by Nicholas Orme. Published by Yale University Press, 2003 Reviewed by Sandy Robertson

This weighty book is filled with fascinating facts and insights into the lives and significance of children in medieval England. Orme, a British historian specialising in the Middle Ages and Tudor period, has written many books which are about education and childhood. Medieval Children explores all aspects of the lives of children including birth, family life, death, rhymes and songs, play, Church, reading and growing up. He looks in detail at each aspect of life and draws on a multitude of examples from literature, records and art, demonstrating his depth of knowledge in this area. The 125 illustrations add another perspective and aesthetic sense of the period as the reader moves through the book.

I was intrigued by Medieval Children. I learned a lot about the medieval period in general, but also fascinating details about the history of, for instance, baptism: the various laws about when a child must be baptised, fines that were imposed if they were not, the significance of godparents.

In each section Orme considers the differences that existed between the social classes that had substantial impact on the lives of children, and also, the differences for boys and girls.

In some aspects of life there was scant evidence and Orme has made deductions from a single piece of evidence or example. In other aspects there is clearly a lot of evidence and perhaps he uses too many examples.

I read with interest about the Church and the child, wondering if there would be similar issues of abuse in the medieval period as we have seen brought to light in the past couple of decades. Orme refers briefly to this in the chapter on "Danger and Death", but skirted over it a little too lightly, I felt.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history and/or children. It is a fascinating read. However, it is quite dense — there is just too much information to read it "in one go". I suggest taking it in small bites and it won’t become too overwhelming.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 235 March 2019: 27