Medieval Households

Cumbreland, Rhode Island, U.S.A.: Harvard Univ Pr, 1985. Paperback. Very Good. 8vo - over 7 in to 9 in Tall. Soft cover. Very good condition.NO markings on text.. How should the medieval family be characterized? Who formed the household and what were the ties of kinship, law and affection that bound the members together?Herlihy's excellent work makes accessible persuasive counterarguments against the theory that affection for children developed only recently. Herlihy...demonstrates how modern society moved toward its definition of 'family' and shows its emergence in the medieval period. He uses scattered and diverse source material to trace the development of the family from Roman times to the medieval development of common expectations of family life applicable to all classes. The sources, ranging from well-known classical and medieval writers such as Aristotle, Tacitus, Aquinas, and Augustine to monastic archives, sermons, lives of saints, and civil archives, provide models and reflections of family life, including the church's use of scripture to establish marital and family standards applicable to ruler and serf alike...This book will become the standard source for family history in cultural context. In spite of its erudition, it is accessible to undergraduates