Stereotypes on the dark Middle Ages have a hard life. Among these, there is the place of children, which one still imagines little loved and exploited, working hard at an early age alongside adults. However, nothing is more false than this miserable vision.
In Children in the Middle Ages (XIIᵉ – XVᵉ centuries)a new synthesis published by Tallandier editions, Didier Lett-Professor Emeritus of medieval history at Paris-Cité University-shows us the living attention to childhood from the maternal belly, then is interested in birth, baptism, first aid to infants and the relations that the child has with his family. More possible doubts: medieval society has well experienced a strong “feeling of childhood”, as this extract from the book shows, focused on parents’ concerns for pedagogy and training of younger people.
A strong educational concern: many pedagogy treaties
If we still doubted the strength of the educational concern of men and women of the Middle Ages, it should be remembered that there are about fifty terms in ancient French from the 12the-Xve A centuries which designate the fact of educating or teaching: raising, amending, drinking, amonester, doctriner, taking up, chastier, disciplining, monitoring, teaching, indoctriner, driving, governer, etc. Not to mention the many Latin terms: instructio,, Educatio,, disciplina,, eruditio. This semantic wealth reflects a reality. The verb educar (ex And ducar) means “driving outside”, that is to say exercising a direction to get out of a state which is lower than that in which one wants to bring in a person. The term eruditio (ex And rudictio) has a very similar meaning. It means that the essential purpose of the process is to get the child out of his ruditas (rudeness) natural. Education aims to rough up.
This lexicon is found in the many educational treaties written in the last medieval centuries, sometimes written by fathers (or mothers) for their children. In 1238, the lawyer Albertano de Brescia wrote for his sons Of Amore and Dilectione dei and Proximi and Aliarum Rerum of Forma Vitaea treaty that is very successful, quickly reflected in many vernacular languages.
In his Hunting book (1387-1389), Gaston Phebus affirms: “What we learn in his youth, we hold him in his old age.”
The Catalan Raymond Lulle, a married layman, of noble origin, father of the family, courtier then hermit, pedagogue, missionary, mystical and novelist, left an immense work among which the Child’s doctrine (Doctrina Pueril), which he began to write in 1278 in Mallorca and which he completed in Montpellier around 1283. It is a treaty which is addressed to an imaginary son, supposedly child. He also composed a novel at the same time, Evast and Blaquerne’s book (Between 1280 and 1283), in which he transposes his teaching principles by sometimes even quoting passages from his treaty.
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Educate by speech and example
In the opinion of all, what we learn from an early age marks sustainably, is forever printed into the child’s mind. The knight of the Landry tower warns his daughters, “Because the life you want to lead in your youth, you will want to lead it when you are old” (The Book of the Chevalier de la Tour Landry for the teaching of his daughters1371-1373). In his Hunting book (1387-1389), Gaston Phebus affirms: “What we learn in his youth, we hold him in his old age.”
According to Gilles de Rome (Treaty on the Government of Princesaround 1280), as man is naturally used to behaving badly, it is necessary “Helping him in childhood to do well”. In order to first make good Christians, “We must teach children the articles of faith in youth so that their belief is firmer”. You have to be careful not to show him “Until and ugly things because young people like it very much and keep in mind what they see in their youth”. He illustrates by an example: “If a woman is painted or carved naked, it should not be shown to young people, because their age is inclined to enjoyment and bad inclinations.”
Guillaume de Saint-Pathus (Life of Saint Louis) explains the commendable facts of the brothers and sisters of Saint Louis as follows: “And the good works that made and continued to do all their life Monsignor Robert and Monsignor Alfonse, brothers of the king, and their sister, attest to their good education (norreture) and lessons they received from the start. ”
To express this idea, there are two frequent metaphors. On the one hand, that of soft wax. In the chapter of SIETE PARTIDAS entitled “that the king’s sons must have tutors (ayos) and how these must be ”, we can read: “The Sages said that young people have arrangements to learn, when they are still small, like soft wax when placed under the seal, which, the more tender it, the better it prints what is engraved on the seal.”
On the other hand, that of the amphora or the pot, borrowing the verses of Horace (ier century BC): “The new amphora will long keep the perfume which it has been initially imbued.” In the 13the century, Berthold de Ratisbonne explains that“A pot always keeps the smell of what we put in it first”. Therefore, he continues, “If you teach your brand new child of good things, he will always keep something about it, but if you teach him bad things, he will act in this sense. (…) They always keep something of the first habits that we give them. ”
Teaching is mainly done by speech and example (Verbo and Exemplo). Parents must be exemplary. Raymond Lulle advises fathers to get rid, in their house, of all individuals who could have a bad influence on their son. According to him, we must educate all the senses of the child. He writes: “By bodily sight, temptation between and spreads to the soul, which is why we must instruct (northern) his son and teach him to see such things that do not get him in bad thoughts. ”
He also vituates against those who accustom their children “To hear unnecessary things and ugly words, novels, songs, instruments and other similar things that encourage lust”. It is therefore preferable to “Teaching them the words of devout God and the books that speak of God”. He finally advises to educate the child in places that give off a good smell, because “We must accustom man to odors who cannot encourage him for unpleasant trivialities and thoughts”.
According to the Catalan pedagogue, we must take advantage of every moment of daily life to teach the Christian faith to his children. Thus, he advises his son to think of hell when he watches a handful of beans or peas, image of damned that suffer from infernal sorrows.
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“Just as the stomach only digests if the amount of food absorbed is lower than the level of satiety, so the given lesson should be lower than the capacity to learn.”
Exemplarity appears to be an essential mode of transmission of the values from father to son. Using theexemplum For children, parents have preachers in their family. As secular, they cannot preach, but they have to urge the youngest to do well. These advice is found in humanists who ask that children are very careful about children.
Matteo Palmieri, in Civil lifewritten between 1431 and 1438, written: “The father then must ensure that the children frequented by his son have well -chastised gestures and language, and must prefer good manners to caresses and a delicate life, because the delicatesse tender often spoils them and, once great, they want the same sweets in which they have been raised.”
Gradually learn
Doctors and pedagogues advise to be very vigilant when you give intellectual and physical work to children, because it is always necessary to take into account their skills, their strength and their capacity for resistance, therefore their age.
Giovanni Conversini, notary of Ravenna, son of Coversino del Frignano, doctor of the King of Hungary, Louis Ierin the Rationarium vitaeautobiography written around 1400, written: “Stakes must always administer notions that are below their capacities: just as the stomach only digests if the amount of food absorbed is lower than the level of satiety, so the given lesson must be lower than the capacity to learn. A clear and non -heavy lesson is easily printed in the mind, a complicated and heavy lesson satisfied but does not feed. ”
Gilles de Rome (Treaty on the Government of Princes) strongly advise against demanding on the part of children under the age of 14 of major work to avoid blocking their growth. Barthélemy the Englishman also recommends not to give too rough work to children between 7 and 13 years old, so that their growth is not prevented. Maffo Vegio, in his From Education Libertorum (middle of the XVe century), advise: “Until the age of 5, no discipline is still possible and it will be necessary to avoid any fatigue that would sound on its growth.”
These tips seem to be heard. In Saint-Denis, at the end of the 13the century, Louis, an abandoned, deaf and silent child, arrived at the age of 8 at Gauchier, a blacksmith. The latter uses it but, as he deems it too puny, because of his young age and undoubtedly also endured deprivation, he decides to entrust him with activities in accordance with his physical condition. To begin with, “Before its members were very strong, he blowed the fire of the blacksmith to light the forge”.
Then Gauchier, who testifies to the investigators of the miracle after the child regained the use of speech, “Remember that when he was stronger, he helped him, on the one hand, holding the hammer and, on the other hand, taking charge of other tasks in his shop, that he ordered him by signs”. Everything happens as if left -handed had integrated the precepts of the Théophile monk who, a century earlier, advises, for the profession of blacksmith, that the child first assists the master, maintains the flames, “Breath a little” At the bellows, built the straw grinds that will serve as fuel, then strikes with a small or medium hammer.
Among the Italian weavers of the XVe A century, it is not uncommon to entrust the newly hired children with the surveillance task of adult workers, thus allowing them to learn their future profession by observation and imitation of the work of the work which they will soon have to accomplish. The apprentice doctor begins by bringing the instruments of his future profession, cleaning them, before starting to use them himself. In medieval literature, the young knight also learns the profession of weapons in a very gradual way: he is page then squire, carries the knight’s arms before using it fully and being dubbed.
