In a densely informative, fluid, and often charming study, Hanawalt
(History/University of Minnesota) dashes the widely accepted
notions that medieval society lacked the concepts of childhood and
adolescence as we understand them, and that it disallowed the
cultural space for the expression of these states of development.
Received wisdom has long dictated that in the brutal world of the
"Dark Ages," high rates of infant and child mortality hardened
hearts to the young, and that society thrust adulthood upon
children as soon as they were large enough to complete a day's hard
labor. Turning to the rich court documentation available in London
(coroners' rolls; wills and bequests; records of orphans; business
disputes, etc.) and relying on a technique that includes
"fictional" portraits and scenarios to illustrate her more
conventional expository narrative, Hanawalt paints a convincing
picture of a 14th- and 15th-century London in which parents
cherished their children no less than we do. In the author's
London, people felt responsible for the welfare of neighborhood
children, often risking their lives in their defense; upwardly
mobile parents took immense pride in a well-schooled son; and those
charged with the care of orphans were monitored to ensure that
designated funds were not misspent. These were harsh times, of
course, and both children and parents died with alarming frequency
(though Hanawalt points out that the resulting prevalence of
single-parent households and of stepfamilies formed through
remarriage makes medieval society, in some ways, more like our own
than not), but the author conclusively demonstrates that then, as
now, kids were allowed to be kids. Exemplary scholarship that
blends traditional, painstaking research with contemporary
approaches and understandings. (Kirkus Reviews)
Bringing together a wealth of evidence drawn from court records, coroner's rolls, literary sources, and books of advice, this book weaves a rich tapestry of the life of London children during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
