annika björklund items, clothes, cloth, jewellery, cattle, horses, landed property, money, etc. – to relatives, friends, and in some cases to servants are declared. This pattern is common until around 1380, when testamentary gifts mostly consist of landed property and more seldom of items. These gifts usually go to churches and monasteries only. In the late 1380s and the 1390s the general way of writing testaments again changed and many testators only give to the newly established monastery in Vadstena. When gifts of landed property go to only one monastery, testament executors are no longer mentioned or needed. Instead the district judge (Sw. häradshövding) is given a warrant to make the transfer of property to the monastery or the church. Long testaments still exist, at least until the 1520s, but they become less common after the 1380s. The preserved number of testaments varies greatly over time. Some years have none or barely none; a sharp peak is found in 1350 from when 25 testaments have been preserved; see figure2. The peak in 1350, as well as an increased number of testaments certain years after 1350, has been interpreted as related to (fear of) increased mortality due to the Black Death and its recurring epidemics.27 I sorted the testaments into 10-year groups, to provide a more consistent picture of trends over time; see figure3. Thus ordered, the number of testaments is greater in the 1360s (94) compared to the 1350s (79). In Figure 3 the testaments mentioning servant have been coloured in orange. The share of testaments mentioning servants varies among centuries, according toTable 1. The highest percentage mentioning servants, more than 45%, is found in the 1270s and in the 1330s; see Figure 4. There is a significant drop in the 1380s, and in the 1390s only 9% mention servants. In the 1410s– 335 1200s 1300s 1400s 40% 30% 13% Table 1: Share of testaments mentioning servants 27 Myrdal 2003.
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