In the late Middle Ages, there were child servants everywhere in British aristocratic homes, and it was not uncommon for young children to be sent to aristocratic homes by their parents as servants. The child service system was popular at that time. In the eyes of China people, servants are a group lacking personal freedom, so why do British families, especially wealthy families, send underage children to aristocratic families?

The fundamental reason is that parents send their children to aristocratic families, not to deprive them of their freedom, but to make the best decision for their development, to some extent, to give them greater freedom in the future.

The feudal society in China was a patriarchal society. Although patriarchy was inviolable, it also attached great importance to the upbringing of children. There were many words about children in ancient China. For example, in the Western Zhou Dynasty more than two thousand years ago, there were words about children in the Book of Songs:

The age division of children is also very detailed, such as crying, birth, dancing spoon and so on. From this, we can see that families attach importance to their children.

In ancient China, Confucius was the pioneer of private education. Therefore, it is conceivable that children in the Spring and Autumn Period have already begun to accept systematic and professional learning. The rulers of the Tang Dynasty established the imperial examination system and imperial academy, which provided poor students with opportunities to receive quality education to some extent.

Western European countries did not have such a profound family concept as China, so there was almost no concept of children in the Middle Ages. Of course, this is not to say that parents in medieval European countries did not love their children, but in their concept, families were not tied to their children, and they usually did not spoil their children.

The so-called middle ages generally refer to thousands of years from the end of the fifth century to the end of the fifteenth century. The Middle Ages are called the darkest times in Europe.

Although the reasons for the emergence of the title of darkness in this era are complex and diverse, it is certain that in this dark period, the development of science and culture is slow, and the inequality between different classes in feudal society is deeply rooted, making it difficult to receive quality education.

Therefore, under this social condition, the wealthier families in Britain have explored a set of models for children to receive better education, that is, the child servant system. Wealthy families in Britain will send underage children to aristocratic families and let them serve as child servants. Through the contact of children in aristocratic families, they will learn the etiquette of the upper class and the knowledge of family management.

At the same time, because in the late Middle Ages, the inheritance right of the general family fell on the eldest son, and the children behind him hardly got much property, so sending children to aristocratic homes to learn certain knowledge and skills is to help them provide channels for learning survival skills. Even if children don't go to aristocratic homes as child servants, they will usually be sent to church and become priests and nuns in the future.

At the same time, it is also a good opportunity for wealthy families to broaden their contacts and establish relations with the elite. Therefore, some inferior nobles will also send their children to the homes of superior nobles, so that they can find a good way out for their children and meet more powerful people. This is a means to kill two birds with one stone.

It can be seen that in the child servant system, people with high blood and high birth are dominant, and almost no one will send their children to lower-class families.

Correspondingly, the upper class aristocrats occupied a noble position in feudal society, and they were generally willing to show their wealth and status by the number of slaves in their homes, so they accepted child servants and agreed to teach them knowledge. At the same time, to some extent, it is similar to surrender, giving children to the upper nobility, and it is also convenient for the upper nobility to manage the lower nobility.

After a child is born, it is generally raised by a gentle woman. In the past, under the condition of poor medical conditions, the chances of children's survival were not great, so children needed more careful care. In ancient times, most women were gentle, while western Europeans thought that giving children to gentle women could make them gentle and preserve their bloodline to the greatest extent.

But by the time the child is seven to ten years old, the child's body is already strong and it is not easy to die. This is the best time to send children to aristocratic families, and children are in the golden age of absorbing knowledge.

Children who do child service are too young to be assigned heavy and complicated tasks, which is beyond their ability. Noble families need child servants. To a certain extent, the industry only shows its position, and does not really treat them as servants.

Therefore, most of the boy servants generally do the work of serving food. For example, when the male host drinks, the boy servants wait beside him and pour the wine for the host at any time to meet the needs of the host. When the male master hunts, the boy follows the master closely and helps the master to take the prey. On the other hand, maids need to accompany the hostess when she does housework. Sometimes they need to go to the kitchen to help or clean the room.

Boys and servants should also be present when the master takes care of manor affairs outside, so that they can not only serve the master, but also learn the knowledge of taking care of foreign affairs. When the hostess socializes, the maid is also around, and she can also learn the social etiquette and means of the upper class.

It is in this kind of obligation that child servants learn certain knowledge and manners. Those who behave well among child servants can also hold positions in aristocratic families, such as the position of housekeeper.

In the late Middle Ages, aristocratic families generally had both financial resources and prestige, which determined that nobles could provide high-quality education. Therefore, wealthy families or slightly inferior nobles would send their children to aristocratic families, which was a common social situation at that time. Children sent to aristocratic families usually get together to learn various life skills.

Boys should learn some local vocational skills, because ancient men needed to support their families. Girls usually learn housekeeping skills with mistresses and maids, because girls will eventually become maids of aristocratic families or housewives who manage housework.

When a boy grows up, he may leave the aristocratic family and go to the palace of the territory to learn how to become a knight. Other older knights will guide him and teach boys martial arts skills such as archery, horseback riding and fencing. When a boy reaches the age of fifteen to eighteen, if his academic performance is excellent, then at this age, he is qualified to become a knight.

Chivalry prevailed in the Middle Ages. In all kinds of literary works, knights have always been the symbol of courage, perseverance and integrity, and the embodiment of heroes. Chivalry inspires young people to a certain extent, making them eager to become knights.

At the same time, among the feudal ruling classes in western Europe, the Pope is the first, followed by the king, followed by the nobles of all sizes, and the last layer is the knight. The titles of the first three classes are hereditary, but the titles of knights are not so, but obtained by personal strength.

Knight belongs to the ruling class, although the power is not as great as the first three levels, and he can only own a small manor, but compared with the civilian class, knight still has many privileges. Therefore, many boys who are born in noble families but have no inheritance rights will study knight education and want to serve a certain Lord, which is also a good way out.

Although boys who act as child servants generally do not get a larger share of the property in the family, due to the wealth in aristocratic families, child servants still need to take care of their own industries and manage their own assets in aristocratic families.

At the same time, children's servants will also learn social etiquette, personal appearance and table manners in aristocratic homes. These courses are designed to ensure that children from good families can learn the courtesy of this elite.

It contains some basic etiquette, such as keeping teeth and nails clean and dressing neatly and generously. For a child servant, the experience of studying in a noble family is very important. For example, Thomas Moore, the founder of utopian socialism in Europe, worked as a child servant in the archbishop's house for a period of time. The archbishop gave him a lot of help and made him find his own direction in life in confusion.

In ancient times, women's social status was generally low, so women became the protagonists of housework. Besides housework, women need to educate their children. All extroverted occupations are basically beyond women's reach, so in the late Middle Ages, women still had to study housekeeping, social interaction, traditional ethics and so on. Used to teach each other. Even the famous Elizabeth I studied skills and manners at her stepmother's house. In the eyes of people at that time:

Because the aristocratic family is rich in property, men often need to go out to deal with affairs, so a qualified wife is a good assistant for men, who can not only take care of the housework, but also help men take care of the family business, deal with other wives and broaden their communication. So girls can learn the ability to manage family affairs and socialize after being a lady.

The candidates for child servants are generally rich families or children of inferior aristocratic families who have no inheritance rights. In fact, these families are trying to find a way out for their children and provide them with quality education in another way by sending their children to aristocratic families with strong financial resources and deep prestige.

Nobles accept child servants for the convenience of managing these families, not to show their status and wealth. Child servants only need to undertake few obligations in aristocratic families, but they can learn life skills and social etiquette, so this child servant system is beneficial to children.

Reference to historical documents:

Canterbury tales

Legend of a virgin

Duchess's book