''Medieval Children'' is a 2001 book on the

history of childhood The history of childhood has been a topic of interest in social history since the highly influential book ''Centuries of Childhood'', published by French historian Philippe Ariès in 1960. He argued "childhood" as a concept was created by modern so ...

written by English historian

Nicholas Orme Nicholas Orme FSA FRHistS (born 1942) is a British historian specialising in the Middle Ages and Tudor period, focusing on the history of children, and ecclesiastical history, with a particular interest in South West England. Orme is an eme ...

. It covers aspects of English children throughout the Middle Ages. The book addresses what is considered

Philippe Ariès Philippe Ariès (; 21 July 1914 – 8 February 1984) was a French medievalist and historian of the family and childhood, in the style of Georges Duby. He wrote many books on the common daily life. His most prominent works regarded the change in ...

's central thesis in ''

Centuries of Childhood ''Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life'' ( French: ''L'enfant et la vie familiale sous l'ancien régime''; English: lit. "The Child and Family Life during the ''Ancien Régime'') is a 1960 book on the history of childhood b ...

'', that there was no medieval understanding of childhood as a phase, an idea that critics have said Orme refutes successfully.

Synopsis

The book uses a wide range of sources to refute

's ''

'' famous theses of the medieval nonexistence of "childhood" as an idea and of apathetic medieval parenting. Orme states that childhood was a phase distinct from the rest of life, "medieval children were ourselves, five hundred or a thousand years ago" with parents who genuinely cherished and grieved for their children, similar to modern parents. The book's refutation of Ariès is diffuse, broaching his thesis but not other aspects of ''Centuries of Childhood''. Orme uses examples from the English Middle Ages where Ariès uses the French. Orme's source materials include primers, journals, coroners' records, and shoes. Orme shows childhood to be expensive, with clothing like bibs and swaddlebands alongside books and community expenses. Children were breastfed and given special shoes to wear and items to chew.

Reception

Critics Stephen Metcalf and Benjamin Schwarz separately agreed that the book successfully dismantled Ariès's thesis, its primary goal. ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

''s Benjamin Schwarz called the book "a model of accessible scholarly history" and lauded its illustrations for an academic work. ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

''s Stephen Metcalf praised the book for its scholarship and utility, but criticized the book's timing and lack of imagination. He adds that Orme's language is "phlegmatic and common-sensical" where Ariès was "oracular and tendentious", which was used to make the era appear familiar or alien, respectively. ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' criticized the exclusion of females from the book.

References

{{Authority control History books about England 2001 non-fiction books History books about the Middle Ages Medieval children History of childhood