Starość wiejska z terenów pogranicza kujawsko-wielkopolskiego. Interpretacja międzywojennych świadectw notarialnych gwarantujących „dożywocie”
The elderly in a rural region of the Kujawy and Greater Poland borderland. The analysis of inter-war notary certificates guaranteeing annuities

Summary/Abstract: The paper aims at presenting a specific historical source, namely notarial annuity provisions typically included in sale agreements, but also used in acts of donation and wills. The analyzed source comes from the inter-war period and concerns a village in the Kujawy and Greater Poland borderland (former Prussian territory). In the first part, the author presents the dynamically developing field of history that is history of the elderly. Then, the determinants of the specific character of the elderly in rural areas are described. The next part discusses the concept of old age established in “magical culture” (or “myth”), which is mainly reconstructed by ethnologists and historians of old age. Afterwards, the determinants of annuities during the Prussian occupation are demonstrated. The inter-war period is analyzed based on sample excerpts from annuity agreements, with interpretation of these documents and the way they were implemented in reality. The paper ends with conclusions and a reference to similar documents still being drafted now.

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