The Role Of Childhood In Medieval Literature

In my study during this course, I have noticed a pretty clear divide between the Medieval Era and the Victorian Era. The Medieval texts were often complex and exaggerated narratives. On the other hand, the Victorian texts were rather simplistic in nature. Personally, works that depict realistic situations have more credibility. Therefore, Victorian era works of literature serve as a more accurate representation of childhood as opposed to Medieval literature. To support this argument, I will refer to direct situations within the texts of Sir Gowther, a Medieval text, and Wuthering Heights, a Victorian era novel. Being that they are two, very different works, exploring the maturation of two of the main characters will be essential. Gowther and Heathcliff, in a sense, serve as the “anti-heroes” of their respective works. Comparing the supernatural upbringing of Gowther to the relatively realistic upbringing …show more content…
Medieval works of literature such as Sir Gowther lack this reality when it comes to representing childhood. Several Medieval works this semester have incorporated supernatural and complex elements. This prompts me, and possibly many other modern scholars to think of Medieval perception of childhood as “altered”. In theory, Medieval writers might have been inhibited by their belief in spirits in demons. Sarah Griffiths from Daily Mail says, “But in the Middle Ages, the monsters seen in books and manuscripts were understood to be real” (Griffiths). She then goes further in depth as to the types of “monsters” that people believed in. With this fact from Griffiths, it is safe to say that these beliefs had an influence on the writers of the Middle Ages. Writers who would have been writing during the Medieval period would have incorporated these beliefs into their writings. Sir Gowther serves as an example of the influence that belief in demons can have on