The Tallinn City Archives preserve a large number of probate inventories of Tallinn’s residents. These were compiled in cases where someone died without heirs, the heirs could not be immediately located, or they were minors. The inventories detail various movable property of the deceased – kitchen utensils, everyday items, tools, clothing, valuables, written materials, and sometimes cash, among other things. As such, the inheritance inventories provide a fairly detailed insight into the domestic life and living conditions of Tallinn residents during the Middle Ages and early modern period. This collection includes probate inventories compiled up to and including the year 1560. In total, more than five hundred such documents have been registered. Most date from the 16th century and are archived under the reference numbers TLA f. 230, n. 1, s. Ae1-Ae4, Bt1, and Bt6. All medieval Low German inheritance inventories have been digitised, segmented, and transcribed.

Author of transcriptions: Ivar Leimus

The collection comprises medieval probate inventories preserved in the Tallinn City Archives (up to the year 1560), all of which have been digitised, segmented, and transcribed.