The Legal Position of Widows in Medieval Hungary up to 1222 and the Question of Dower
The Legal Position of Widows in Medieval Hungary up to 1222 and the Question of Dower

Summary/Abstract: In this study, the author is concerned with the position of widows in medieval society. He considers the development of basic ideas about their position on the basis of the decrees of Frankish synods and Early Medieval laws. The main part of the work is devoted to widows in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary during the earliest period from the 11th century to the issuing of the Golden Bull in 1222. The subject of this is the position of widows according to the individual points of the Hungarian law codes of St. Stephen, St. Ladislav and Koloman. The main question is the claim of widows to property and the gradual changes in this area up to the beginning of the 13th century. The main emphasis is placed on the search for the beginnings of the dowry as property, which the woman kept after the death of her husband. The study includes a detailed analysis of the wills of important women, widows, but also widowers. Evidence of the property rights of widows and the first indications of the existence of the dower are sought in these documents.

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