Constructions of Childhood and Youth in Old French Narrative (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Constructions of Childhood and Youth in Old French Narrative Lisette Luton (bio) Constructions of Childhood and Youth in Old French Narrative. By Phyllis Gaffney. Surrey, UK: Ashgate, 2011. The impetus behind this study seems to be a rejection of the theories of the social historian Philippe Ariès, who claimed that the notion of childhood as a distinct stage of development from adulthood didn’t exist during the Middle Ages. While Ariès based his assertions on paintings, which depicted children dressed like miniature adults, Gaffney conducts a thorough and detailed study of references to children and youths which can be found in medieval literature. Chapter one briefly outlines Ariès’s interpretation of medieval attitudes toward childhood. Gaffney compares Ariès to other critics such as James A. Schultz, who distinguishes between a medieval sense of childhood and our modern one. Her challenge is to ferret out the most obscure references to childhood and youth in medieval French narratives in order to interpret medieval attitudes toward childhood. In chapter two, Gaffney addresses the cultural constructs of children, which sometimes portray them as filled with original sin and at other times characterize them as innocent. Terms used to indicate youth are examined, such as the French equivalent of “lad” or “maiden,” although these do not usually correspond to an exact age. Gaffney notes that the age of fifteen seems to be significant in such literature as fairy tales and epic poems, as well as within English law. She does not, however, address the idea that perhaps ascribing the categorization of “childhood” to the age of fifteen is a more modern concept. It is entirely possible that in the context of medieval texts, fifteen may have been considered to be young adulthood. Other images of the child include the child prodigy and the child saint. Chapter three provides a detailed study of images of youths in the epic chansons de geste. La Chanson de Roland does not provide any specific examples of youthful characters; sons are mentioned, such as Ganelon’s son, but their ages are not known. The series of episodes surrounding the Couronnement de Louis show a vulnerable fifteen-year-old king who cries from helplessness when nobody offers to fight for him. Songs relating to the legends surrounding Guillaume d’Orange feature heroic youths. The main character in the Chevalerie Vivien glorifies martyrdom by observing that men who die in the prime of their powers are grieved for, whereas those like Charlemagne who die in their old age will never be lamented. Elsewhere in the cycle of Guillaume d’Orange, we see the literary type of the youth who avenges his older family member. Gui, who is Vivien’s younger brother, is specifically described as being younger than fifteen, yet it is expected that he will avenge his brother’s death. The character of Rainouart in Aliscans is presented as young, foolish, and impulsive. He wields a tree trunk instead of a sword. The twelfth-century narratives were characterized by more complex family plots. The song of Aye d’Avignon recounts the tale of the child Gui, who is kidnapped and [End Page 125] raised by surrogate parents. In this case, the title character is the birth mother of the child. In Orson de Beauvais, Orson’s son Milon tries to stop his mother and godfather from marrying after it is falsely reported that his father has died. Thus it becomes the duty of the son to avenge the wrongdoing of his mother and godfather, who is now his stepfather. Jourdain de Blaye also features a hero who must avenge the deaths of his parents, who were murdered during his infancy. Jourdain also learns that another infant, Garnier, was sacrificed in his place; much emphasis is placed upon the sorrow that his parents experience in giving up their son to be murdered so that Jourdain might live. Jourdain takes on his role as the avenging son as an angry fifteen-year-old. In the Aïol, the main character’s twin sons are snatched from him and thrown in the Rhône River. The plot becomes more complex later on, when he discovers that they did...