Noble Siblings: Wealth Arrangements & Social Configurations

Land ownership made up a significant part of the wealth and power of early modern nobility. The gradual implementation of primogeniture has emerged as an especially distinctive phenomenon in the study of the history of kinship in the last two decades. The project begins with the assumptions that kinship has been a central relational web of the early modern period, and that transfers and ar- rangements of wealth had effects on the configurations of family and kin. On the basis of this, the project exposes new areas of focus: Our hypothesis is that we must consider a wide ensemble of wealth transfers in marriage, family, and kinship in our analysis beyond the father-son lineage in or- der to understand this fundamental process. Firstly, the project investigates the extent to which mar- riage alliances have sustained the concentration of wealth. Secondly, it brings the entailed estate which followed the logic of primogenitureonto the research agenda as another very important early modern institution that resulted in the stabilization of large estate complexes over many gener- ations. In the context of Austria, moreover, entailed estates have hardly been studied from the per- spective of social history and historical kinship studies. Thirdly, the relationships between noble sib- lings have hitherto been primarily characterized by competing interests and conflicts; this project, by contrast, employs an open approach and concentrates on reciprocity, cooperation, negotiations, and interdependencies. The main aim is to provide in-depth insights into the implications of the various forms of resource distribution on kinship organization. Sibling relations are a key element in this con- text. The project also connects with current debates on the perpetuation of social and economic ine- quality based on the inheritance of wealth. The project consists of two closely interlinked partial projects that will each be carried out by one doctoral student. The first sub-project seeks out the connection between wealth distributions, wealth arrangements, and generational kinship organization on the basis of ownership records, con- tracts, wills, and probate proceedings. The second sub-project looks at letters exchanged between siblings to analyze the modes of (re)organization of sibling relationships in the interplay between competition and cooperation with a focus on matters of wealth. Methodologically, the project is based on a concept of social practice that originates from structured repertoires and options for ac- tions, and relies on a micro-historical and historical-anthropological approach. Quantitative and qual- itative methodsincluding approaches from the history of emotions, the study of letters and situa- tional analysisare placed in relationship with one another. The project will be led by Prof. Dr. Margareth Lanzinger; she will coordinate and supervise the two partial projects carried out by the research associates Florian Andretsch, MA and Claudia Rapberger, MA.

The research project examined family and kinship relations within the Austrian nobility in the context of fundamental changes in the organisation of families and kinship groups in the early modern period. It focused on how the inheritance practices of noble families changed and how siblings dealt with the resulting inequalities. Four noble families - Lamberg, Starhemberg, Trauttmansdorff and Harrach - were studied in order to develop a multifaceted picture of the dynamics within this social elite. The first important finding concerns cooperation between noble siblings. The research showed that brothers and sisters used their position within the family to act together. The transition to primogeniture, which also greatly increased inequality between siblings in the Austrian nobility, is often seen as a source of tension. In the families studied, however, a different picture emerges: conflicts between siblings were rare before, during and after the introduction of primogeniture. Mutual support is much more evident in the sources. Siblings cooperated in various areas, especially politics, economic management, education and the placement of offspring. The well-being of the family was taken into account, but individual interests were often pursued as well. Another important finding concerns the importance of widows in aristocratic families. The death of a husband fundamentally changed the economic situation of these women and thus their position between the family of origin and the family of marriage. Although links with the husband's family still existed, a clear tendency to turn to the family of origin was observed in the cases studied here. This tendency does not mean, however, that the widows were once again dependent on their brothers. On the contrary, aristocratic marital property regimes meant that widows had considerable resources at their disposal, which they used to exercise social and economic power. Moreover, they often had considerable influence over the next generation: children, nephews and nieces. Their multiple positions placed them at the centre of the project. A third finding is the influence of debt and credit relations on the dynamics between noble siblings. In the early modern period, debt claims and interest-bearing financial investments were important forms of wealth ownership and indispensable means of providing for landless family members. Debt-based economic relations between siblings arose, for example, in the course of inheritance negotiations in which compensation payments or inheritance shares were determined in purely financial terms. Apart from inheritances, siblings often lent money to each other, creating financial dependencies. Siblings also played an important role in arranging loans from external lenders or negotiating terms with creditors. However, the use of credit to finance a wide range of activities and transactions was not without risk. All the families in the study faced debt problems to varying degrees.