Obligation and choice : aspects of family and kinship in seventeenth century County Durham
Abstract
The thesis seeks to explore alleged differences in kinship and family relations
within County Durham, an area of wide geographical, social and economic
diversity. A study of recognition that reveals that kinship ties were narrow
and fell into a distinctly English pattern, a pattern which appears independent
of considerations of wealth. Only the life cycle appears to have influenced
patterns of recognition. Wider kin also appear to have been of limited importance
as a source of support, with individuals preferring to rely upon the aid of
neighbours and members of the nuclear family. This relatively narrow 9attern
of recognition and support stands in sharp contrast to the strong ties formed
within and through the nuclear family. The detailed study of inheritance,
marriage and conflict not only reinforces the earlier findings concerning
the limited importance of wider kin but also suggests that strong and specific
ties of obligation and expectation governed relationships formed within the
nuclear family. Such findings suggest the need to revise the assumption
which regard English society as being highly 'individualistic'.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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