Book

The unwritten law in Albania

University PressCambridgePublished In 1954 • Pages:

By: Hasluck, Margaret Masson Hardie, Hutton, J. H. (John Henry).

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study of customary law in Albania, based on the authors 13 years of actual residence in that country, represents a unique contribution, particularly in view of the dearth of Albanian ethnographic materials available in English. Although concerned primarily with the tribal laws and legal procedures of the northern Albanian Highlanders, the book sheds considerable light on little known aspects of Albanian life, such as the composition of the Albanian family, family relationships, kinship organizations, the general pattern of village and tribal life, and the functioning of General Assemblies on the tribal and local level. Concepts of property rights and accepted methods for dealing with their violation are discussed in detail, as is the role of oath-taking of compurgators, and of community elders as law-makers and arbiters. The precise conventions regulating the blood-feud, so characteristic of Albanian social inter-relationships, are set forth in great detail. Regional and local variations in custom and law are also shown. The author, whose death in 1948 prevented her from completing the work herself, had training as a folklorist and served after her departure from Albania in 1939 as principal briefing agent for British Intelligence operations into Albania during the war. An appendix of recorded laws and an index are supplied at the end of the book, as is a map showing the geographic distribution of Highland tribes.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Legal norms
Household
Kinship terminology
Kin relationships
Status, role, and prestige
Status and treatment of the aged
Trial procedure
Inter-community relations
Real property
Inter-community relations
Tribe and nation
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Albanians
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2012
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Europe
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Southeastern Europe
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypesThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Classicist
Linguist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Jack Crane ; 1956
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1926-1939
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1900-1939
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Northern Albania
NotesAdditional notes
By the late Margaret Hasluck. Edited by J. H. Hutton
'Laws passed at General Assemblies (translated from the original Albanian)': p. 261-274.
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
55000191
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Customary law--Albania
Albania--Social conditions