Elementy biograficzno-genealogiczne w testamentach przełomu XVII i XVIII w.

Abstract

An in-depth analysis of egodocumentary sources, which include the will, hides a huge amount of information from the researchers, but the historian must take into account the fact that the information contained in the sources is incomplete, sometimes doubtful, and sometimes completely false and biased. This is due not only to the bad will of the testators, but also the conditions in which this type of documents was created and the purpose it was intended to serve. Despite assurances of good mental state, the moribund were sometimes unaware of the content of their writings, which, after their death, became an occasion to question the validity of the wills. It happened that the testers forgot to mention the name of the wife or husband, the order of relationships, the number of children, not to mention the knowledge about the fate of adult offspring with whom they did not maintain contact for various reasons. Hence, all biographical data taken from this type of sources requires checking and comparison with other available material.