Dear distinguished members,
medieval Swedish law contained a rule that
only baptised persons could inherit. If a child
died "heathen" or unbaptised, it could neither receive
any inheritance nor transmit any on to its relatives. This was
probably introduced by the Church in order to ensure that
parents had an interest in having their children baptised as
soon as possible after birth.
My question is this: have you come across any
similar norms in other areas in medieval Europe?
Do you have any hints regarding literature on the
subject of baptism as a pre-condition to inheritance
rights?
Best wishes,
Mia Korpiola
Mia Korpiola, LL. Lic.
KATTI
P. O. Box 4 (Fabianinkatu 24 A)
FIN-00014 University of Helsinki
Finland
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