Maro meto (1602) Merkinės miestiečių testamentai

LTŠiame straipsnyje pristatysime maro meto Merkinės miestiečių testamentus palygindami jų informaciją su galiojusiomis teisės normomis. Taip pat pabandysime nustatyti šio kritiško meto testamentinių dovanojimų paveldėtojus ir šiems testamentams būdingus bruožus. [p. 98].

ENThe plague epidemic that started in the summer of 1602 raged almost all over the whole territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It spread in the town of Merkinė as well. At the beginning of September the town officials, upon leaving the town, transferred their legal powers to clerk Pariashovitch. At that time one of his main tasks was to take part in drawing up wills and register them in the Book of Magistracy. Those wills were practically the only documents recorded in that book during the time of plague, which reflected the reality of that time best of all. Problems of inheritance during the time of plague in Lithuania have not been addressed in historiography thus far, therefore it is expedient to study the way in which property matters were handled in those extreme conditions. Wills of the inhabitants of Merkinė drawn up during the time of plague are presented in the article, information contained therein is compared to the requirements of legal norms. Also, inheritors of the property by these wills and their peculiar features are determined in the article. Fourteen wills of the inhabitants of Merkinė recorded in the Book of Magistracy during the time of plague have been used in the study. Though the contents of the wills is only retold, it is done thoroughly and in detail. As the town of Merkinė was granted the right of self-government in 1569, testamentary inheritance of the inhabitants of Merkinė was regulated by the norms of Magdeburg law. Little had been written about wills in Magdeburg and Saxon law because it was common practice to inherit property in accordance with the general right of inheritance. However, with the passing of time legal practice of drawing up wills established itself.Groicki, a Polish jurist, presented it in the commentaries on the norms of Magdeburg law in 1567. His explanations are widely used in this article for the purpose of showing how the requirements of legal norms were observed in drawing up wills during the time of plague. Having carried out the analysis of information presented in the wills, it has been established that the citizens of Merkinė tried to observe legal norms in expressing their will at the critical time of their life: wills were drawn up in the presence of an official representative of the town authorities, testators drawing up the will were sane and did it at their own free will, and property was bequeathed to their closest people. Main inheritors were a wife and children and only in their absence - other relatives. It was only in very rare cases that property was bequeathed to other people who were not relatives. In this way it was sought to keep property in the hands of the family or relatives. The cases of leaving the legacy to the Church, brotherhood or beggars are very few. However, the desire to be buried in accordance with Christian customs was expressed. Exceptional features that are characteristic of these wills are as follows: emphasising the critical period, i.e. the plague epidemic, that determined drawing up of the document, obviousness of death and appointment of other inheritors in case of the death of children. Non-appointment of guardians of a wife and children can also be attributed to the characteristic features of the wills.