Childhood in the medieval period was a precarious time. Children were particularly vulnerable to disease and accident and a great many did not survive into adulthood.
But ice skates, pewter toys and ceramic figurines found in London give clues as to the games they played, and carefully knitted clothes (see the vest and mitten below) show the efforts made to keep them warm through the winter.
While most poor children did not have a chance to attend school, families with more money could pay for children to be taught by the parish clerk or at a grammar school such as St Paul’s.
