Pious Bequests in Wills: a Statistical Analysis

This paper employs maximum likelihood methods to analyze the increase in pious bequests in early modern French wills. Other historians have described the rise of pious bequests in wills, but no one has used multivariate statistical methods to explain the phenomenon. It turns out that at any level of wealth pious bequests rose over the course of the seventeenth century and that the bequests. were most pronounced among the literate and women. The paper argues that the increase in pious bequests was mark of growing support for the Counter Reformation, which attracted an inordinate nw;iber of supporters in educated circles and in the female population. PIOUS lll.lQUESTS IN WILLS: A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Phillip T. Hoffman California Institute of Technology Historical Backround On the 28th of May, 1678, Pierre Remillier, a prosperous farmer in the village of Longes in southeastern France, called a notary to his sickbed. He was gravely ill, and being of advanced age, he feared he might never recover. He therefore wanted to divide his estate and settle his affairs on this earth, and so he summoned Floris Lentilhon, a notary in the nearby market town of Sainte Colombe, in order that Lentilhon might transcribe his last will and testament. When the notary arrived, Remillier at once began to dictate his will. Blessing himself, he said that ''as a good Christian and ·Catholic I entrust my soul to God the Father Almighty and to his only begotten Son our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.'' He then folded his hands in prayer and begged ''the most glorious Virgin Mary Mother of God'' to intercede for him and act as his ''advocate'' so that God would pardon his sins. He asked that he be interred in his family's grave at the parish church in Longes and requested his heirs to arrange for his funeral and for two anniversary masses after his death. After addressing these religions concerns, Remillier settled down to the task we normally associate with a will -that of 2 distributing his estate to his heirs. Remillier had already given a considerable part of his property to his two married daughters in their marriage contracts, and in his will he gave each of them a small piece of land. He also left twenty ~ to his only other descendant, a granddaughter. The rest of his estate went to his wife. These material legacies, though, were bound up with additional religious bequests. In return for the property they received, Remillier's daughters were to have forty masses said at two nearby friaries for the repose of their father's soul. Similarly, Remillier's wife was to set aside ten livres from the estate for another twenty masses for his soul at the parish of Longes. Finally, Remillier left twenty bichets of rye (worth about 30 livres) to the poor who attended his memorial masses and prayed for him.I All told, Remillier spent 60 livres on posthumous masses and charity. This was a considerable sum at a time when a poor rural day laborer might earn only 100 livres a year. Remillier was thus making a significant gesture when he reserved 60 livres for pious bequests instead of giving it to his heirs. He clearly believed it was worth spending this money on masses and charity in order to improve his lot in the next world. Of course, he had every reason to act this way. Catholic theology assured him that charity and masses would spare him pain in the hereafter; indeed, such good works could even improve his his chances for salvation. In effect, Remillier was doing the impossible; by making pious bequests, he allowed his money to work for him even after death.