Archive of the Matrimonial Court of Sălişte. Sources for the History of Women in Modern Transylvania
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Very little is known about the family life of Transylvanian women in the modern era.The main explanation is related to the insufficient exploitation of sources.Due to the richness, variety and complexity of the judicial-ecclesiastical archives, we have started building a database on divorce in Airtable based on records from the Sălişte, the main village of Mărginimea Sibiului, which has a unique, well-preserved documentary heritage.The ecclesiastical archive is kept at the Museum of the Orthodox Deanery of Sălişte in good condition, undamaged.Although the dissolution of marriage was a marginal phenomenon, the time has come to open the discussion for a debate on the sources and to take some steps forward in this research avenue.The article provides a description of the most important documents related to divorce, with a focus on content, structure, form, style, classification.The advantages but also the limits of matrimonial files are presented, which place the analysis scheme on the border between family history, historical demography, history of law, history of women, history of the church, rural history, history of feelings.The quality of the sources gives us the opportunity to identify divorce patterns characteristic of a highly individualized region within the Transylvanian area.
Author: Daniela Deteșan
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4400550318