By the end of the fifth century, with the structural collapse of the Roman Empire in the west, Western Europe had fallen into the so-called Dark Ages. With the power of Rome removed, the Catholic Church stepped in to fill the void. Its political rise, alongside that of the Germanic kingdoms, led to dramatic changes in law, politics, power, and culture. Against the backdrop of that upheaval, the family became a vitally important area of focus for cultural struggles related to morality, law, and tradition. This book explores those battles in order to demonstrate, through the family, the intersections between Roman and Christian legal culture, thought, and political power.
Author(s): Emma Southon
Series: Social Worlds of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Year: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 256
City: Amsterdam
Cover
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Terminology and Time Frame
Structure
Part 1 Creating New Families
1 Property, Power and Bride Price
2 Consent to Betrothal
3 Betrothal, Desire, and Emotional Attachment
4 Having Children
5 Family Planning
Conclusions to Part 1
Part 2 Marriage
1 Property and the Limits of Marriage
2 Sex and the Meaning of Marriage
3 Adultery
4 Divorce
5 Concordia
Conclusions to Part 2
Part 3 Parenthood
1 Patrimony and Fatherhood
2 The Role and Meaning of Fatherhood
3 The Legal Role of Mothers
4 The Nurturing Mother
5 Parents and Betrothal
6 Parents and Adult Children
Conclusions to Part 3
Conclusions
Appendix 1: The Law Codes
Liber Constitutionum
Pactus Legis Salicae
Lex Ripuaria
Visigothic Code
Lombard Law Codes
Appendix 2: Table of Incidence of Laws Concerning Betrothal and Marriage
Appendix 3: Three Table of Incidence of Laws Concerning Parenting
Bibliography
Index
Names
Topics
