The medieval household was, like modern households, the center of family life for all classes of European society. Yet in contrast to the household of today, it consisted of many more individuals than the nuclear family. From the household of the king to the humblest peasant dwelling, more or less distant relatives and varying numbers of servants and dependents would cohabit with the master of the house and his immediate family. The structure of the medieval household was largely dissolved by the advent of privacy in early modern Europe.
Variations were of course great, over an entire continent and a time span of about 1000 years. Yet it is still possible to speak of a classical model of the medieval household, particularly as it evolved in Carolingian France and from there spread over great parts of Europe.
Read more about Medieval Household: Later Perspectives, See Also, Notes
Famous quotes containing the words medieval and/or household:
“Nothing in medieval dress distinguished the child from the adult. In the seventeenth century, however, the child, or at least the child of quality, whether noble or middle-class, ceased to be dressed like the grown-up. This is the essential point: henceforth he had an outfit reserved for his age group, which set him apart from the adults. These can be seen from the first glance at any of the numerous child portraits painted at the beginning of the seventeenth century.”
—Philippe Ariés (20th century)
“has Nature shown
her household books to you, daughter-in-law,
that her sons never saw?”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)