Sir Thopas: A Story for Young Children

This article proposes that Chaucer's Tale of Sir Thopas is a children's story—that is, to borrow F. J. Harvey Darton's succinct definition, a work designed "to give children spontaneous pleasure, and not primarily to teach them." Previously, no English children's books have been identified prior to the sixteenth century: Sir Thopas is by some 100 years the oldest extant children's story in England. The article further proposes that Sir Thopas is part of an extended experiment in writing for and about children. The tale's placement in Fragment VII of the Canterbury Tales between The Prioress's Tale and The Tale of Melibee signals Chaucer's interest in writing for and about children, and encourages us to appreciate his pioneering artistry in an important new way. Looking out for a fresh device, Chaucer recognized that children like to see themselves in a story; that they can enjoy a story without understanding everything in it; that they can read or listen without having things explained to them; and that it is acceptable if, like young Thopas, they are simply laughing and playing.