ABSTRACT
If the adage “the child is parent to the adult” is true, then a historical understanding of what childhood meant through the ages is essential for our understanding of both the past and our selves. In a work drawing broad conclusions about childhood and family life in the past Philippe Ariès in his Centuries of Childhood (1962) argued that the premodern world had no concept of childhood, which he defined as an interest in children as children. If anything, children were seen as little adults. At best their special needs were ignored; at worst these children were brutalized. The development of a concept of childhood occurred only in the modern world, beginning in the 17th century, with its emphasis on education.
