annika björklund not yet published, was undertaken for this study. The aim of the paper is to show gender differences among servants, their social situations, and how these factors varied over time. What social ranks, ages, and genders were typical of servants? How does the mention of servants vary among male, female, and ecclesiastic testators? Did young people in Sweden work as servants only a few years before marriage, in accordance with the life-cycle tradition? Furthermore, how common was it for servants to compose their own testament? Today, more than 44 000 medieval charters are registered in the Swedish SDHK-main catalogue.18 TheSDHKincludes original documents, copies of original charters, and shorter content transcripts, all related to Sweden.TheSDHKis searchable online and is continuously being updated.19 Many charters have been photographed and are available online, but full text transcripts are available only up until the year 1382 and for the period 1401–1420.20 This means that not all testaments are available directly by searching the SDHK. The number of testaments preserved is also related to the fact that a testament was of less value over time compared to documents about land ownership, such as purchase deeds. The vast majority of documents in the SDHKconcern land ownership.21 Medieval testaments are a rich source and have been analysed to better understand topics such as legal matters and the Black Death, and to draw conclusions about family, gender, and property rights.22 Previous 331 18 TheSDHK-catalogue (https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sdhk) contains all preserved Swedish charters and charters related to Sweden. 19 New original charters are seldom found, but quite often copies of medieval charters in, for example, court books. 20 The charters have been edited and published in chronological order. In 2024 charters up until the year 1382 have been published. However, due to a previous publication project (1875–1904) also charters 1401–1420 have been published. 21 Larsson 2001, pp. 125f. 22 See e.g. Teague 2013 on bequests in York, and pp.4ff for an overview; also Sheehan 1963 on medieval England; Waśko 1996 on large testaments in Sweden; Bisgaard & SønderThe inventory – calculating the number of testaments in Sweden
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