed by an explanation: despropriamentum hoc est in scriptis bonorum suorum ac debitorum et creditorum declarationem, et cum licentia magistri de eorum moderata portione disponere.16 The moderata portio was usually one third in the late Middle Ages,17 one fifth from 1603 onwards.18 In 1440 the Master Fr. Jean de Lastic ordered that infirmi fratres andseculares (=laici) entering the hospital had to receive the Eucharist and to make their despropriamentumwithin 24 hours; if they failed to do so, they were expelled from the hospital. The despropriamentumhad to be sealed withabullaand handed over to theprior infirmarie.19 As travelling by ship 15 Stabilimenta(2007), p. 208 (III de fratribus c.7). One of their stabilimentadeclared that infirmi fratres confiteri et despropriamentum condere teneantur; this was to be read on conventual chapters during each of the four annual ember days. Stabilimenta (2007), pp. 102–4, here p. 103 (I de regula c.6). 16 Rebuffus (1587), p. 228b. 17 Rhodes, 3 November 1458: The Master Fr. Jacques de Milly for his Seneschal Fr. Louis de Manhac, Capitular Bailiff of the Preceptory of Cyprus: Documents Cyprus (2011), p. 479 no. 329. The document carefully avoided the wordtestamentum:…legendi, testandi, ordinandi tam in vita quam et in mortis articulo disponendi quomodocumque et qualitercumque et ad ves-tri beneplacitum faciendi de tercia parte bonorum vestrorum mobilium et ipsa quibusvis personis tam religiosis quam secularibus dandi, concedendi et relinquendi omnesque donaciones, concessiones, leganda et testanda de dicta tercia parte bonorum mobilium per vos fiendas et fienda confirmamus et approbamus … 18 Waldstein-Wartenberg (1967), p. 147. 19 Stabilimenta (2007), pp. 135, 299 (II de hospitalitate c.6). 108
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