About the Book
What was childhood like for medieval boys and girls in England? How were children named and brought up, what hazards faced them, what games did they play, and how were they prepared for adulthood? This richly detailed book provides for the first time a complete history of childhood in England from about the year 1000 to the sixteenth century.
Leading medieval historian Nicholas Orme draws together a vast range of sources and disciplines-history, literature, religion, and art-to create a picture of medieval childhood more comprehensive than ever before. Beginning with pregnancy and childbirth, Orme explores the succeeding stages of a child's growth to adulthood. He discusses baptism, the significance of birthdays and ages, and family life, including upbringing, food, clothes, sleep, and the plight of the poor. He also chronicles the misfortunes of childhood, from disablement, abuse, and accidents to illness and death. In a fascinating review of the special culture of children, the author describes their rhymes, toys, and games; their religion and relationship to the Church; and their learning to read the literature for children. The final chapter of the book explains how adolescents grew up and entered the adult world.
In this vivid recreation of childhood in the middle ages, Orme underscores the importance medieval society attached to childhood. Childhood was clearly regarded as a distinct cultural period in life, and children were considered both special and different from adults.
About the Author :
Nicholas Orme is professor of history at Exeter University. He is coauthor of The English Hospital, 1070-1570 (ISBN 0 300 06058 0, [pound]40.00*), published by Yale University Press.
Review :
“Nicholas Orme’s stimulating piece of historical revisionism. . . . is one of these pleasingly, absorbingly digressive books. . . . A book whose subject is of inexhaustible interest.”—Michael Glover, Financial Times
“What the book identifies again and again in medieval England is an attentiveness to children. . . . Orme is a clear and persuasive guide to the period.”—The Guardian
“[Orme’s] Medieval Childrenis a determinedly empirical book, a meticulously organized, lavishly illustrated, and imaginatively presented cascade of evidence about every aspect of childhood, drawn from an astonishing range of sources from the end of antiquity to the early sixteenth century. . . . The clarity, pace, and economy of his treatment conceal an impressive depth of learning, and many of the individual thematic discussions are in fact ground-breaking forays into territory not adequately explored by anyone else. Orme is a distinguished historian of education, and he makes brilliant use here of medieval and Renaissance schoolbooks and student exercises to illuminate not only the content and character of medieval schooling, but the manner and matter of children’s conversation, recreation, and attitudes. . . . The most comprehensive, informative, and, by a long way, the most humane and delightful historical treatment of childhood in the English language.”—Eamon Duffy, New York Review of Books
“[An] exhaustive and fascinating portrait of medieval English childhood. . . . Orme’s is one of the most beautifully and intelligently illustrated academic works I’ve encountered; in this and in his sensitive, reasonable, and lucid weighing of confusing and generally sparse evidence, Medieval Children isa model of accessible scholarly history.”—Benjamin Schwarz, Atlantic Monthly
“This book is an insightful look into the lives of children and a fascinating read.”—History Magazine
“[A] wise and learned book. . . . [A] delight to read, and superbly illustrated.”—John Wilson, Christianity Today
“The author’s intention in writing this work was to ‘reveal the richness of the material about medieval English children.’ This he has achieved, with a lavishly illustrated and sensitively written evocation of life in later medieval England.”—Sally Crawford, Church Times
“Orme’s book, amply documented, gracefully and, one must add, sympathetically, written, will become the standard study of medieval English childhood, useful to specialists as well as non-specialists.”—R.C. Finucane, English Historical Review
“Nicholas Orme, author of several books on medieval English education, has produced a thorough and accessible account of the broader topic of childhood. . . . This richly illustrated volume is well suited for student use.”—Cullen J. Chandler, History: Reviews of New Books
“Nicholas Orme knows more about medieval childhood than anyone living, and this substantial, hugely enjoyable book is the capstone on thirty years of scholarship.”—The Independent
“Gracefully written and beautifully presented. . . . Medieval Children is likely to serve as a landmark in the literature of children’s history. It is scholarly, with a full complement of pertinent notes and an expert index. At the same time, it is so visually appealing and satisfying to hold that beginning students and armchair readers will also find it a compelling read.”—Susan Mitchell Sommers, The Historian
Named one of the top ten books of 2001 by Christianity Today
