Book contents
- Family Power
- Family Power
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Chronology
- 1 Introduction
- 2 How Social Science Separated Families from Political Order
- 3 Formless Kinship in Formless Polities
- 4 Consolidating Dynasties and Realms
- 5 Strong Aristocracies in Strong States
- 6 The Revival and Sudden Death of Political Kinship
- 7 The Arab Empires c.632–c.900
- 8 Sacred Yet Supple
- 9 The Ubiquitous and Opaque Elites of the Ottoman Empire c.1300–c.1830
- 10 Clans and Dynasties in the Modern Middle East
- 11 Conclusions
- Bibliography
- Index
3 - Formless Kinship in Formless Polities
Europe c.400–c.1000
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 March 2020
- Family Power
- Family Power
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Chronology
- 1 Introduction
- 2 How Social Science Separated Families from Political Order
- 3 Formless Kinship in Formless Polities
- 4 Consolidating Dynasties and Realms
- 5 Strong Aristocracies in Strong States
- 6 The Revival and Sudden Death of Political Kinship
- 7 The Arab Empires c.632–c.900
- 8 Sacred Yet Supple
- 9 The Ubiquitous and Opaque Elites of the Ottoman Empire c.1300–c.1830
- 10 Clans and Dynasties in the Modern Middle East
- 11 Conclusions
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The early Middle Ages is often portrayed as a time when families, not political structures, ruled. In contrast, I demonstrate that noble kinship groups and networks were integrated into institutions and ideas of a common political order. Dependence worked both ways. Kings were dependent upon major noble networks and nobles were legitimated by their roles as public actors and public warriors. Towards the end of this period, we also see the growth of a sense of responsibility for the common polity, the realm, even in the absence of kings. The chapter concludes that there was no principled opposition between kinship groups and the polity, between the aristocracy and the king – rather they were mutually dependent. However, since kinship groups were so informal, political institutions were also very informal and elusive. This teaches us that formalization of families was a key to the formalization of political structures.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Family PowerKinship, War and Political Orders in Eurasia, 500–2018, pp. 42 - 80Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020