Children’s Books of Ancient Times
March 22, 2011
If you have a copy of UJ’s Endlessly Engrossing BR handy, turn to page 175, and an article titled “Children’s Books.” It has stories about six books intended for children, starting all the way back in the year 1005. Wanna read ‘em? We thought so. Here you go.
This was written around 1005 CE by the abbot of a Benedictine monastery near Oxford, England, known as Aelfric. It is one of the earliest known pieces of writing that was meant specifically for children, in this case for the boys whom Aelfric taught. It was written in Latin (Colloquy means “dialogue” in Latin), and was meant to teach the kids Latin grammar, as well as some things about the world around them, including many professions they might take part in one day. Numerous copies of the Colloquy were made, and it was used in monasteries in many parts of England. A sample:
Teacher: How did you dare to cut the boar’s throat?
Hunter: My dogs drove him toward me, and I stood against him and slew him.
Teacher: You must have been very brave indeed.
Hunter: A hunter must be very brave, since all kinds of beast lurk in the woods.
Read a 1978 translation of Aelfric’s Colloquy, by Anne Elizabeth Watkins of the Kent Archaeological Society (posted with express permission from the Society!). And a very cool edition in Old English from the University of Calgary in Alberta can be found here, with a glossary, and illustrations.
THE DISTICHS OF CATO
This is a collection of witty couplets (distich means “couplet”) that was actually written for adults in around 350 CE by a Roman named Dionysius Cato. In the 1200s it was rediscovered, translated into several European languages, and began to be used to teach kids grammar, and morals as well. It remained hugely popular for centuries, and was even published in the American colonies in 1735 by none other than Benjamin Franklin. Sample:
Be stupid when the time of situation demands / to fake stupidity is at times the highest prudence.
Read The Distichs off Cato, translated by Wayland Johnson Chase, professor of the History of Education at the University of Wisconsin, in 1922. (This is especially fun, because it has an actual book that you can flip the pages of and read. Hit “Read online.”)
THE BOOK OF THE KNIGHT OF THE TOWER
French aristocrat Geoffrey IV de la Tour Landry wrote this collection of stories in 1371 for his two young daughters. They were meant to teach the girls about the proper behavior of ladies in royal society. One example warned against having sex, because that might result in pregnancy, in which case poor dad would have to drown you in a well. (Really.) The book was very popular with parents—probably moreso than kids—in France, Germany, and England, for at least 20 years.
Read The Book of the Knight of the Tower, translation by Alexander Vance in 1868, via the Hathi Trust Digital Library.
A TOKEN FOR CHILDREN
This was written in 1671 by English Puritan minister James Janeway, and it helpfully taught kids to be terrified of going to hell. Full title: A Token For Children: An Exact Account of the Conversion, Holy and Exemplary Lives and Joyful Deaths of Several Young Children. Just like it sounds, the book consists of stories about children, some as young as two, who committed terrible sins, then died. But thankfully they were all forgiven for their sins before they died. It was one of the most popular kids’ books for two centuries, in both England and the American colonies.
Read A Token For Children at OpenLibrary.org.
TOMMY THUMB’S PRETTY SONG BOOK
This book was published in 1744—a time when attitudes toward children were changing, when kids were, really for the first time, allowed to be kids. It was written by an “M. Cooper” (which I’ve just found out means “Mary” Cooper!), and is believed to be the first published collection of nursery rhymes in history. It included some you probably know, such as “Sing a Song of Sixpence” and “Hickory Dickory Dock.”
Read Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book, at OpenLibrary.org.
A LITTLE PRETTY POCKET BOOK
Full title: A Little Pretty Pocket-Book: Intended for the Instruction and Amusement of Little Master Tommy and Pretty Miss Polly. This final entry was published in 1744 by English author and publisher John Newbery, and consisted of drawings, rhymes, and instructions for games and sports for children. Newbery was the first publisher in history to successfully market children’s literature—now an enormously enormous business, of course—and the American Library Association’s award for the best children’s of the year is called the “Newbery Medal” in his honor. Each book came with a ball—for boys—or a pin cushion—for girls.
Read A Pretty Little Pocket Book at Wikisource.org.
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