Vermögen und Verwandtschaft / Patrimonio e parentela
Curators
Siglinde Clementi / Janine Maegraith
Abstract
Having material goods (money, real estate, usage rights, privileges, personal items) at their disposal defines the possibilities for action of men and women to this day. In the historical perspective, the transfer of property (e.g. via marriage or inheritance) not only served the purpose of personal protection but also represented a means of forging or strengthening family relations. Wealth and kinship were thus closely interlocked with one another despite the fact that every transfer of assets also offered considerable potential for conflict: Diverging interests collided and had to be negotiated by way of exchange between generations and genders.
The contributions on Friuli, Tyrol, Styria, Trent, Ravensburg, and Grisons in this issue examine the reciprocal relationship between kinship and wealth, underlining their potential to influence each other as well as the different ways in which the involved persons dealt with them. Embedded in regional social, legal, and economic contexts, they thereby illustrate differences as well as commonalities.
