Inheritance

The Historical Significance of Inheritance

Inheritance, in a general sense, has existed since preliterate times. Intergenerational transfers are a phenomenon found in all societies, with inheritance as the most common technique for affecting these transfers. Inheritance filled an important economic function in preindustrialized societies, sustaining the economic health of family members. In premodern times, an inheritance had the ability to provide surviving family members with the finances needed to subsist after the death of a primary wage earner or provider. Their survival was commonly so dependent on this transfer of wealth that there were often laws in place to ensure that property owners bequeathed their property to their surviving kin. In a macro sense, an inheritance was a means through which society was able to perpetuate itself and to economically sustain itself. It was the means through which societies were able to reproduce their culture and social structures, filling a fundamental social role in societies.

Items transferred intergenerationally as part of an inheritance also served to provide evidence of a family's status within the community. Inherited items were a symbol of the prominence of the owning lineage. A family's ability to maintain china, silver, jewelry, and other nonutilitarian household goods, even during hard economic times, demonstrated the social position and the sustained generations of strength and wealth of the owning family. Inherited possessions with their “patina,” or gentle signs of aging, on [Page 799]china, silver, and other items transferred intergenerationally documented the family's status and provided evidence of the lineage's long-standing honor, good name, and thus gentility.

Along with the inheritance of most of their belongings, a sense of the family continuity was also transferred to the next generation. Each generation was then the beneficiary of the history, stories, and values of the previous generations of the family. Thus, as possessions were moved forward in the lineage, a sense of comfort, security, continuity, and the family identity were also passed forward.

Inheritance in Contemporary Society

Inheritance became less important with the emergence of a consumer culture, traced to Europe beginning in the sixteenth century and becoming more fully visible in the eighteenth century. With a strong consumer culture, inherited possessions became less popular as individuals and families were swept up in the newly found consumption behavior of these times. Instead of demonstrating status through inherited possessions, individuals began to demonstrate their status in society through their ownership of the latest fashions.

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