Great article, Edwin! It's easier to feel a connection with (and put yourself in the world with) ordinary folks of any time than with the kings and queens, and it's more interesting, in many ways. Will and Ariel Durant's "Story of Civilization" series purported to strive to show the lives of the non-rich non-famous non-royal, and I think they did pretty well with it--one of the things I loved about those books. Those books are dated now, and much more general than your focus, but the first few volumes might interest you.
This is the first post I read - and loved! In particular, I enjoyed reading the transcription of the marriage document which reminded me of present marriage contracts in Iran (https://www.academia.edu/41581639/_By_the_elders_leave_I_do_Rituals_ostensivity_and_perceptions_of_the_moral_order_in_Iranian_Tehrani_marriage_ceremonies_Sofia_A_Koutlaki_Independent_researcher), and also common law practices from my native island Kassos in the south Dodecanese, Greece. The dissemination of the concept of cultural continuum is promising in our fragmented world: my newsletter looks at intercultural communication, another way of the approximation of people. I look forward to reading more of your posts. https://somelittlelanguage.substack.com/
Great article, Edwin! It's easier to feel a connection with (and put yourself in the world with) ordinary folks of any time than with the kings and queens, and it's more interesting, in many ways. Will and Ariel Durant's "Story of Civilization" series purported to strive to show the lives of the non-rich non-famous non-royal, and I think they did pretty well with it--one of the things I loved about those books. Those books are dated now, and much more general than your focus, but the first few volumes might interest you.