The Family in Italy from Antiquity to the Present

Full summary

As the center of an ancient empire and then of Western Christendom, Rome and Italy have had a profound influence on the rest of Europe. While the roots of Western family life cannot be discovered in Italy alone, this collection of essays offers a valuable point from which to begin any investigation of that history. Among other advantages is the fact that Italy is the only place in western Europe for which adequate evidence exists to document family life both before and after the establishment of Christianity, through the Middle Ages, and into the modern area. The volume brings together prominent classical historians, medievalists, and anthropologists in employing a wide variety of kinds of historical evidence to better illuminate the course of Italian—and more generally, Western—family history.

Chapter Contents

1. Historical and Anthropological Perspectives on Italian Family Life
Richard P. Saller and David I. Kertzer

Part One: Antiquity

Introduction by Richard P. Saller

2. Roman Heirship Strategy in Principle and in Practice
Richard P. Saller

3. Child Rearing in Ancient Italy
Peter Garnsey

4. The Cultural Meaning of Death: Age and Gender in the Roman Family
Brent Shaw

5. Ideals and Practicalities in Matchmaking in Ancient Roman
Susan Treggiari