Grandparents in Urban and Rural Lower Languedoc at the End of the Middle Ages

Abstract

This article analyzes the role and place of grandparents in their kinship groups in Lower Languedoc at the end of the Middle Ages. Based on the notarial documentation (wills, marriage, and donation contracts), the research demonstrates that, although rare in the archives, grandparents were objects of concern—especially if women—but could also take an active part in the administration of estates and families, particularly after the death of their own children. Some authoritative figures stand out from the documentation, whose stories shed light on the daily life of the medieval Languedocian families at times of personal difficulties.