ABSTRACT
Just as families in early modern England were formed with the creation of new households, usually around the institution of marriage, so they were also dis solved as essential members of the household died. However, the early death of partners did not necessarily mark the beginning of the end of a household, as families could also be reconstructed by remarriage. In the modern Western world, with historically high mean life spans, it is usually anticipated that the final stages of the life cycle of the family will see a long period of old age, during which cohabiting partners will enjoy a period of active retirement. But with the relatively high mortality that prevailed in early modern England, this pattern is likely to have been very different. The same circumstances have also been seen as having profound effects on attitudes to death, burial and memor ial, all of which have been perceived as sensitive indicators of the nature of family life. Thus, the ways in which families were disrupted by death can perhaps tell us as much about family life as their formation and expansion.
