ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the Byzantine family before and after the mid-fourteenth century and potential changes in family and social ties as consequences of the economic and demographic conditions in the Late Byzantine period. It focuses on the island of Lemnos and its local society between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, and depends on the information in the monastic archives of Mount Athos and Patmos for this period. One of the main objectives of the survey was to study the settlement patterns and fortification networks on the island in the Late Byzantine period and investigate factors that contributed to its development, such as demography, economic activities, trade routes, and enemy threats. The chapter presents the case-study of Lemnos that adds to existing knowledge of the socioeconomic conditions of the Late Byzantine period while emphasising the importance of regional studies.
