anja thaller later, in German. Since the notarial documents in this corpus date from 1467 onwards, long after the introduction of the vernacular into secular use, they were either written entirely in Latin or German, or Latin was used for the proto- and the eschatocoll, and the vernacular for the testamentary dispositions (e.g. no. 37). The structure of the documents and the formulae vary, yet generally follow the typical style of a late medieval charter or notarial document, enriched with some specific formulae and clauses for testaments. Wills issued in the form of sealed charters begin with the testatrix’s usual intitulatio. It may be preceded by a verbal invocation40 and is usually followedby a publicatio, andanarenga or narratio (which may also precede the publicatio). The former sets out the religious motivation for making the will and may refer to the fragilitas humana, the transience of life and the certainty of death, or may argue for entrusting oneself to God’s mercy, the management of earthly affairs, the avoidance of future disputes between heirs, or the settlement of debts, all in the pursuit of divine praise, the consolation and salvation of the soul, devotion to the Church, the redemption of sins, or the prospect of heavenly life. From the mid-14th century, thenihil-certius-morte clause became customary in German noblewomen’s wills, emphasizing that nothing is more certain than death and nothing more uncertain than its hour, thus underlining the importance of preparation. The designation of the legal act as a testament or last will, often combined with classifications such as ‘last transaction’, or ‘order’, is intertwined with the aforementioned religious motivation and the subsequent declaration of testamentary capacity. A clause of prudence,41 including the consent or advice of relatives, counsellors, or confidants, may are in German, which is the largest number of known documents issued by an individual in the German-speaking world in the 13th century. See Bohn et al. 1995, p. 259. 40 Mostly, God is addressed; invocations to the Trinity, which became more popular at the end of the 15thcentury, or to specific saints, are less common. Some wills contain very long invocations, indicating personal preferences, e.g. no. 31 invoking the Trinity, Virgin Mary, a personal patron, and all the saints. 41 Stating that the act of will-making was well-considered, reasonable, well-founded (e.g. no. 2: bona voluntate et pura conscientia; no. 12: mit guter vernunft; no. 19: mit furbedahtem mude, wol besinnet und mit guter verstentenysse). 63
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