The Testament in Transylvania in the Second Half of the 19th Century and the Beginning of the 20th Century Cover Image
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Discurs testamentar în Transilvania în a doua jumătate a secolului al XIX-lea şi începutul secolului al XX-lea
The Testament in Transylvania in the Second Half of the 19th Century and the Beginning of the 20th Century

Author(s): Marius Rotar
Subject(s): History
Published by: Editura Mega Print SRL
Keywords: History of Death; Successional Right; Legislation; Valer Moldovan; Testamentary Discourse; Astra’s Popular Lectures

Summary/Abstract: Important source for the historical research on death, the testament, or the will, raises complex problems, some of them related to its initial understanding of successional right. During the period we are interested in, the last will has a special importance in Hungary and consequently in Transylvania. In fact, at the end of the 19th century, through a special regulation, (law 16 from 1876) the forms of the will are established. This brings about a certain focus on technical details that restricts the relevance of this type of discourse. In addition, one can notice a certain stereotypy, which takes away from the spectacular character of the document. The intervention of the State is also to be noticed here, like in other fields, which are, in this way, standardized and turned away from the religious influence. Under the circumstances, we can speak about the will becoming more “technical” without diminishing its importance in the epoch. Both lay and religious organizations invite the Transylvanian population to make their wills in due time to avoid unpleasant situations for the successors. Valer Moldovan writes the most important document dedicated to this topic in 1903. With a view to informing the public, he explains in detail the law 16 from 1876 about the last will. After the law from 1876 is passed, the writing of the wills becomes extremely accurate and it leaves little space for other details than the technical ones, which establishes a stereotypy of this document. According to the law from 1876, there can be three types of wills: public wills, private wills, privileged wills. In order to understand the significance and the specific forms of the testamentary discourse in Transylvania at the time, one has to be aware of the fact that there were many illiterates and this kind of document was meant to be as clear and explicit as possible. Thus, the popular lectures of ASTRA sometimes touch on the problem of the wills and so do some articles in the press of the time. However, the wills published in the press include situations that are considered models to be followed. Another tendency of the epoch is for the deceased to ask in their wills for the establishment of various foundations, which has the same objective. Among the most relevant types of wills in the epoch, we find the “ordinary” ones, in which the spouses bequeath their goods at the same time. In conclusion, we witness the transformation of the will into a lay document, which becomes a technical instrument of action without too many “mystic” aspects.

  • Issue Year: 9/2005
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 111-126
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Romanian