Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Family law
(1,098 words)

1. Scope

Family law consists of the key norms that govern personal and property relations within the family. The areas of law that family law covered varied over time as the underlying understanding of the social concept of the family changed. In the early modern period, following ancient models, the family was understood broadly as an economic unit to which every member of household contributed. The definition of the family in the Codex Maximilianeus Bavaricus Civilis of 1756 (part 1, chap. 4  § 1…

Cite this page
Scholz-Löhnig, Cordula, “Family law”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_019126>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20180126



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