FAMILY PATRIMONY AND THE LEGACY OF THE FIRST-BORN SON. SOME EXAMPLES FROM EUROPEAN MONARCHIES IN THE 11th–12th CENTURIES

Abstract

The paper examines the concept of family patrimony on the example of three medieval monarchies between the mid-11th and late 12th centuries. Though far away from one another, Spain, England and Serbia witnessed almost identical political circumstances when the ruler passed the throne to a younger son, bypassing the first-born son, thereby also directly infringing the right of primogeniture. As a rule, such decision resulted in years-long conflicts among the brothers. However, the common denominator in all three cases is that family patrimony was entrusted to the eldest son regardless of the fact that he was not an heir to the throne, which implies that it was his inalienable right.

Keywords

• family patrimony, dedovina, Fernando I, William I the Conqueror, Stefan Nemanja, medieval monarchy, feudal society