Abstract

This chapter explores analyses pertaining to medieval children carried out within four non-archaeological disciplines (Medieval History, Art History; Medieval Literature and Folklore Studies) in order to show the potential of cross-disciplinary working for advancing understanding of elusive aspects of past society. Children’s lives are particularly elusive to the archaeologist, as children leave less physical trace than adults in the material record, but understanding children’s lives is are important, both because childhood is a universally experienced stage of life and because the perception and treatment of children both reflects and impacts on society more widely. In order to find archaeological evidence for childhood we need to know what it looks like; but in order to know what it looks like: this is a taphonomic conundrum which , this paper suggests, can only be resolved by encompassing knowledge of the contribution studies from other disciplines can make.