ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the largely Christian cultures of early modern Western Europe, exploring both sides of the Protestant and Catholic confessional divide. It provides an accessible introduction to the history of early modern childhood. The book highlights some of the fundamental backgrounds against which it is essential to both read and understand the history of early modern childhood. It explores the ‘beginnings’ of early modern childhood, tracing the journey of the young, from the awareness of families that they may be expecting a new arrival, through to infancy and schooling. The book describes some of the adversities that might beset early modern children. It also explores the very beginnings of life, focusing especially on the often anxious few days when the newly born early modern infant existed caught between their birth and their baptism.
