In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, a childe or child (from "Young Lord") was a

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

's son who had not yet attained

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

or had not yet won his spurs. As a rank in

chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric language, is an informal and varying code of conduct that developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It is associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood, with knights being members of ...

it was used as a title, e.g. Child Horn in '' King Horn'', whilst a male progressed through the positions of squire and then knight. The term is now obsolete in standard English but is still well known from poetry, such as

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

's '' Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came'' and

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

's ''

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage ''Childe Harold's Pilgrimage: A Romaunt'' is a long narrative poem in four parts written by Lord Byron. The poem was published between 1812 and 1818. Dedicated to " Ianthe", it describes the travels and reflections of a young man disillusioned ...

''. However, the word is still used in the local Doric dialect of north-east Scotland. Here it may be directly translated as 'fellow' or 'man' into Standard English. For example, a ''working childe'' would mean a working man, while a ''dour childe'' would indicate a taciturn individual.

Cultural references

The term is used in application to an expected next stage in human evolution in the '' Childe Cycle'' novels by Gordon R. Dickson. Childe in

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

's '' The Dark Tower'' is, in Roland Deschain's own words, "... a term that describes a knight – or a gunslinger – on a quest. A formal term, and ancient. We never used it among ourselves ... for it means holy, chosen by ka. We never liked to think of ourselves in such terms, and I haven't thought of myself so in many years." (p. 859, '' The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower'', Pocket Books, 2006 ed.)

References

Old English Noble titles {{poem-stub