Family contexts: The Balkans in European comparison
Michael Mitterauer
No satisfactory conclusions can be drawn with respect to joint families and nuclear from an analysis of their frequency distributions. Joint that practice ancestor worship blood vengeance, for example, are classified differently purposes generalization than in which these practices absent. In the entire Balkan area penetration by institutions—the Church, state or feudal lord—remained extremely weak over course centuries. Correspondingly, emergence here familial social forms such as family households kinship groups was stronger. The is not a region characterized single form composition. Of highly diverse patterns found here, particular significance attributed pattern western mountainous regions—producing well-known zadruga—because its very long history, extent it transmitted other regions and, above all, because uniqueness on European continent. When Balkans viewed comparison, impossible maintain division continent into two four discrete each displaying different
The History of the Family