Childhood and Childrearing Practices in the North of England C. 1450–1603

Nurture and Neglect: Childhood and Childrearing Practices in the North of England c. 1450–1603 Loretta Anne Dolan This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy At The University of Western Australia School of Humanities Discipline of History 2014 Abstract This thesis examines experiences of children in urban and rural communities of northern England. It addresses a number of anomalies regarding children’s experiences in the existing historiography. Firstly, recent scholarship has largely focused on affective parent–child relationships obscuring the question as to what actually constituted nurture and neglect: sixteenth-century sources are clear that affection was not nurture just as beatings did not necessarily constitute neglect. Secondly, there have been some important omissions in the historiography due to the adult-centred nature of the debate. We rarely hear the voices of the children themselves, and some historians seem convinced that children of this period had no autonomous, separate voice. But it is not the case that they cannot be discerned, and this thesis has attempted to distinguish children’s voices from those that were only mediating their experiences. Thirdly, the adult-centred approach has overshadowed the issue of children’s agency, and historians have typically portrayed the child as having little or no say in their own care and upbringing. Again, this was not always the case and this thesis provides evidence to the contrary. Finally, the historiography has so far largely ignored the north of England and generalised about the experiences of the whole of the country using only sources from the south. This study redresses this regional imbalance. Ecclesiastical and secular legal records, which hitherto have been an untapped resource for children’s voices, form the basis for this study. Chapter 1 is dedicated to exploring how these records can be read for children and in what ways children were defined within the community. Chapter 2 examines normative discourses about child rearing: what constituted nurture and neglect, where and how parents gained knowledge of how to best nurture their children, as well as the direct and indirect messages parents received from church, state, and community. Chapter 3 analyses the under-researched issue of child marriage, specifically the nurture of the child once they were married: did underage marriage signal a break from parental control and an end to iii childhood as it did in adult marriages? The next two chapters examine important forms of education in later childhood. Chapter 4 establishes the various learning contexts available for children of all social groups and gender, in addition to determining the availability of formal schooling in the north of England and its intended participants. Chapter 5 explores apprenticeship from the perspective of the child: what were the expectations of the child in relation to nurturing and skill acquisition? What was the relationship between the apprentice and their master? Was the child protected if the relationship failed? The final chapter investigates in depth the main experiences of parental deprivation, addressing such questions as, in the absence of parents, who was responsible for the nurture of children? At what cost? What expedients did both carers and children adopt? The dates for this study are important in addressing one of the main questions of this thesis: did the notions of nurture and neglect change over the period of the Reformation? Despite the general assumption that the Reformation was a catalyst for change in most things, there appears to be a surprising degree of continuity in the advice given by both the Church and contemporary writers on the nurture of children. The Church did not alter its advice at all over the dates of this study, while advice literature from before the Reformation was consistently reprinted or incorporated within new works throughout the sixteenth century. I argue that this same continuity in practice, observable in the Church’s guidance and secular advice literature, is discernible in the legal sources. There was not a transformation in attitudes towards children after the Reformation: they continued to be cared for in much the same manner as they had in previous centuries. This thesis demonstrates not only that the nurture of children was consistent throughout the period, but also exactly what good nurture was thought to be. This is opposed to the ideas of modern historians who consider affection and love essential for nurture. Contemporary ideas of good nurture were consistently framed in terms designed to instil obedience and deference to authority in the child, with the best environment in which to do this being the authoritative, patriarchal household. The common acceptance of placing a child into another household where nurture was given by adults other than the iv parents – routinely done in child marriage, apprenticeship, and billeting for schooling purposes – testifies to the importance contemporaries attributed to correct socialisation of children in an authoritative household (whether parental or not) as part of their nurture. Furthermore, children were not a ‘muted group’ in the sixteenth century as some historians have contended. Their voices are heard in the testimony of others and in this respect they are little different from many other groups in society. The same argument can be applied to the issue of children’s agency. Children did exercise agency in their relationships with adults. Although, at times, their agency may have been constrained by these relationships, my evidence demonstrates that children could, and frequently did, think and act for themselves. v vi Table of Contents Abstract iii Table of Contents vii Acknowledgements ix Statement of Candidate Contribution xi List of Tables xiii Abbreviations xv Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Defining the Sources 17 Legal Process Ecclesiastical Courts Secular Courts Quarter Session Courts Chancery Courts Social Status of the Court Users Interpreting the Evidence Reading the Sources for Children Community Norms Reflected in the Sources Chapter 2 Notions of Nurture and Neglect in Adult–Child 61 Relationships Forms of Communication Birth to Seven Years Responsibility of Adults in Regards to Children Notions of Nurture and Neglect Seven Years to Adolescence Responsibility of Adults in Regards to Children Notions of Nurture and Neglect for the Older Child Neglect of the Older Child Nurturing Discipline or Cruel Abuse Intended Audience of Advice Community ideals of Nurture and Neglect vii Chapter 3 Child Marriage 103 Legal Definitions of Child Marriage Consistency of Practice Across the Dioceses Motivations for Child Marriage Role of Family and Friends Community Response to Child Marriage Social Class of Children Married Underage Lived Experiences of Children Married Underage Emotional Responses and Reactions Chapter 4 Education 161 Contexts of Learning Types of Available Schooling Professionalization of Teaching Participants in Formal Education Children’s Lived Experiences at School Chapter 5 Apprenticeship 201 System of Apprenticeship Relationship Between Apprentice and Master Conflicts and Concerns Between Master and Apprentice Participants in Apprenticeship Pauper Apprenticeship Female Apprenticeship Life After Apprenticeship Chapter 6 Parental Deprivation 245 Types of Parental Deprivation Costs of Raising a Parentally Deprived Child Provisions Made by Parents Disputed Authority Parental Survival Expedients Children’s Contributions to Nurture Conclusion 299 Bibliography 311 viii Acknowledgements This thesis has been undertaken under the supervision of Professor Philippa Maddern and Dr Stephanie Tarbin. To both supervisors, I am indebted not only for their expertise, enthusiasm, and encouragement, but also their friendship. Thanks must also go to my fellow palaeographers, led by Professor Maddern, at the University of Western Australia (UWA), who stoically undertook the transcription and translation of my at times illegible documents, in particular Carole Carson and Jennifer Hole. While at UWA, I have benefitted from the support and friendship of other postgraduates and staff in the Discipline of History, in addition to the attention received from Susana Melo de Howard and Azra Tulic in the Scholars’ Centre of the Reid Library. Diana Dunn, late of the University of Chester, has remained a supporter of my studies long after I have left her tutelage. I am appreciative of the Australian Government for awarding me an Australian Postgraduate Scholarship, which allowed me to undertake this thesis, and to the UWA Graduate Research School who afforded me a completion scholarship to allow for a timely conclusion. Staff at the British Library, Borthwick Institute of Historical Research, Cheshire Archives and Local Studies Services, Durham Cathedral Archives, Durham County Record Office, Durham University Special Collections, The Institute of Historical Research, Lancashire Record Office, Liverpool Record Office, The National Archives, York Minster Archives, and York City Archives Department provided much-needed assistance on my research trips to the UK. I was considerately looked after on the same trips by generous family and friends: Ritchie Ackland and Vivien Gunewardena, Siobhan and John Denwood, Jack and the late Kathleen Dolan, and Rosemary and John Sorrell to mention but a few. Finally, I must acknowledge my family. I am grateful for the whole- hearted support of my husband Chris and children, Alasdair, Eloise

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