Constructions of Childhood and Youth in Old French Narrative

This innovative book examines the portrayal of childhood and youth in vernacular French narratives composed between 1100 and 1220. Through close readings of sixty primary texts from two genres-epic and romance-Phyllis Gaffney traces a significant evolution in cultural views of childhood. While early epics contain only a few, stereotypical references to children, later verse narratives display a range of arguably timeless motifs, associating childhood with play, idealism, pathos and joy, and a growing awareness of the particular traits of the young. Gaffney explores relationships between the two genres that illuminate cultural constructions of childhood. Whereas juvenile epic heroes display precocious strength and wisdom, children in romances are depicted as ignorant, naiuml;ve, needing guidance and education. Gaffney includes a chapter on the intriguing phenomenon of enfances narratives, later poems celebrating the youthful exploits of established heroes: these 'prequels' combine epic and romance features in distinctive ways. An appendix presents a semantic investigation of Old French terms denoting "child" in poems from both genres. Contributing to the history of childhood by considering two major literary genres, this study shows how imaginative texts can both shape and reflect the historical development of cultural values.