Charters - Witnesses of Communication
In this room, you can see an exhibition of different types of charters. They range from a letter about an election at a Cistercian abbey in Italy and the testament of a woman to records of taxation in the late medieval Empire.
What connects these objects is their simple appearance, practical use, and focus on the information they contain. However, even these charters can reveal interesting visual features, such as the notary’s sign or, in some cases, problematic dating.
An Italian woman's will
Date: February 3, 1501
Place: Venice, Italy.
Material: parchment
Language: Latin
This charter, preserved in the University Library of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Urk. 171), is the testament of Elisabetta, widow of Pietro Manolo. In it, the testatrix names as her heir her daughter Angela, wife of Giovanni Antonio de Rompiase, and promises her a bequest of 300 ducats. The will was drawn up by the notary Bernardino Bono and witnessed by Demetrio, son of Antonio, aromatarius (spice-seller), and Stefano, son of Giovanni, remario (oar-maker). The document offers insight into the transmission of property along the female line, as a widow provided for her married daughter through a substantial monetary legacy.