THE ROMAN AND BARBARIAN CHILDREN -- The farther back in time we go the less concrete evidence we have about the treatment of children. We do know that both Roman and Barbarian (or Germanic) peoples relied on a social family structure headed by the pater familia or head of the household. He had the final say in his children's education, marriage arrangements, and even their right to continue living. Infanticide was widely used by the Barbarians as a means to control their population. While the mother was obviously responsible for the daily care of her children, she too fell under the authority of the pater familia. The primitive family demanded fierce loyalty, obligation and devotion to the protection of the family honor, family line and often the family fortune. While it is easy to come to the conclusion that honor and duty were more important than love (they may well have been) it is impossible to ignore humanity's ability to love and cherish.
THE MEDIEVAL CHILDREN The treatment of children during the early Middle Ages is a controversial issue among historians. First of all children are so rarely mentioned in Medieval literature, granted few women writers made their stamp on this period of history. Yet, there are several indicators of perceptions toward children. While a child was definitely important to a family's survival, most children were not pampered, caressed or coddled. In a time when both peasant and noble families main function was to provide protection, sustenance and survival for their families, there seems to have been little concern for child between birth and five or six years old. Infant mortality rates were high and it may have been difficult for parents to grow attached to children who were likely to die. With high birth rates, a new child often replaced a dead one. Most children were swaddled, bound in cloths and bandages making them unable to move about. It was also difficult to caress and cuddle a swaddled child. The use of wet-nurses among the nobility is well known. Social commentators and religious leaders of the age propagated strict upbringings for children. Another indicator for the lack of affection that may have been felt or shown towards children can be seen as a result of the practice of sending young boys to live as apprentices or pages in neighboring villages and castles. At age eight the French nobility would send their sons to a castle to begin his training in the ways of men. From age eight to fourteen he would learn the essentials: hawking, fighting, and riding. The castle's chaplain would oversee his religious education. It would have been difficult to form strong affectionate attachments to children, virtually raised by others. Yet on the other hand, there are hints at affection towards children -- graves indicate the sorrow many parents felt at the loss of their children. Other records indicate that mothers often resorted to magic (a serious sin with the Church) to cure sick children and children were given toys like dolls and doll carriages, wooden knights and weapons, windmills and balls. Perhaps childhood is so overlooked in the Middle Ages because it was so short. At seven and eight the entrance into adulthood began. In fact may girls, while not formally married, were betrothed at this young age. While it is impossible to track the attitudes of the peasants towards their children, it is known that they worked hard as a family unit to provide food and survival. Even their childhood must have been short-lived.
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