Kindred and Clan in the Middle Ages and After
A Study in the Sociology of the Teutonic Races

An examination of the kinship structure of medieval northern European societies, based on their laws and literature.

Bertha Surtees Phillpotts (Author)

9781108010504, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 31 October 2010

320 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.8 cm, 0.41 kg

Bertha S. Phillpotts (1863–1932) was an English historian and linguist of Scandinavia who served as the Director of Scandinavian Studies in the University of Cambridge from 1926 to 1932. First published as part of Cambridge Archaeological and Ethnological Series in 1913, this pioneering and highly influential book contains a detailed examination of kinship structures in northern Europe during the early medieval period. In this work, Phillpotts analyses the laws and literature of seven northern European countries to explore the kinship structure of their ancient societies. The references to the legal concept of 'weregild' and the description of gender hierarchies, together with the range of evidence examined, cause this work to remain of considerable relevance for the understanding of kinship systems in medieval Germanic and Scandinavian societies.

Introduction
1. Iceland
2. Norway
3. Sweden
4. Denmark
5. North Germany and Holland
6. Belgium and Northern France
7. England
8. Conclusion
Appendices
Index.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB]