Children's Play in the Later Medieval English Countryside

Abstract

This paper presents the preliminary results of an investigation into the extent to which evidence for Late Medieval sub-seigniorial rural children's play might be observable in the archaeological record. It first considers whether children in the Medieval period are likely to have engaged in play, and where they spent their time. Drawing on evidence from a range of disciplines including history, art history, folklore and archaeology it then investigates the nature of the activities likely to have been carried out during play and considers their likely physical manifestations. Excavations of three rural settlement sites in southern England are then examined in order to establish whether any features recorded during excavation correspond to those which would be expected to result from the sorts of play engaged in by Medieval rural children. The paper concludes by affirming why the correct identification of evidence for children's activities is so important.