testaments of noblewomen in the holy roman empire tives, even more additional documents could be produced,74 but such is already beyond our diplomatic focus. Noblewomen’s wills offer considerable potential for further research. Examining the material and formal aspects of these wills, in conjunction with socio-cultural and biographical contexts, allows insights into the testamentary practices and the underlying legal and documentary traditions. Gender-specific and cross-cultural influences and adaptation strategies, possibly identifying ‘cultural areas’ or ‘Urkundenlandschaften’75 of testaments, may be revealed by systematic comparisons between the wills of female and male testators within the same family or across dynasties and regions, for example comparing women originating from Romanic ‘contact zones’ of the Empire, such as Burgundy, Lorraine, Savoy, or the Italian principalities, and those from areas of the former Regnum Theutonicum. The analysis and comparison of the testamentary practices within a specific social group across modern linguistic and national boundaries, which unfortunately often limit research, can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of will-making across medieval Europe. 74 See e.g. above n. 58 and 60. On the reconstruction of the case of the highly disputed (alleged) oral will Elizabeth of Bavaria, duchess of Austria and countess of Tyrol, see Widder 2018. 75 On the concept of ‘Urkundenlandschaft’, see Härtel 2011, pp. 308–310. 70 Conclusion and Perspectives
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjYyNDk=