Not many children learned to read and write. Only the children of rich people were taught by teachers in their homes. The only schools were run by monks and they trained boys to become monks. Girls could train to be nuns. Boys learned the skills of their fathers. They learned to chop down a tree, plough a field, fight in battles, hunt, fish, and row in a boat. Girls learned from their mothers how to care for the home. They learned weaving, cooking, cheese making, ale brewing, and collecting firewood and water.
Children were considered grown when they were around the age of a middle school student of today. But while they were kids, children got to play. They had handmade toys such as dolls, wooden horses, or other carved animals, swords, and ships. They had board games, tops, and musical pipes for instruments.
Families had to approve of any marriages. If a woman’s husband died, her brother would take care of her, but women could own land. A rich woman could leave a will.
Can you answer these questions?
