ABSTRACT
On January 12, 1765, on the island of Mykonos, Giannis Gouliermakis composed the dowry contract of his daughter Fratzeskaki, who was marrying a man named Nikolaos, the son of the late Mpenardou. Several relatives of the bride added their own properties to the dowry her father was bestowing, augmenting it signifi cantly. Her uncle Kostantis added a vineyard, a workshop, some items for her trousseau, and two hundred asylania politika;1 her brother Nikolaos added a further fi fty grosia,2 while the uncle of the groom-the priest Nathanail-gave his nephew a house, a vineyard, several fi elds, and some furniture.3 Giannis was under legal obligation to provide a dowry for his daughter, as was often the case in many parts of Europe,4 but the kinsmen who appeared in the document were not under such obligation. Why, then, would they be willing to show such generosity to their relatives?
