title: The concept of childhood in the middle ages.
abstract: The question is raised of whether the Middle Ages held a view of the nature of childhood as distinct from adulthood. Evidence is offered from legal documents, medical writings, and church and monastic chronicles to support the viewpoint that the special nature of the child was perceived (although with great ambivalence) as being fragile, vulnerable, and naive, while also possessing a potential for closeness to God and the supernatural world.
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D005060:Europe; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D007603:Jurisprudence / Q000266:history*; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000266:history; D012067:Religion / Q000266:history*