Growing up in medieval London: the experience of childhood in history (review)

Reviews 289 with the spiritual quest for self-knowledge, which had implications for both religious and social reform. One of the most intriguing sections of the book explores the phenomenon of the ciarlatani who combined their talents of lute and guitar playing, singing, acting and folk-healing in their dissemination of the secret recipes. Towards the end of the sixteenth century these Italian mountebanks appropriated empirical recipes from the books of secrets already in circulation and marketed them in the form of simple, litde booklets to be sold during street entertainments in the piazza. The show would begin with music to attract the crowd, followed by the sale of nostrums, salves and booklets, andfinallythe presentation of a commedia. These entertainments became the masks and scenari of the commedia dell'arte. The recipes were sometimes even published under commedia names, for example, Polcinella, Biscottino, il Zanni bolognese. The combination of folk medicine, music and laughter had the healing effect of liberating people from the fears and repressions of conventional religion. The church, partaking in the CounterReformation moral crusade against popular culture, denounced the ciarlatani. The ecclesiastical authorities were threatened by the sale of medicines and books not controlled by the universities, and by the spontaneous paganism celebrated by the commedia actors whose jokes were frequendy aimed at priests, doctors and politicians. Science and the secrets of nature is not only a well-researched, intelligent, and innovative study; it is also immensely enjoyable. It is an important addition to the growing corpus of work by historians of science and culture w h o have perceived the key role played by hermeticism and alchemy in the development of Renaissance science and philosophical thought. Lyndy Abraham School of English University of N e w South Wales Hanawalt, Barbara A., Growing up in medieval London: the experience of childhood in history, N e w York and Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1993; cloth; pp. xvii, 300; 11 illustrations, 7 tables; R R P AU$27.50. In the middle ages as in the twentieth century, not only did parents love their children, but childhood and adolescence were also regarded and experienced as life-stages. Starting from these propositions, Barbara Hanawalt repudiates 290 Reviews historical constructions which oppose a 'mid-evil period' (p. 6) to the 'enlightened' attitudes of m o d e m Western culture. Her study sheds light on the lives of children in medieval London: the material and social contexts in which they matured, their formal and informal rites of passage, then education, behavioural expectations and relationships with adults. As an investigation of specific childhood circumstances, this book can be illuminating. The exploration of youthful experiences and life-stages is nuanced by considerations of gender and social status which recognise different paths to adulthood. A distinction between 'social' and 'biological' age elucidates differing perceptions and experiences of life-stages so that, for example, apprentices underwent an extended period of 'adolescence' while life-long servants could be permanendy excluded from full adult status. With a strong respect for her sources, Hanawalt refuses to interpret evidence of youthful participation inriotsin terms of a 'youth culture' of misrule and rebellion. Moreover, Hanawalt's discussions of orphans, servants and apprentices are particularly instinctive with regard to the household contexts in which children developed and adolescents matured. The strongest sections of this book rest on Hanawalt's considered methodological approach and her quantitative analysis of civic records about orphans. Unfortunately, some aspects of her work appear less thoughtful. For instance, although Hanawalt states that one of her aims is to explore the ways in which life-stages were conceptualised, her use of normative literature such as advice manuals tends to be unreflective and cursory. At times, anecdotes and examples drawn from coroners' records and legal sources threaten to overwhelm the argument. This is in contrast with the useful analysis of the ages at which citizens' orphans typically inherited, and with discussions of 'social puberty' which indicate different ways that medieval Londoners understood life-stages. Similarly, a more detailed critique of medieval terminology might have illuminated Hanawalt's conceptualisations of the life-cycle. Although she makes the point that the lack of a label does not indicate the lack of...