Abstract

A pragmatic analysis of the will allows interpreting the pious legacy as a response to the inner tensions of kinship that builds a public and privileged place of ceremonial action. This action takes on different institutional forms, of which the legal literature of the old regime helps to grasp common features. Last but not least, pastoral visits identify the practices the legacies are subject to, which are translated into a number of privileged bodies - from foundations of masses to resource distributions, from the foundation of parishes to devotional innovations.