Issue 1, Vol. 47 (2023) - 2023

The study examines the question of whether birth order influenced the marriage circumstances of peasant daughters and whether a change in inheritance practice influenced marriage strategies. The research was conducted on the Šťáhlavy estate in western Bohemia, where 94 families, formed in 1701–1820, were selected. The sample under study was made up of 256 daughters surviving into adulthood, divided into four categories based on birth order (eldest, youngest, middle, and only daughters). The research focused on several parameters, such as how large the percentage of women who entered into marriage was. It was also examined whether they entered into homogamous marriages as regards social class, age and family status and whether they married while their fathers were still alive. All these parameters were observed in the context of a change in inheritance practice (1787) consisting of ultimogeniture being gradually replaced by primogeniture.

The aim of this study is to analyze the development of nuptiality of the Škvorec estate in 1760–1839. The Škvorec estate (16 localities), located in the territory of today՚s Central Bohemia, near Prague, was an important agricultural area in given period. The analysis of nuptiality is based on complete nominal excerpts from parish registers. The number of marriages and other indicators of the nuptiality are compared with the values for the Czech lands as a whole and in more detail with other selected rural localities. The results mostly correspond with the trends observed in other localities in the Czech lands.

The article approximates the demographic behavior of the inhabitants of the rock dwellings near Valečov Castle in the former political and judicial district of Mnichovo Hradiště/Münchengrätz. It also describes their history. A specific community of the poorest villagers was evicted in 1892. The text is based on the method of family reconstruction and other archival research.