Medieval Child Discovered Buried with an Egg in Germany
In 2014, archaeologists came across an interesting item from an early medieval grave in southeastern Germany. Ten years later they have been able to identify it as a hard-boiled egg.
What teeth can reveal about the health of early medieval children
Researchers can learn much about a person through their teeth. This is even true for people who lived 1500 years ago in early medieval Germany.
Medieval Childhood: Dark Age or Golden Age?
Nicholas Orme’s lecture uses the huge surviving body of evidence about medieval children to show that children were seen by adults very much as they are today, and enjoyed a rich culture of relationships, clothes, toys, games, and books.
Medieval Toys
In honour of the new Barbie movie, Danièle talks about the games medieval children played, and the toys they played with.
Scottish Child Kings with Emily Joan Ward
Kate Buchanan is joined by Emily Joan Ward as they talk about Scottish Child Kings and medieval adolescence.
Illegitimate children in the Middle Ages
The stories of illegitimate children in the Middle Ages are often told through the lives of famous bastards, the daughters and sons of kings and noblemen, like William the Conqueror, born of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and his mistress Herleva. But what do we know about the illegitimate children of common people?
The experiences of Byzantine children, with Oana-Maria Cojocaru
A conversation with Oana-Maria Cojocaru about the images of Byzantine children in our sources, and the experiences that they would have had once they made it past infancy.
I’m a Viking!: A History Book About the Vikings for Kids
A new children’s book by C.J. Adrien offers a day in the life of a young Viking boy.
Child Freedom in the Middle Ages
Were there any intellectual arguments against having children in the Middle Ages, and were there medieval equivalents to “childfree” individuals?
Minding your Manners in the Middle Ages
Did medieval parents care about manners?
Children’s Literature in the Middle Ages: What did medieval children read?
What did children in the Middle Ages read? Was there even such a thing as medieval children’s literature?
How Large were Medieval Peasant Families?
Looking specifically at late medieval Western Europe, this article examines how large families actually were.
Back to School, Medieval Peasant Style
Have you ever wondered how peasant children were educated in the Middle Ages? And if they even went to school?
Taking Care of Babies in the Middle Ages
When it comes to taking care of babies in the Middle Ages, this meant swaddling them and rocking them in cradles.
Child death, grief, and the community in high and late Medieval England
Today, the heartbreaking news about child death, in most cases, is viewed as “unexpected” or “rare.” However, the medieval corpus reflects the grim reality that child death was common.
Playing Vikings: Militarism, Hegemonic Masculinities, and Childhood Enculturation in Viking Age Scandinavia
How do we define and understand the concept of childhood as it existed during the Viking Age?
Children and child burial in medieval England
This thesis presents an investigation into children in medieval England through burial, the most archaeologically-visible evidence for the treatment and conceptualisation of children in life.
Mortgaging Medieval Children
Taking a look at the controversial decision to “mortgage” a young boy to the Venetians, and why children were used as political hostages in the Middle Ages.
Childhood in the Middle Ages
What was childhood like in the Middle Ages?
Children in Viking Studies: a case for material culture studies
I will argue that the study of Viking-Age children, though historically stagnant, could be expanded through implementation of theoretical frameworks focused on the influence of both actors and their material culture.
Lost but not yet Found: Medieval Foundlings and their Care in Northern France, 1200-1500
The High Middle Ages was an important period of transition in the care of France’s “miserable persons,” that is, the poor, sick, widows, orphans, aged, and infirm.
A Will of their Own? Children’s Agency and Child Labour in Byzantium
This paper examines the relation between three concepts: a child’s will, children’s agency and child labour. This paper shows how these concepts were developed in Byzantine society in order to advance a religious agenda.
The Medieval Magazine (Volume 3, Issue 8) : Mother’s Day Issue
In our latest issue: Celebrating Mother’s Day. Mothers Who Weren’t: Wet Nurses in the Late Medieval Mediterranean
Motherly advice from the ninth century, Sex in the Roman Empire: In Bed with the Romans! Feast, Famine, and Food in Medieval Russia, Books: A trip through Welsh past in Mysterious Wales and much, much more!
Intercession and Motherhood: The Queenships of Philippa of Hainault and Anne of Bohemia
In this post, author Conor Byrne discusses the rule of two medieval queens: Anne of Bohemia and Philippa of Hainault.
Viking toy boat discovered in Norway
A thousand years ago, for reasons we will never know, the residents of a tiny farmstead on the coast of central Norway filled an old well with dirt.