Dispositions and funeral legacies in testaments of Armenians from the Ruthenian voivodeship n the 17th century

Abstract

Seventeenth-century testaments of Armenians do not differ significantly from wills of other burghers or noblemen from the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They are primarily documents that concern the disposition of property. The article analyses eight testaments written in Lviv and Jazłowiec, and one written in Kołodziejów near Halicz (Halych); on the basis of this sample it is possible to identify their unique features.Armenians’ wills were focused on the disposition of property to the relatives; they concerned movables and sums secured on immovable property, as well as legacies to Armenian and Roman Catholic churches or to clergymen of the Armenian Church. Bequests to particular clergymen are a peculiarity of Armenian wills; they also show that members of the Armenian community had a duty to support it. Such legacies were sometimes left to Armenian churches in Etchmiadzin in Armenia or Jerusalem, very far from the Commonwealth. The legacies of Armenian testators were exceptionally generous, which indicates that the wills analyzed in this article were written by affluent members of the community and that Armenians from the Ruthenian Voivodship were deeply involved in supporting Church institutions.