# Legacies and cultural normalisation

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/10/27/legacies-cultural-normalisation/
- Published: 2014-10-27T16:45:28+00:00
- Author: Simon George

In the British Library I recently saw the original will of Aethelstan the Atheling,
son of Aethelred the Unready, who died in 1014. It is the oldest will I have seen
and in remarkably good condition. Well worth a visit if you have a few minutes to
spare in London.

In the will, Aethelstan leaves his property to his family, his household and the
Church. In this way, he makes sure his family is provided for, rewards faithful 
servants and friends and leaves a legacy to charity. Much like a modern will in 
fact.

His prized possessions, given the violent age he lived in, were his 11 swords and
he leaves very specific instructions about who is to inherit these, including his
brother Edmund Ironside (who received one belonging to Offa of Mercia – already 
an antique by 1014). Other gifts were left to Aethelweard the Stammerer, Godwine
the Driveller (sic) and Aelnoth his sword polisher.

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Fast forward 1,000 years to my local solicitors, where my wife and I are making 
new wills. In these, like Aethelstan we will be providing for family and leaving
a legacy to charity. I don’t have any swords to bequeath, just a few bits and bobs
that I want to go to specific people, should my time come. Unlike Aethelstan, I 
have not listed these in my new will, but in a letter of wishes referred to in the
will, that I can update whenever I feel like it. It gives a bit more flexibility
and is increasingly common these days.

It is interesting to muse on what led Aethelstan to leave a legacy to the Church.
Maybe this was already a cultural norm by 1014, or perhaps, making a will on his
death bed, he saw it as a bit of an insurance policy for the afterlife? Or maybe
he was just asked by the priest who attended to him? Certainly, we will never know.

So what has prompted me to leave a legacy to charity? Well as someone who advises
on legacy fundraising, I hope that by doing so I will have the authority to encourage
others to join me, not just for the charity of which I am a trustee, but also for
the charities I work with where leaving a legacy is not yet the norm.

I know that “cultural normalisation”, to use the jargon, is supposed to take three
generations, but as Aethelstan’s will shows, leaving a legacy to charity used to
be the norm in the UK, so maybe we can skip one or two? I won’t change things on
my own, but if you join me and remember your favourite charity in your will, maybe
together we can make charitable legacies the norm again?

There is more info here about [legacy fundraising](http://www.wgconsulting.co.uk/fundraising-services/legacy-fundraising).

 * **[New legacy fundraising consultancy launched](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/01/31/new-legacy-fundraising-consultancy-launched/)**(
   31 January 2015)
 * **[Innovation in legacy marketing](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/03/07/innovation-legacy-marketing/)**(
   7 March 2015)
 * **[Disinheritance ruling: daughter successfully challenges charitable legacies](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/07/28/disinheritance-ruling-daughter-successfully-challenges-charitable-legacies/)**(
   28 July 2015)