Growing Up in Medieval London: The Experience of Childhood in History

by Barbara A. Hanawalt

When Barbara Hanawalt's acclaimed history The Ties That Bound first appeared, it was hailed for its unprecedented research and vivid re-creation of medieval life. David Levine, writing in The New York Times Book Review, called Hanawalt's book "as stimulating for the questions it asks as for the answers it provides" and he concluded that "one comes away from this stimulating book with the same sense of wonder that Thomas Hardy's Angel Clare felt [:] 'The impressionable peasant leads a larger, fuller, more dramatic life than the pachydermatous king.'" Now, in Growing Up in Medieval London, Hanawalt again reveals the larger, fuller, more dramatic life of the common people, in this instance, the lives of children in London. Bringing together a wealth of evidence drawn from court records, literary sources, and books of advice, Hanawalt weaves a rich tapestry of the life of London youth during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Much of what she finds is eye opening. She shows for instance that--contrary to the belief of some historians--medieval adults did recognize and pay close attention to the various stages of childhood and adolescence. For instance, manuals on childrearing, such as "Rhodes's Book of Nurture" or "Seager's School of Virtue," clearly reflect the value parents placed in laying the proper groundwork for a child's future. Likewise, wardship cases reveal that in fact London laws granted orphans greater protection than do our own courts.

Hanawalt also breaks ground with her innovative narrative style. To bring medieval childhood to life, she creates composite profiles, based on the experiences of real children, which provide a more vivid portrait than otherwise possible of the trials and tribulations of medieval youths at work and at play. We discover through these portraits that the road to adulthood was fraught with danger. We meet Alison the Bastard Heiress, whose guardians married her off to their apprentice in order to gain control of her inheritance. We learn how Joan Rawlyns of Aldenham thwarted an attempt to sell her into prostitution. And we hear the unfortunate story of William Raynold and Thomas Appleford, two mercer's apprentices who found themselves forgotten by their senile master, and abused by his wife. These composite portraits, and many more, enrich our understanding of the many stages of life in the Middle Ages. Written by a leading historian of the Middle Ages, these pages evoke the color and drama of medieval life. Ranging from birth and baptism, to apprenticeship and adulthood, here is a myth-shattering, innovative work that illuminates the nature of childhood in the Middle Ages.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, British Literature, Medieval History, London, Research

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 18, 1993

About the author

A specialist in medieval English social history, Barbara Hanawalt is Emeritus Professor of History at Ohio State University. . She received her PhD from University of Michigan in 1970, and taught at Indiana University and the University of Minnesota before moving to Ohio State University in 1999. She has served as President of the Medieval Academy of America and President of the Social Science History Association.

Reviews

[Rhiannon Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very full exploration of this theme, which does not give in to stereotypes but tries to provide evidence as well as 'worked examples' in the form of short fictional sections which fill in the gaps by using multiple sources. Some intriguing details, but also a useful way to approach getting a feel for the structure of London society as a whole at the time - for example, understanding the role of guilds in everyday life.

[Autumn Slaght · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two and a half really.
This book had a lot of information that was valuable. It started with infancy and spread until "becoming sad and wise." (Today's coming-into-adulthood.) But I feel like half of the words could be cut out and this book could become a booklet or a magazine. I found the writing style to be very boring and the author seemed to blather on and on and on and on about the same topic for pages at a time. I almost put it away after chapter one when it was countless pages dedicated to "did childhood exist in the Middle Ages even though the word itself didn't?" Still had good, valuable information and I will refer back to it in my research in the future.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book title caught my eye in the library and I was skeptical about what information about children could be gleaned from so far back in British history. I picked it up off the shelf and scanned the pages and was amazed at the meticulous research and statistics that had been culled from the legal records. You know that feeling when you find a jewel of a book and you want to say to everyone in the library, "Look at this! What an amazing find! And it's all mine for a few weeks!" Since that's not appropriate behavior in a library, I will simply say it now in a review. This jewel of a book changed my perspective about what it was like to be a child and young adult during medieval times. I found it all really interesting with chapters covering topics of apprenticeships and guilds, servants, orphans, puberty, marriage, births and baptisms. The writing style was a little bit stilted but the content was a sheer joy to read as the portal to the past was opened for the reader. Love love loved this book!

[Edward Wales · Rating 2 out of 5]

When assessing legal documents Hanawalt's stylistic decisions, as highlighted by Siria a previous reviewer, may provide a fun read. However, her enhancement of legal cases distorts both the statements and depositions made by all parties involved. Furthermore, the usage of 'reconstruction' for legal cases elaborates them into further narratives containing assumption, hypothesis, and surmise which are of their own making, 'Reading Constructed Narratives' (Menuge, 2000). Hanawalt's archival approach and different delivery, subtly, illustrates the limitations of traditional approaches to archival history when regarding female experiences of childhood and adolescence, be it rather indirectly.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy, relatively entertaining read. Focuses almost exclusively on the children of the London merchant guilds because there are court records on them. Lower-class children and those without guild-member parents are mostly absent, for the same reason. The longest and most detailed sections involve apprenticeships for older children and young men and women.

4 stars for being good history that is easy and entertaining to read.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Lindsay Wilkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read which challenged many of my perceptions of medieval Britain. Well written and easy to read, I worked my was through this surprisingly quickly!

[Mark Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Results from a study of medieval London legal records, pulling as much insight as the author can about childhood and adolescence.

[Jasper Carmichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A academic book full of life, it captures a slice of historical life often overlooked. The writer is very informative and interesting to read, as the historical data is presented in a easy to understand way. They lay out case studies of people’s lives in this era which are fascinating, sometimes hilarious and sometimes tragic. Very good, must read.

[Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read just one book this year about childhood in medieval London, this should be the one.

Hanawalt's exploration is complete. We learn about apprenticeships and guilds, play and puberty, manners of dress and gender differences. Contra Philippe Aries, who famously argued that the medieval world had little concept of childhood, Hanawalt provides ample evidence that childhood was recognized in innumerable ways.

As the father of a 14 year old boy about to enter high school I found it interesting to be reminded that the functional equivalent of our high school and college educations was an apprenticeship. The apprentice would live with the master's family, and effectively leave his childhood home at this stage of life. Selection of a master to apprentice one's son (and sometimes one's daughter) was attended by all the attention to detail and payments of large fees that attends modern day high school and college choices. In many ways the apprentice became a foster child to the master, with inheritance rights and other quasi familial connections. The complex contracts around the arrangements provide the documentary memory needed to reconstruct the institution of apprenticeship.

As in many things medieval, we are struck by realizations of familiarity and confrontations with strangeness. My historical memory, in terms of direct family ancestors and outside of my reading of Jewish history, extends backwards only as far as the 18th century in Europe. Medieval London is a construct that extends another 3 to 5 centuries earlier, back to the 1300s. It is as far removed from the early 18th century as we are from the 18th century. In this book you can feel the streets of Chaucer's childhood and Shakespeare's childhood.

I read this before bed for a week or two. It always put me to sleep, but not before informing and teaching me about some forgotten verities and some unique cultural realities.

[Karen Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly readable book, crammed with facts, fascinating insights and quotes from contemporary sources that together bring to life the experiences of childhood, adolescence and young adulthood in the medieval period. From apprenticeships to guilds, from street urchins to squires, to self-help pamphlets, education and social, health and economic expectations, Hanawalt deals with the misunderstood subject of childhood and growing up in an amazing period in an utterly readable fashion. The book also unravels many of the myths perpetuated by earlier childhood historians such as Phillipe Aries who contended that medieval people did not recognize childhood as a maturation or developmental stage but regarded children as miniature adults. If the work of Plato and early art (among traditions, nursery rhymes and religious patterns) didn't convince you this notion was highly problematic, then Hanawalt's book will. A must-read for history buffs, students and serious scholars.

[Mathew Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I think the last couple of chapters dragged a bit, and the lack of conclusion is puzzling, I give this book 5 stars. Her intention to both dispel myths provided by Philippe Aries and promoted by modern/post modern historians about medieval culture, notably centered on children, is wildly successful. Clearly, children were cared for, mattered to society, and in no way shape or form existed only as non-adults only to become adults asap in life. She masterful argues these notions -- with noticeable anger towards Aries -- and proves her case.

On top of her argument, research, and methodology being nearly flawless - best i can tell -- her prose is excellent.

Great read!!

However, again .. no conclusion?? Weird.

[Walt · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better history books on the subject. Normally, I think there are better topics to write about with regards to Medieval Europe; but Hanawalt makes this an easy read.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable and readable. Got a little bogged down but for what I assume was someone's thesis, it was more than expected readable. Fascinating stuff in a fascinating time and place.

[Lisa]

Growing Up in Medieval London : The Experience of Childhood in History by Barbara A. Hanawalt (1995)

[Maureen]

I had to read this book for college and surprisingly it was very interesting !!!! Very clear and easy to understand. I loved it