Hereditary and foundation-related rights of noblewomen in the Serbian Medieval state in the era of Nemanjić's

• Main Author: Ničić Jelena
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Serbian Culture Priština, Leposavić 2011-01-01
• Series: Baština
• Subjects: women's seigneur's portrait; patronage; gentry; medieval legislation; hereditary law; position and rights of women; prikija (property); medieval serbian state
• Online Access: https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0353-9008/2011/0353-90081130285N.pdf
• ISSN: 0353-9008; 2683-5797

Charters, founder's inscriptions and portraits in churches give sufficient data to presume how women of feudal class in the Serbian medieval state in the 13th and 14th century had the right of heredity, enjoyment and disposal of the property, not only with the movable (as of jewelry and furnishings) but with land and money as well. That means they financed the building and painting of church themselves, procurement of divine mass objects, icons, church's furniture, took care of the needs of their lay of foundations, supervised patronage, had the right to be buried in the temple, and painting of founder's portraits. Legal relationships, after Milutin's invasions of Byzantine's territories in the South, and their annexation to Serbia, were regulated in accordance with Byzantine's laws. Noblewomen enjoyed the right to dispose of money and land, either it is about of the property given by the parents or husband's inheritance. Married women, that is mothers, had shares in the property of husband, that is father, so that children could not dispose of family inheritance without mother's permission. The poorer noble families were the whole family property using for the endowment. Women were investing in this case their property (prikija) in the building and decoration of temple and gained the title of founder. Husband had been, as the head of the family, considered as the main founder of temple, but in the founder's inscriptions was indicated that the church was built by the seigneur together with his wife and children.