Marriage and the Family in the Middle Ages (Paperback)

by Frances Gies (Author), Joseph Gies (Author) "No element in social history is more pervasive than the family, the universal environment where human beings learn to eat, walk, and speak, and acquire..." (more)
Key Phrases: marriage sine manu, medieval children, medieval nobility, Middle Ages, Sir John, Black Death (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Two experienced popular historians have assembled a well-researched and well-written overview of a lively topic in medieval scholarship, the history of the family. They start from the Roman, Germanic, and Christian backgrounds of medieval family life, cover its recently discovered 11th- and 12th-century transformations, and exploit the rich late medieval examples of family life. Among other topics the authors treat family definition and size, marriage rules and customs, and sexual relations. Especially because it offers the general reader a critical sense of the scholarship that resulted in this material, this is recommended for public and college libraries. Richard C. Hoffmann, York Univ., North York, Ontario
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
A compelling, lucid, and highly readable chronicle of medieval life written by the authors of the bestselling Life in a Medieval Castle and Life in a Medieval CityHistorians have only recently awakened to the importance of the family, the basic social unit throughout human history. This book traces the development of marriage and the family from the Middle Ages to the early modern era. It describes how the Roman and barbarian cultural streams merged under the influence of the Christian church to forge new concepts, customs, laws, and practices. Century by century it follows the development -- sometimes gradual, at other times revolutionary -- of significant elements in the history of the family:

The basic functions of the family as production unit, as well as its religious, social, judicial, and educational roles.

The shift of marriage from private arrangement between families to public ceremony between individuals, and the adjustments in dowry, bride-price, and counter-dowry.

The development of consanguinity rules and incest taboos in church law and lay custom.

The peasant family in its varying condition of being free or unfree, poor, middling, or rich.

The aristocratic estate, the problem of the younger son, and the disinheritance of daughters.

The Black Death and its long-term effects on the family.

Sex attitudes and customs: the effects of variations in age of men and women at marriage.

The changing physical environment of noble, peasant, and urban families.

Arrangements by families for old age and retirement.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (January 23, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060914688
• ISBN-13: 978-0060914684
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #462,747 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time Travel in a Book!, June 23, 1999

By A Customer

I have been reading this book over the last several nights and have really enjoyed it. Not a scholar or an historian, I am simply a person who has an unquenchable thirst for stories about this time period. I liked the chronological format of the book, and I was particularly interested in the growing nature of legality over issues like land transfers, inheritance and marriage. If I could meet the authors I would like to ask them about the process they used to research this book, and if they were able to actually look at some of the original documents they report from. The notes and bibliography are fascinating, and when I next have a chance to visit the U of M's library, I will look up some of the titles. I would like to thank the authors for this wonderful book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Family in the Dark Ages, December 12, 2008

By	Juan C. Depaz - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

An excellent work about a time about which little is really known. Frances and Joseph Gies manage to make fascinating what was a grim time for everybody. The book describes the form marriage had in different periods of the middle ages and what family life was like, complete with scandals and the biographies of several people of the time to provide background. The pervasive influence of the Catholic Church and what it meant at a time when it was the only international Law is shown in detail. The hardship both noble and peasant endured, the uncertainty of life and the bizarre ways(to us)families organized themselves to survive are clearly shown to provide us with a window into the times.

The contracts aging parents wrote with their children surprised me more than learning how short-lived noble dynasties were. This is a book for those who want to learn some history and don't want to endure some dull text book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Marriage and the Family in the Middle Ages, May 28, 2009

By	Raven Z "Raven Z" (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews

I truly enjoy every one of the Gies books I pick up. They are thoroughly researched and offer not only a historical look at the Medieval time period, but also an anthropological look at the culture and trends of the times. I have most of the series, and would recommend them to anyone wanting to get a more in depth look at this time period, even people who would not normally read history can enjoy them and get a great deal of information easily.