Childhood During the Middle Ages: An Enlightened View
by Beth Ann Bryant-Richards
Grade 6
SRA Corrective Reading
Series
© 2008 McGraw Hill
There have been myriad misconceptions about the life of
children during the Middle Ages in Europe. Recently, historians and scholars
have begun exploring the misconceptions to see if they are correct, and to
find out where such mistaken ideas originated. Ultimately, most historians
now agree that medieval childhood was not as terrible an experience as once
thought. Even so, you would probably not be willing to give up your iPod and
your computer to go live in twelfth-century England!
Some of the common misconceptions about childhood during
the Middle Ages had to do with the idea if the “dark ages.” Previously,
life in the Middle Ages was considered so unenlightened and backward that
all aspects of it were looked down upon by cultural historians. The fact that
few children were represented in artwork of the time period led many people
to believe that children were not held in high esteem by adults. Also, when
children were pictured in paintings of the time, they were often shown dressed
in adult garb. This caused historians to conclude that children were treated
like adults, and that childhood was not considered a separate category of
development. Finally, since the infant and child mortality rate was high during
the Middle Ages, many children did not live to adulthood. Scholars concluded
that adults of the medieval time would not allow themselves to become emotionally
attached to children, since they were likely to lose them.
The idea that children were unimportant to medieval culture
has waned due to some compelling evidence to the contrary. For instance,
one of the dominant aspects of medieval culture was its agrarian nature. Farming
was one of the most important activities for a majority of people during the
Middle Ages. For farmers, the family unit was of utmost importance. A farming
family needed many children, and hoped for several sons, to help work the
land. For that reason, historians consider that families were one cornerstone
of medieval life, as are children and fertility. Scholars also cite laws protecting
the rights of orphans as evidence that children were valued during that time.
Some qualities of childhood in the Middle Ages might be
familiar to you. For instance, babies were swaddled by their mothers and caretakers
because they believed that doing so would make the child’s limbs grow straight
and strong. Mothers still use this practice, but do it to make the baby feel
secure. In poorer families, mothers breast-fed their babies, while wealthier
families hired wet nurses.
As children grew, they were expected to do light, easy
chores such as sweeping and helping tend the garden. They played with timeless
toys that you probably played with as a young child: rag dolls, balls, hoops,
and marbles. They could be seen climbing trees and wrestling. Just as all
children do, they imitated the activities of their parents and pretended to
hold jousting tournaments and hunting competitions. Medieval children were
expected to wash each day, clean their teeth, comb their hair, and make their
beds, unless they had servants to do chores for them. unless they had servants
to do chores for them.
Education was a very different matter for medieval children,
however. The level and amount of education depended on the status of parents
and the gender of the child. Many children never became educated, since knowing
how to read and do mathematics was not necessary for the majority of the peasant
children who would be working the soil for their lifetimes. More affluent
families schooled their children at home with tutors.
Sometimes, children of the noble class were sent away
to monasteries and nunneries to learn from the clergy. Girls learned needlework
and weaving—skills that would benefit them once married—while boys learned
to read, write, and do mathematics so that they could account for family money
or keep village records. The sons of knights left home to live with the liege-lord
at a young age so that they could learn to become knights themselves.
One other educational path to adulthood existed in the
form of apprenticeships.
Young teens were apprenticed to craftsmen to learn a trade.
Apprenticeships lasted from seven to ten years. These arrangements were usually
made by parents for their children based on connections the family had, but
without regard to the wishes of the children. An apprentice and master relationship
was as intimate as the parent and child relationship is today, since apprentices
lived with their masters for the length of the apprenticeship. The master
clothed his charge and allowed him to dine with the family. As a result, strong
emotional bonds were often established between the master and the apprentice.
Apprentices were often remembered in the will of their masters.
Comprehension
1 Which one of the following dates would be considered
part of the Middle Ages?
a July
4, 1776
b October 10, 1987
c January 13, 1066
2 One of the reasons that people had mistaken ideas about
childhood during the
Middle Ages was—
a that children represented
in paintings during the time were dressed in adult
clothing.
b children left diaries
that discussed their miserable existence.
c photographs of the time
showed children in poor situations.
3 During the Middle Ages, the childhood mortality rate—
a was about the same as
it is now.
b was extremely high.
c was unrecorded.
4 One of the most important activities during the Middle
Ages was—
a playing with marbles.
b swaddling infants.
c farming.
5 Wealthy families during the Middle Ages—
a hired wet nurses for their
infants.
b did their own farming.
c expected their children
to do light chores.
6 One reason that historians now think that children were
more valued during the
Middle Ages than previously thought—
a is the existence of more
artwork depicting children as children.
b is that they found out
about laws that protected the rights of orphans.
c is that they realized
that medieval mothers swaddled their infants.
7 One way medieval children are similar to modern day
children—
a they played with balls
and marbles.
b they listened to their
iPods.
c they went to school at
age five.
8 If a young person became an apprentice during the Middle
Ages—
a he lived with the master’s
family for seven to ten years.
b he learned to read and
write.
c he could always decide
what trade he wanted to learn.
9 During the Middle Ages, girls—
a generally did not learn
to read.
b had the same opportunities
for education as boys.
c could learn to become
a knight.
10 The strong emotional bond created between master and
apprentice—
a often caused the master
to cry when the apprentice finished the
apprenticeship.
b was due to the apprentice
living in the home with the master, eating at the
master’s table, and wearing
clothes provided by the master.
c happened because of family
connections.
Learn About Words
A Vocabulary
1 Myriad is—
a a mirror.
b a large number.
c few.
2 Misconceptions are—
a things we take for granted.
b wrong ideas.
c thinking of something clearly.
3 Agrarian means—
a farming culture.
b an annoying person.
c a person that lives in Agraria.
4 Compelling—
a means plowing a field.
b is to drive.
c is allowing to things to happen.
5 Waned—
a means to grow smaller.
b is to gain power.
c means to begin.
6 Monasteries—
a are where masons live.
means a collection of people.
b are where monks live.
c are where nuns live.
7 Liege—
a is a feudal lord.
b is another word for line.
c means a collection of people.
8 Apprentice—
a means a master of something.
b is in charge.
c is a beginner.
9 Affluent—
a means wealthy.
b is a person who has the flu.
b cleans out the chimney.
10 Noble—
a is notorious.
b means aristocratic.
c means none.
B Synonyms are words that have the same or nearly the
same meaning.
For each word in Column I, find a synonym in Column II
and write it.
Column I Column II
11 common eyes
12 interesting culture
13 unique juncture
14 enclose song
15 heritage engaging
15 scholar surround
16 connection solitary
17 competition operate
18 lyric everyday
19 occular thinker
20 function contest
C Homonyms are words that sound alike but have entirely
different meanings.
Match each of these five words with its definition.
21 pedal
a foot powered
b sell
22 pealed
a rang
b ready to eat
23 ore
a minerals
b paddle
24 missil
a project
b hymn book
25 medal
a an award
b interfere
D Place the following vocabulary words in alphabetical
order:
26 qualities
27 competitions
28 medieval
29 emotionally
30 historians
31 scholars
32 timeless
33 unique
34 sweeping
35 utmost