Balkan Family Structure and the European Pattern: Demographic Developments in Ottoman Bulgaria (Past Incorporated Ceu Studies in the Humanities, 3)

An updated, extended, and revised version of the out-of-print 1993 edition, this title reassesses the traditional stereotype of the place of the Balkans in the model of the European family in the nineteenth century, on the basis of new source material and by synthesizing existing research. TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 7 List of Tables and Figures......Page 9 Preface to the Second Edition......Page 11 Acknowledgements......Page 12 Rethinking the Unknown......Page 14 II. POPULATION STRUCTURE......Page 25 Age Structure......Page 27 Sex Structure......Page 32 III. MARRIAGE AND NUPTIALITY......Page 40 The Marriage Ritual and Seasonal Patterns of Marriage......Page 43 Age at Marriage......Page 49 Remarriage, Cross-Kin Marriages and Other Characteristics......Page 55 IV. BIRTH AND FERTILITY......Page 66 Births, Baptisms and Their Registration......Page 67 Measurements of Fertility......Page 71 Twins in a Closed Population......Page 78 V. DEATH AND MORTALITY......Page 89 Gender and Age Specific Mortality......Page 91 Seasonal Patterns of Mortality and Causes of Death......Page 99 VI. FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND STRUCTURE......Page 109 Family and Household Structure......Page 113 Family and Household Size......Page 122 Inheritance Patterns......Page 126 VII. THE PROBLEM OF THE SOUTH SLAV ZADRUGA......Page 136 Distribution and Development of the Zadruga in the Balkans......Page 142 An Alternative Explanation......Page 153 A Hypothesis of Converging Theories......Page 161 A Summary of Conclusions......Page 170 I. The Sources......Page 175 II. The Liber Status Animarum of Seldzhikovo......Page 181 III. Ideographs of the Liber Status Animarum of Seldzhikovo......Page 192 IV. Note on the Plague......Page 200 V. A Marriage Contract......Page 202 VI. On the Epistemological Value of Family Models: the Balkans within the European pattern......Page 205 Bibliography......Page 218 B......Page 245 C......Page 246 F......Page 247 H......Page 248 L......Page 249 O......Page 250 S......Page 251 V......Page 252 Z......Page 253 This study, which is an updated, extended, and revised version of the out-of-print 1993 edition, reassesses the traditional stereotype of the place of the Balkans in the model of the European family in the nineteenth century on the basis of new source material and by synthesizing existing research. The work first analyzes family structure and demographic variables as they appear in population registers and other sources, and the impact of these findings on theoretical syntheses of the European family pattern. On most features, such as population structure, marriage and nuptiality, birth and fertility, death and mortality rates, family and household size and structure, as well as inheritance patterns, the Balkans show an enormous deal of internal variety. This variability is put in a comparative European context by matching the quantifiable results with comparable figures and patterns in other parts of Europe. The second section of the book is a contribution to the long-standing debate over the zadruga, the complex, collective, joint or extended family in the Balkans. Finally, the book considers ideology and mythology and the ways it has adversely affected scholarship on the family, and broadly on population history. Introduction : Rethinking The Unknown -- Population Structure -- Age Structure -- Sex Structure -- Marriage And Nuptiality -- The Marriage Ritual And Seasonal Patterns Of Marriage -- Age At Marriage -- Remarriage, Cross-kin Marriages And Other Characteristics -- Birth And Fertility -- Births, Baptisms And Their Registration -- Measurements Of Fertility -- Twins In A Closed Population -- Death And Mortality -- Gender And Age Specific Mortality -- Seasonal Patterns Of Mortality And Causes Of Death -- Family And Household Size And Structure -- Family And Household Structure -- Family And Household Size -- Inheritance Patterns -- The Problem Of The South Slav Zadruga -- Distribution And Development Of The Zadruga In The Balkans -- An Alternative Explanation -- Conclusion : A Hypothesis Of Converging Theories -- A Summary Of Conclusions -- Appendices -- The Sources -- The Liber Status Animarum Of The Village Of Seldzhikovo -- Ideographs Of The Liber Status Animarum -- Note On The Plague -- A Marriage Contract -- On The Epistemological Value Of Family Models : The Balkans Within The European Pattern. Maria N. Todorova. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Mode Of Access: World Wide Web. Previous ideas on the European familial past rested primarily on speculative theories based on nine-teenth century evolutionary thinking. This included the idea of stages of family history, of a progressive and irreversible evolution from complex/large forms to simple/small ones. It also included a certain deterministic trait, an assumption that mankind as a whole would necessarily pass through all the phases of the supposed evolution. It is by no means irrelevant that the existing ideas on the European family were formed primarily by sociologists. Historians had accomplished little if any research in the field. With the advent of new evidence, this comfortable picture exploded. What came instead was a complexity and richness very difficult to frame into a new grand theory. The historians who had had the greatest luck with a long tradition of systematically kept records, pertinent to a historical-demographic analysis, were the English and the French. Naturally, they were the first ones to refute a lot of the commonly held beliefs and, significantly enough, also the first ones to embark on a new theorizing effort. "This study, which is an updated extended and revised version of the out-of-print 1993 edition, reassesses the traditional stereotype of the place of the Balkans in the model of the European family in the nineteenth century based on new source material and by synthesizing existing research."--Jacket