When American politicians speak of “family values,” the phrase is often intended to convey a narrow, traditional ideal — one long tied to Judeo-Christian notions of family as fixed and eternal.
But Maya Maskarinec, associate professor of history and classics, reminds us that the family model familiar to many — nuclear, biological and largely self-contained — is itself a modern invention.
“In the Middle Ages,” she explains, “family wasn’t a tidy bloodline. It was about networks — who you lived near, who you worshipped with, who you claimed as a relative.” The familiar image of the patriarchal family tree, with lineage branching neatly through fathers and sons, developed later, alongside rigid systems of inheritance and control of property.

Maskarinec’s research explores how powerful families in medieval Rome used saints to elevate their own status. “They claimed descent from holy figures who had lived centuries earlier,” she says. “These connections weren’t biological — they were symbolic, even geographical. If a saint’s shrine stood in their neighborhood, they might infer that he was their ancestor.”

In a world where geography became genealogy, sanctity and prestige reinforced one another. “It was a way of rewriting history,” Maskarinec notes. “By attaching themselves to saints, families made their power seem ancient and divinely sanctioned.”

Her work reveals how “family” has always been a flexible construct, not just a private bond but a potent tool for constructing identity and authority. “Even spiritual communities were imagined as families,” she says. “It’s a reminder that belonging has always been something we build — not something we simply inherit.” —S.B.