Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index
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Record Number:
2704
Author(s)/Creator(s):
Saller , Richard.
Contributor(s):
Title:
European Family History and Roman Law
Source:
Continuity and Change 6, 3 (December 1991): Pages 335 - 346.
Description:
Article Type:
Journal Article
Subject
(See Also)
:
Family
Fathers
Historians
Households
Inheritance
Law
Marriage
Patriarchy
Patrilineage
Social Change
Social Groups
Social History
Social Networks
Social Roles
Award Note:
Geographic Area:
General
Century:
General
Primary Evidence:
Illustrations:
Table:
Abstract:
Some recent, major syntheses of the history of European family life have used Roman law to explain central developments, such as exogamy, the emergence of 'commensurable' family units, or the rise of paternal authoritarianism. Such explanations must assume that legal rules exercise a strong determinative influence on behaviour of family members. The assumption is unwarranted with regard to Roman law: the law did not exhaustively define or determine family behaviour; on the contrary, it offered a vast array of legal instruments and institutions, which could be manipulated to underwrite a great variety of family relationships and forms. Consequently, changes in Roman law and the reintroduction of Roman law in the late medieval era can have only limited explanatory power in understanding the differences between family life in northern and southern Europe.
Related Resources:
Author's Affiliation:
Department of History, University of Chicago
Conference Info:
- , -
Year of Publication:
1991.
Language:
English
ISSN/ISBN:
02684160