„Amintirea plecării mele din această viață nenorocită…” Moartea mult așteptată, pentru eliberarea sufletului
"The memory of my departure from this wretched life…" The long-awaited death, for the liberation of the soul

Summary/Abstract: Death is not a contemporary problem, but an anthropological dimension, which cannot be approached unilaterally, but as a recurring element in human history and culture. For the understanding of the attitude towards death, the handiest sources are the wills, which present the subjective attitude of the man in front of death. The will is a type of source used and capitalized efficiently in almost all sub-fields of historiography–genealogy, historical anthropology, sociology, political studies, history of mentalities, economics, biography, material culture, and research in the history of law. The value of the will is conferred by a special subjectivity, which is combined with a desire for sincerity. The author of a will is confronted with the prospect of death, so he shares his thoughts about life and death, clarifies and solves his soul and earthly problems, shares his possessions, communicates the last wishes and teachings to family members. The present study aimed to apply a method of analyzing the attitude towards death on a case study. Regarding the analysis of this attitude towards death, the wills were an elementary and main source. In order to understand the wills of Bethlen Kata, a broad overview of the seventeenth century, with its confessional relations and conflicts, was necessary.

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