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children: Europe 175 A Royal Child in India Medieval Indian monarchs were usually members of the Kshatriya caste, composed of warriors and government leaders A king often had many concubines living in a harem Children of the king spent their early childhoods in the harem, where they played games Sometimes the king took his harem, including the children, out on excursions that included bathing in a river When they were deemed old enough, children were removed from the harem and put in the care of a tutor The birth of a crown prince was cause for celebration For about 10 days the king and his subjects celebrated with parties, dancing, and music Every day of his childhood the crown prince had his body rubbed with yellow oil to make him look golden He wore a necklace of tiger claws to ward off evil When he was removed from the harem, the crown prince began training to become a leader From the age of three he learned the rules of conduct for his caste and studied sacred books As he grew bigger and stronger, he practiced horseback riding and the skills of a warrior in addition to studying academic subjects At age 11 he began training in how to run a kingdom and how to manage the national bureaucracy When his tutors considered him ready he was placed in a military unit, and eventually his father sent him to fight in a war By the time he was a young man he was expected to command a military unit If a king had only daughters, sometimes the eldest daughter was raised as if she were a crown prince She was expected to marry and have a son, who would become part of her father’s line of kings A king might adopt a son who by custom would have all the rights, privileges, and duties of a natural-born crown prince was given a name to use until the real one was revealed At night the family kept a lamp lighted beside the child to ward off evil Children of the poor were put work in the family business as soon as they could walk Education was very much desired by children of all social ranks because only through education could they learn how to live fulfilling lives In general, a Hindu child was expected to learn the rules of his or her caste, especially those regulating moral behavior With a good education a girl could aspire to marry a well-to-do husband or manage a business of her own A boy could hope to become a leader in his community Europe by Sophie Oosterwijk In the medieval period childhood was a clearly recognized phase of human life The “ages of man” were a popular theme in art and culture Ranging from three basic ages (youth, maturity, and old age) to more extended schemes, depictions show the different stages of life from birth until death Many variations of this theme included separate stages for infancy, childhood, and adolescence or youth Artistic renditions may depict infancy as a swaddled baby or a toddler behind a baby walker and childhood as a young boy at play In real life there were also specific stages of childhood that marked a transition Medieval infants often were weaned relatively late, at the age of two or even three, but they remained in the nursery during this first age of infancy Children usually started their elementary education or training at the start of the age of childhood, around seven and grammar school education or formal apprenticeships in their early teens There was no uniform age to mark adulthood Children might marry young: Legally, girls could marry as early as 12 and boys as early as 14, though laws varied and did not necessarily apply to other aspects of life An adolescent could still be technically a minor in terms of inheritance or legal responsibility Birth and child care are among the topics discussed by such medieval authors as Bartholomaeus Anglicus (fl ca 1220–40) and the Tuscan physician Aldobrandini of Siena in the 13th century, though in reality midwives rather than physicians assisted mothers during childbirth Newborn babies were expected to be bathed and cleaned after birth before being swaddled tightly in cloths or bands with the intention of keeping them warm and allowing their limbs to grow straight Many late medieval tomb monuments show images of swaddled infants, or so-called chrysoms, which usually commemorate children who died in early infancy The need for hygiene is often emphasized in medieval medical handbooks It is impossible to prove how often children were washed, but there are many literary references to bathing as well as depictions in medieval art of infants being bathed in a tub by their mothers or nurses Birth was a hazardous event for mothers and children alike Many miracle stories describe parents praying desperately for a stillborn baby to revive, at least long enough to allow baptism to safeguard the child’s immortal soul Birth rates were generally very high, but so were infant mortality rates, and therefore many parents experienced child loss The high
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