The Image of the Little Child and its Upbringing as Reflected in Yconomica by Conrad of Megenburg. A Contribution to the History of Education in the Late Middle Ages

• Authors: Witold Brzeziński

Title variants

PL

Obraz małego dziecka i jego wychowania w dziele Yconomica Konrada z Megenburga. Przyczynek do historii wychowania okresu późnego średniowiecza

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The paper is concerned with the views of the fourteenth-century German thinker and writer Conrad of Megenburg on the nature of a little child (until the age of seven) and his or her  upbringing as reflected in his Yconomica. This work belonged to the oeconomica genre – books of instructions about the prudent management of the household, including recommendations on the proper upbringing of offspring. Conrad perceives the child primarily as lacking an ability to reason. Consequently, in his opinion what the child speaks or does is only a mindless imitation – a kind of aping – of what he or she hears or sees in others. Therefore, recommendations given by Conrad to parents on how they should take care of their children are mostly concerned with their health and proper physical development. To a lesser degree the first years of living is a time for the child to learn some good manners, e.g. while eating and to gain basic religious knowledge. This kind of learning, however, does not require any understanding, it consists in developing appropriate habits in children. Only when they reach the age of seven did their proper education begin. In his view of the little child and his or her upbringing Conrad of Megenburg follows the Aristotelian tradition.

PL

The paper is concerned with the views of the fourteenth-century German thinker and writer Conrad of Megenburg on the nature of a little child (until the age of seven) and his or her  upbringing as reflected in his Yconomica. This work belonged to the oeconomica genre – books of instructions about the prudent management of the household, including recommendations on the proper upbringing of offspring. Conrad perceives the child primarily as lacking an ability to reason. Consequently, in his opinion what the child speaks or does is only a mindless imitation – a kind of aping – of what he or she hears or sees in others. Therefore, recommendations given by Conrad to parents on how they should take care of their children are mostly concerned with their health and proper physical development. To a lesser degree the first years of living is a time for the child to learn some good manners, e.g. while eating and to gain basic religious knowledge. This kind of learning, however, does not require any understanding, it consists in developing appropriate habits in children. Only when they reach the age of seven did their proper education begin. In his view of the little child and his or her upbringing Conrad of Megenburg follows the Aristotelian tradition.

Keywords

EN

Little Child’s Image; Late Medieval Upbringing; Conrad of Megenburg; Oeconomica Literature; Little Child’s Image; Late Medieval Upbringing; Conrad of Megenburg; Oeconomica Literature

PL

Little Child’s Image; Late Medieval Upbringing; Conrad of Megenburg; Oeconomica Literature

• Publisher: Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk
• Journal: Biuletyn Historii Wychowania
• Year: 2018
• Issue: 38
• Pages: 7-16

Dates

published

2018-10-11

Contributors

author

Witold Brzeziński

• Wydział Pedagogiki i Psychologii Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego

References

• Sources
• Die Werke des Konrad von Megenberg 5. Stück: Yconomica, (3 books), published by S. Krüger, (= Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores, Staatschriften des späteren Mittelalters 3.1-3), vol. I – III, Stuttgart 1973-1984.
• Isidori Hispalensis episcopi Etymologiarum sive originum Librii XX, ed. W.M. Lindsay, Oxford 1911, book XI/2.
• Studies
• Arnold K., Kind und Gesellschaft in Mitterlater und Renaissance, Paderborn – München 1980.
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• Burrows J.A., The Ages of Man: A Study in Medieval Writing and Thought, Oxford 1986.
• Childhood in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The Results of a Paradigm Shift in the History of Mentality, ed. A. Classen, Berlin – New York 2005.
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• Kehily M.J., Zrozumieć dzieciństwo: wprowadzenie w kluczowe tematy i zagadnienia, [in:] Wprowadzenie do badań nad dzieciństwem, ed. M.J. Kehily , transl. M. Kościelak , Kraków 2008.
• King M.L., Concepts of Childhood: What We know and Where We Might Go, Renaissance Quarterly, 60, 2007, no. 2.
• Krüger S., Einleitung, [in:] Die Werke des Konrad von Megenberg 5. Stück: Yconomica, (book I), vol. I, Stuttgart 1973.
• Mac Gowan Tress D., Aristotle’s Child: Development Trough Genesis, Oikos, and Polis, Ancient Philosophy 17, 1997.
• Richarz I., Oikos, Haus und Haushalt. Ursprung und Geschichte der Haushaltsökonomik, Göttingen 1991.
• Schultz J.A., The Knowledge of Childhood in the German Middle Ages, 1110-1350, Philadelphia 1999.
• Sears E., The Ages of Man: Medieval Interpretations of the Life Cycle, Princetown – New York 1986.

Identifiers

DOI

10.14746/bhw.2018.38.1