Title: Family, friends and followers : political and social bonds in medieval Europe /
Authors: Althoff, Gerd.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press,
Year: 2004
Subjects: Social history; Social classes Germany History; Nobility Germany History.; Kinship Germany History.; Social groups History.; Germany Social conditions.
Abstract: "Political life in the middle ages was influenced heavily by the bonds people had to one another. Among these, the bonds of kinship, friendship and lordship were by far the most important. Ritual was also often used to create and strengthen these bonds, and conduct and behaviour within social groups was shaped by unwritten rules. People bound in these ways had a right to expect help and support from one another. Such bonds were both a fact and a necessity of life in the middle ages. Over time, however, these bonds and relationships changed, as did the rules and norms which governed them."
Contents: 1. Introduction -- 2. Kin-groups -- 3. Co-operative groups -- 4. Lords and their men -- 5. Rituals -- 6. Conclusion.