Late Medieval Family Structures Among the Croatian Nobility

Poznavanje obiteljskih struktura, ali i njihovo poimanje u skladu s duhom vremena u kojima se motre, bitno pridonosi razumijevanju društvenih odnosa uopće. U radu se, stoga, propituje pristup istraživanju obiteljskih struktura te njihovo poimanje u hrvatskoj medijevistici od početaka historiografije kao moderne znanstvene discipline, u drugoj polovici XIX. stoljeća, do suvremenoga doba uopće. Potom se prikazuje znakovitost poznavanja obiteljskih struktura za utvrđivanje društvenih odnosa na primjeru analize značenja termina genus na području Kraljevine Hrvatske u XIV. stoljeću.The article focuses primarily on the current conclusions concerning medieval family structures in the Croatian medieval studies. These conclusions are then compared with the familial/social reality as described in the sources from the second part of the 14th century by using the term genus. Accordingly, the author first offers a critical overview of the previous historiographical conclusions, while in the second part, based on the abovementioned 14th-century examples, he suggests that the historians have not distinguished clearly enough between genus as a family structure and genus as a legal category in the Kingdom of Croatia during the reign of Louis the Great and afterwards. Appended there is a table overview of the usage of the term genus along with the family names as given in the sources from the 14th and early 15th centuries. Although this article is primarily about the family structures, the correct understanding of these issues indirectly affects the understanding of the late medieval Croatian noble society as a whole and especially the attitude of the nobility towards the Angevin king at the time of thorough reorganization of royal authority in the Kingdom of Croatia