The social history of the European family from the Middle Ages to the present is examined with an emphasis on data derived from research on Central Europe. It is argued that there has been a gradual transformation of the family from a unit characterized by patriarchy to one essentially a partnership of relatively independent individuals with overlapping roles. The authors begin with the family as a concept and with the various types of familial structures in Europe. Chapters on changes in family composition family size and the family cycle lead on to a study of changes in the functions of the family. Patriarchal family structure is treated in such a way as to take account of its dependence on social and economic conditions. The second half of the book deals with relationships within the family: first with the place of young people within the family then with the relationship between spouses and finally with the position of the elderly. This book is a revised version of a work originally published in German in 1977. (EXCERPT)
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Plakans et al. (1983) studied this question.