TESTAMENTOS DE MURCIA

Our Legacy

The Historical Provincial and General Archives of the Region of Murcia (Spain) conserves almost 15,400 notarial protocols from the mid-15th century to the second decade of the 20th century, from most of the province of Murcia. Among the documents executed in the presence of public notaries are those that record people's last wishes (wills and codicils), as well as other types of dispositions after the death of the grantor: declarations of heirs, post mortem inventories, appraisals, distribution and adjudication of inheritances...

The Challenge

Despite its rich history, the large volume of notarial documentation (a notary's register or protocol can contain thousands of deeds in a year) has not allowed for its systematic cataloguing. Currently, in our web catalogue, we can locate some 8,000 wills and testamentary dispositions (basically post mortem inventories and partitions of property) in the notarial collection.

However, our Archive has an old collection of more than 36,000 typewritten and handwritten cards, where wills and testamentary dispositions granted in the city of Murcia between 1475 and 1885 are catalogued. These files can currently only be consulted in person in our research room.

The challenge is to transcribe these cards, whose information will be imported into the Archive's online public catalogue, which will make it possible to locate the indexed wills in their respective protocol or notarial register.

Our Goal

We want to enlist the help of citizen volunteers, interested in history and genealogy, to enrich the catalogue of the notarial collection of our Archive, tripling the records on last wills and testamentary dispositions, with the inclusion of these more than 36,000 new catalogues. The result of this massive indexing will make it possible to locate, make available for consultation and request the reproduction of these historical documents through the Archive's web catalogue, which will greatly facilitate research into family and social history.

Historical context. Types of wills

According to the Spanish Civil Code, ‘The act by which a person disposes of all or part of his or her property after death is called a will’. The Dictionary of the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language also defines a will as ‘A declaration that someone makes of his last will, disposing of property and matters that concern him for after his death’ and as ‘A document in which the will of the testator is recorded in legal form’.

However, during the Middle and Modern Ages (13th-18th centuries), wills also had a spiritual or religious aspect. They served to make peace with God before death and to establish a series of dispositions, the so-called ‘mandas pías’, generally the commissioning of masses and charity to churches, religious orders or brotherhoods.

Historical wills usually have a minimum number of elements:

• Name and identification of the grantor or grantors (when it is joint).
• Dispositive clauses or mandates
• Establishment of the heirs and the executors
• Place and date
• Signatures of grantors and/or witnesses.
• Signature and validation by the notary, if applicable.

There are different types of wills, in accordance with the current regulations. The will can be common or special and within them, there are different types (which are summarised as follows).

Common wills:

• Open (or nuncupative) will. The grantor expresses his or her last will in the presence of a notary and, normally, two witnesses, and it is recorded in the notarial register.

• Closed will. The testator, without revealing what his last will is, declares that it is contained in a closed and sealed envelope which he gives to the notary. He can also reserve it for himself and after his death it must be notarised. In both cases, the will is opened after the death of the grantor.

• Holographic will. This is made in the testator's own handwriting, which must be signed and the day, month and year in which it is made. The holographic will must be notarised within five years of the testator's death. The person in possession of the holographic will must present it to the notary within ten days of the day on which he/she becomes aware of the testator's death.

• Joint will. This is granted jointly by two or more persons, normally spouses. Relatively common until the 19th century, it is prohibited in the current Spanish Civil Code, but still exists in the foral law of Aragon or Navarre.

Special wills. These are rarer to find in notarial records:

• Military will. Granted in writing or viva voce to several witnesses, in a war context and before a battle.

• Maritime will. This is granted before the captain of a ship by a traveller or crew member in the middle of a voyage.

• Will granted in a foreign country, in accordance with the laws of that country.

Codicil. This is an ancient last will and testament that could be granted in the absence of a will or to complement one that had already been granted. It made it easier for the testator to modify his or her will, maintaining the main points of the will. The codicil does not contain an institution of heirs. It is not included in the current Spanish Civil Code, but it does persist in some foral codes, such as those of Catalonia and Navarre.