By the end of the twelfth century, the Byzantine <i>genos </I> was a politically effective social group based upon ties of consanguineous kinship, but, importantly, it was also a cultural construct, an idea that held very real power, yet defies easy categorization. This study explores the role and function of the Byzantine aristocratic family group, or <i>genos</i>, as a distinct social entity, particularly its political and cultural role, as it appears in a variety of sources in the tenth through twelfth centuries.

<div>Introduction</div><div>1. Defining "The Family" in Byzantine Sources and Modern Historiography</div><div>2. The Language of Kinship</div><div>3. Marriage Impediments and the Concept of Family</div><div>4. Interrogating Consanguinity in a Byzantine Context</div><div>5. Family Names and the Politics of Reputation</div><div>6. Kinship and Political Developments of the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries</div><div>Conclusion</div>