Katherine Lynch discusses the place of the family in society from the late middle ages to the industrial period, arguing that in western Europe an ongoing, and recognizably western, pattern of relationships among individuals, their families, and communities emerged in the late medieval period, and can be traced well into the nineteenth century. This study explores the family's function as an organization on the boundary between public and private life, rather than as part of a 'private sphere', and how this has been shaped by political, religious and demographic factors.