Abstract
The text looks at childhood and the social status of children in the Early Middle Ages. The author briefly describes changing opinions on the subject and on areas of contemporary research.
Using written sources, she attempts to sketch a picture of childhood in the upper social classes, and addresses the view that childhood ended after the seventh year of childhood. Among other things, she draws support in the findings of cultural anthropologists.
In addition to written sources, the subject is further illuminated by archaeological sources, in particular burial sites – which, thanks to detailed analyses, offer new information.