From Generation to Generation: Jewish Inheritance Practices and Christian Notarial Culture in the Crown of Aragon, 1250-1391
Paper by Sarah ifft Decker
Given at the Ethno-Religious Interaction in Premodern Iberia: Mechanisms and Trajectories conference, on October 15, 2022
Abstract: At first glance, the transmission of inheritance seems like an unlikely arena for inter-religious interaction in the Iberian Peninsula of the later Middle Ages. Jews in the Crown of Aragon had the privilege of self-governance in most internal affairs, including family law. With few exceptions, the transfer of estates and division of property within Jewish families fell firmly within the bounds of self-governance. However, a number of Jews in the Crown of Aragon chose to participate in a multi-lingual, legally pluralistic contractual culture, in which they relied on an intricate combination of Hebrew-Aramaic and Latin notarial contracts to organize and formalize the division of estates within Jewish families. Robert I. Burns brought together a wide array of Jewish wills drawn up by Christian notaries in Latin, in accordance with the norms of Roman and local customary law. This paper draws not only on wills, but also on a wide range of notarial contracts that reveal how Jewish families defined and justified inheritance strategies when doing business with Christians.
This paper argues that the vast majority of Jews who drew up notarial wills, donatio inter vivos contracts, and other Latinate documents related to inheritance did not seek to circumvent Jewish law. Instead, they valued a combination of Latin and Hebrew-Aramaic contracts as a means of making their inheritance choices intelligible both within and beyond the Jewish community. These contracts demonstrate the crucial importance for Jews, especially Jews of elite families, of business ties with Christians, as well as their comfort with Latin notarial culture. Additionally, this paper will consider which Jews were most reliant on Christian notarial culture and why—in particular, how Jews’ relationship with notarial culture was shaped by socio-economic status and by gender.
From Generation to Generation: Jewish Inheritance Practices and Christian Notarial Culture in the Crown of Aragon, 1250-1391
Paper by Sarah ifft Decker
Given at the Ethno-Religious Interaction in Premodern Iberia: Mechanisms and Trajectories conference, on October 15, 2022
Abstract: At first glance, the transmission of inheritance seems like an unlikely arena for inter-religious interaction in the Iberian Peninsula of the later Middle Ages. Jews in the Crown of Aragon had the privilege of self-governance in most internal affairs, including family law. With few exceptions, the transfer of estates and division of property within Jewish families fell firmly within the bounds of self-governance. However, a number of Jews in the Crown of Aragon chose to participate in a multi-lingual, legally pluralistic contractual culture, in which they relied on an intricate combination of Hebrew-Aramaic and Latin notarial contracts to organize and formalize the division of estates within Jewish families. Robert I. Burns brought together a wide array of Jewish wills drawn up by Christian notaries in Latin, in accordance with the norms of Roman and local customary law. This paper draws not only on wills, but also on a wide range of notarial contracts that reveal how Jewish families defined and justified inheritance strategies when doing business with Christians.
This paper argues that the vast majority of Jews who drew up notarial wills, donatio inter vivos contracts, and other Latinate documents related to inheritance did not seek to circumvent Jewish law. Instead, they valued a combination of Latin and Hebrew-Aramaic contracts as a means of making their inheritance choices intelligible both within and beyond the Jewish community. These contracts demonstrate the crucial importance for Jews, especially Jews of elite families, of business ties with Christians, as well as their comfort with Latin notarial culture. Additionally, this paper will consider which Jews were most reliant on Christian notarial culture and why—in particular, how Jews’ relationship with notarial culture was shaped by socio-economic status and by gender.
Sarah Ifft Decker is Assistant Professor of History at Rhodes College. She is the author of The Fruit of Her Hands: Jewish and Christian Women’s Work in Medieval Catalan Cities
Top Image: Crown of Aragon in the Catalan Atlas
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