Eiendelregister

Eiendelregister is a historical Dutch term used in archival practice to denote a register of eiendelen, i.e., movable property or belongings owned by a person, household, or institution. The exact scope varied by region and period, but the concept generally served to document possessions for legal, financial, or administrative purposes.

Typical entries listed items by category (household goods, tools, livestock, textiles), with descriptions, estimated value, owner, and often a date or location. Some eiendelregisters accompanied probate inventories, taxation records, or estate settlements, while others were kept by parishes, guilds, or notaries as standing asset ledgers.

Form and format ranged from chronological ledgers to itemized inventories. Some entries were brief descriptions; others included valuations in local currency. The registers were used to support taxation, inheritance, insurance, or transfer of property.

Name and etymology: the word derives from eiendel or eiendelen, meaning “belongings” or “property,” combined with register. The practice reflects broader European inventory traditions in the early modern period.

Preservation: surviving eiendelregisters are found in municipal, parish, or court archives, primarily in the Low Countries, and are often fragmentary. They are valuable for reconstructing household economies, material culture, and social structure of past communities.

See also: inventory, estate inventory, property register, notarial records.