Căsătoria în nord-vestul Transilvaniei (a doua jumătate a secolului XIX - începutul secolului XX). Condiţionări exterioare şi strategii maritale

Marriage in North-Western Transylvania (2nd Half of the 19th Century – Beginning of the 20th Century). External Conditionings and Marital Strategies In the latter half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, in north-western Transylvania there was a traditional rural society, except for some urban centres and their neighbouring areas (the urban character is also proved by the analysis of the marital behaviour). The major events in the family life, such as baptism, marriage (including the prenuptial relations of the partners) and funerals were strictly supervised by the community. The relationship family – community was deep. It could not be perceived through a fragmented and segmented analysis. From the perspective of the family, the community was the general framework providing the “pattern”. On the other hand, the community finds its emotions and sensitivity in the crucial moments of family life. Documentary sources and methodological benchmarks We have used several categories of documentary sources in our survey. We have the information on the population in north-western Romania due to the ecclesiastic notes (in the parish records or reports and the bishopric notes); on the other hand, we have the information provided by the Austrian and Austro-Hungarian state. This information is completed by references made by several researchers and others that approach directly or tangentially the issue of the population structure and demographic phenomena in the region. The sources of information should be regarded and analysed carefully, as they do not directly respond to our questions. The ecclesiastic information gives a relatively clear image of the family and society. On the other hand, the information has to be analysed carefully; if possible, the items should be compared with other pieces of information coming from other sources, as most of the times it refers only to the parishioners of that particular confession; last but not least, we can notice a certain subjectivism when registering the ...