testaments in premyslid bohemia the prebend entrusted to them by the Church, including the possible expansion of their prebend by their own contribution.72 From the second half of the 13th century onwards, townspeople acquired property of which they could dispose. There is no further information on the disposition of burgher property in Bohemia and Moravia at this time. Some indications suggest that provisions for the death of burghers were made orally before witnesses, either town officials or other burghers. Only the sections of the bequests that were addressed to ecclesiastical institutions were written down, apparently at the request of the church or monastery. From the surviving, albeit fragmentary, sources it is clear that the relevant documents were issued by town officials under the town seal. More often, the wills of townspeople are preserved from the14th century onwards, but they became commonplace only at the end of the Middle Ages. 318 72 Cf. Šebánek 1965, pp. 293–294. translated by lucie kasíková
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjYyNDk=