From Partition to Primogeniture. Noble Inheritance Practices in the Austrian Heriditary Lands , 16th to 18th centuries

The sub-project analyzes changes regarding the inheritance practices and similar types of property transfer from a long-term perspective spanning from the 16th to the 18th century. It will elaborate which models of organizing and distributing family property existed in the examined area and how they evolved in the course of the Early Modern Era. One focus lies on the question to what extent a "triumph of primogeniture" occurred within the nobility of Upper and Lower Austria. To achieve this aim, case study 1 combines quantitative approaches with methods that examine the actions of early modern nobles in detail. The quantitative analysis of a collection of noble last wills created by Lower Austria's noble court - the Landmarschall's court - aims to trace broader trends of change on one hand.  On the other hand, this approach is combined with methods operating  which seek to reconstruct the practices of intergenerational wealth transfer of individuals from three specified noble lineages in detail, making use of sources like wills, inventories, marriage and inheritance contracts or documents originating from legal conflicts and negotiations.