testaments of noblewomen in the holy roman empire be joined to thepublicatio. This is followed by thesanamente clause, which refers to sound mental faculties, often combined with only general references to the testatrix’s state of physical health. Physical illness might be mentioned although it did not restrict testamentary capacity, since the capacity to make a legal act was based only on sound mental faculties.42 The appointment of heirs, typically husbands and/or children, was not a constituent part of the testament and is mentioned only occasionally. If so, it can be found at the beginning of the dispositive part of the document,43 while the husband’s consent to his wife’s will was added at the end only if he was named as an heir.44 In the rare case of the will of an heiress or female regent, separate documents may have been created for the inheritance of lands and rights, and for personal property.45 Later wills quite regularly start this section with a commendation of the testatrix’s soul to God, Mary, or specific saints.46 The appointment of one to seven executors to carry out the testamentary dispositions, including the distribution of bequests, the execution of funeral arrangements, the provision for the burial place, the payment of debts, and the satisfaction of creditors, beneficiaries, and heirs, is documented in about half of the cases, with no fixed place in the dispositio. Appointments in absentia were not uncommon. Usually, close family members such as husbands, siblings, or children were appointed as executors, but other relatives (male or female), clerics (often belonging to mendicant orders), counsellors, or confidants, could also fulfil this 42 Ogris 1998, col. 160f. See e.g. no. 2: in articulo mortis constituti tamen corporis nostri et sane mentis; no. 28: und wie wol sie kranckheithalb irs libs zu bette lag, so was sie doch mechtig, starck und volkommen ir vernufft; no. 43: by kranckem lyb, aber by guter vernunft. 43 E.g. nos. 7, 15, 17, 19, 31, 32. 44 Although a third of the wills were made by married women, only a few mention the husband’s consent (e.g. nos. 19, 32, 45). 45 Usually, such matters were settled in marriage contracts. In some cases only the document relating to the inheritance of land has survived; see no. 24 and above n. 10 (Reichgart of Jülich 1335). No. 7 contains provisions for the inheritance of both lands and personal property. 46 E.g. nos. 28, 31–33, 41, 43, 44. 64
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