ABSTRACT

Family and Kinship in England 1450-1800 guides the reader through the changing relationships that made up the nature of family life from the late medieval period to the beginnings of industrialisation. It gives a clear introduction to many of the intriguing areas of interest that this field of history has opened up, including childhood, youth, marriage, sexuality and death.  

This book introduces the elements that made up family life at different stages of its development, from creation to dissolution, and traces the degree to which family life in England changed throughout the early modern period. It also provides a valuable synthesis of the debates and research on the history of the family, highlighting the different ways historians have investigated the topic in the past. This new edition has been fully updated to incorporate the latest research on urban communities, emotions and interactions between the family and the parish, town and state.  

Supported by a range of compelling primary source documents, a glossary of terms, a chronology and a who’s who of key characters, this is an essential resource for any student of the history of the family.

part I|54 pages

Introduction – methods and structures

chapter 1|9 pages

Approaching the history of the family

chapter 2|9 pages

Emotional life

chapter 3|8 pages

Residence and reproduction

chapter 4|9 pages

Life cycle and economy

chapter 5|9 pages

Kinship

chapter 6|8 pages

Culture and context

part II|62 pages

Analysis – the pattern of family life

chapter 7|9 pages

Independence and family formation

chapter 8|9 pages

Sex and sexualities

chapter 9|8 pages

Marriage

chapter 10|9 pages

Parents and children

chapter 11|8 pages

Growing up

chapter 12|9 pages

Death and burial

chapter 13|8 pages

Broken families

part III|28 pages

Assessment – continuity and change

chapter 14|9 pages

The impact of ideas on family life

chapter 15|9 pages

Economic change

chapter 16|8 pages

The family and kinship in perspective

part IV|26 pages

Documents