testamentary practices at the comital court in flanders and hainaut who was one of her loyal chancery clerks, acted as executors.50 Similarly, in the testament of Mahaut de Béthune (1259), the abbots of Loos and Baudelo, together with the provost of the chapter of Saint Barthélemi in Béthune and William of Grimbergen, probably a member of her curia, were appointed.51 In the (draft) version of his last will (August 1298), Robert de Béthune appointed his father Guy de Dampierre, his brothers William and John of Namur, the provost of Béthune, as well as two noblemen from his intimate circle as executors.52 Twenty-four years later (September 1322), probably because they were by then deceased, these individuals were replaced by his son Robert and other confidants, including his confessor and some of his clerks.53 Interestingly, evidence from the last quarter of the thirteenth century indicates that the appointment of executors already occurred in written form, as demonstrated by a charter of Countess Margaret in which she designates the provost of Béthune as one of her executors and states that he had consented.54 When an executor died, he was replaced by a member of the same social group. In1290, Robert de Béthune, grandson of Countess Margaret, was appointed as a substitute for his deceased half-uncle Baldwin d’Avesnes as one of the executors of his grandmother’s will, in a separate sealed charter.55 To prevent abuse, which often took the form of belated payments, the executors were sometimes asked to report on their decisions, though this was not always required.56 Countess Margaret even requested in a testa460 50 DiBe ID22741 (April 1245) and 22500 (testament of December 1244). 51 Lille, ADN, B446/1202-1264. 52 Lille, ADN, B448/4107 (draft copy). At that moment, Count Robert had fallen ill on his return from an embassy to Rome, where he had sought the pope’s support in the conflict with the French king. Stuckens 2020, pp. 211–212. 53 At the end of the text, all executors pledge to carry out everything stated in the will correctly and without malicious intent (“sans fraude et malengien”). Lille, ADN, B448/5473. From another act, issued by the executors in the following month (October 1322), it appears that the two clerks had received a written authorisation to act as co-executors. Lille, ADN, B448/5476. 54 Lille, ADN, B445/2056bis. 55 Lille, ADN, B445/3204 (November 1290). 56 Godding 1990, p. 295.
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