Benda Gyula: A keszthelyi uradalom 1850 előtti hagyatéki és vagyoni összeírásai 1. - Keszthely 1711-1820 (A Néprajzi Múzeum forráskiadványai 1; Budapest, 1988)

Summary

society. The probate inventories of the nobility were administered by the county and the local municipality of the nobility, those of the serfs by the manor, and those of the urban population by the town and the manor. In the 18-th century very few inventories were made in written form and we have very few of such documents left. The registration of probate inventories started between 1770 and 1790, and it was in 1836 that a law was passed to make it obligatory. However despite of the legislation the custom of probating did not become widespread before 1850. Of the invenntories made in ever growing numbers we have a large collection of those made after 1790. The archives of the manor, the town and the county had only a limited number of such inventories. Of these we collected 172 complete inventories of the households of Keszthely for publication. Regarding their forms and contents these inventories are rather heterogeneous. The publication is supplemented by documentary notes and a glossary at the end of Volume II.