U radu se na temelju izvornoga gradiva iz Državnoga arhiva u Veneciji razmatra oporuka biskupa Nikole Vladagnija, Skadranina, koji je bio na čelu biskupije Lješ (tal. Alessio, danas Lezhë) u Albaniji od 1692. do 1705. godine, s osvrtom na problematiku otkupa kršćanskih robova, oporučnog darivanja novca u tu svrhu i pravnih poteškoća koje su pratile taj proces.Based on the last will of the bishop of Lezhë Nicholas Vladagni (1692 – app. 1728) authors of this study tried to describe how the legacies in the last wills, noted by the Venetian notaries, were used to rise funds for the redemption of Christian slaves in the eighteenth century. Namely, testamentary bequests represented a notable income in the state treasury, especially regarding redemption of Christian slaves, and this business was handled by the Venetian magistrate Provveditori sopra ospedali e lughi pii. Example of the last will
of bishop Nicholas Vladagni revealed to what extent Venetian legislative affected execution of testamentary bequests, and what were the obstacles in the complicated network of the Venetian hereditary legislative, credit-debt relations and dotal rights. Moreover, these normative problems were influenced by the fact that many patrician families in Venice became impoverished during the eighteenth century, and many of them were involved in long-term hereditary trials, trying to secure their inalienable part of the legacy, which was endangered by numerous lease contracts and financial annuities. Consequently, execution of legacies was often delayed until the money bequeathed for the redemption of Christian slaves, which was part of such long-term hereditary trials, was liberated from all the inheritance claims. Bearing in mind, length of such hereditary court proceedings and firm stance of the Venetian government in the such matters, one can only conclude that the sole victims of these legal quirks were Christian slaves, who waited for freedom, which could
not be achieved without money gathered from the testamentary bequests
