The Medieval Period III: Children In British Literature

C. Children In British Literature

Even though children were held in relatively higher regard in British society (historically speaking) during the medieval period, it was only during the 1400s that they began to figure prominently in British literature.

This led to a theory by French historian Philippe Aries on medieval indifference regarding childhood. According to Aries, children were considered irrelevant, even expendable, during the middle ages. Aries says that this explains their lack of presence in British literature before the 1400s.


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Another example that he gave was that of the account of Edward I’s reaction when both his five-year old son John and his father King Henry III died. Edward I was said to have grieved more for the latter than the former because “the loss of a child is easier to bear as one may have many more children, but that the loss of a father is irremediable”.

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However, further research has proven that Edward I’s anecdote was the exception to the rule.

Even though children didn’t specifically feature in early British literature, they were featured somewhat in the numerous “origin stories” of heroes and heroines in romances and saints in catechetical stories. These stories described how these characters were born and brought up.

After 1400s, children’s literature began to flourish. Most of these written works were manuals, especially about table manners, right conduct, and practical skills such as hunting, among others.

Stories for children also began to increase by this period, especially a comic tale in verse called The Friar and the Boy (author unknown). However, the specific literary market for children was not yet in full swing back then.
Most adolescent children at the time preferred to read adult fiction such as romances, the works of Chaucer, and ballads of Robin Hood.

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It was during later periods that British writers will write specifically about children. However, the medieval period laid the groundwork for the changing conception of society about children.