Child's Play in Medieval England
Read Child's Play in Medieval England and check the IELTS Reading answers. 'Play up! Play up! And play the game!' The ringing chorus of Sir Henry Newbolt's celebrated cricket poem Vitaï Lampada (1908) sums up views about play in 19th- and early 20th-century Britain. Children's play was important, a…
Passage preview
'Play up! Play up! And play the game!' The ringing chorus of Sir Henry Newbolt's celebrated cricket poem Vitaï Lampada (1908) sums up views about play in 19th- and early 20th-century Britain. Children's play was important, and adults should regulate and direct it. Games promoted endurance, self-discipline and team spirit qualities needed for the health of society and government. Newbolt was one in a long line of people who thought in this way. The notion that children's play should be used for educational and social purposes goes back at least to the ancient Greeks and the toys and games of medieval England tell us much about how adults then saw childhood. But they also reveal a good deal about children themselves, and cast light on what has recently become a controversial issue.
Vocabulary from this passage
10 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- commercially manufactured adjective
Produced on a large scale by a business or industry for the purpose of being sold
By the 1300s, there was evidence of a toy industry in England producing commercially manufactured dolls.
- congregate verb
To gather into a crowd or mass; to come together in large numbers in one place
Historical accounts describe how thousands of children would congregate to engage in their own mock warfare.
- contemporary adjective
Living or occurring at the same time; belonging to or occurring in the present
Pictures of children's activities found in contemporary manuscripts provide evidence of how they played in the past.
- dispute verb
To argue about something; to question whether a statement or theory is true or valid
More recent historians have disputed the idea that medieval parents felt little affection for their children.
- endurance noun
The fact or power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way
Nineteenth-century educators believed that sports were essential for promoting endurance and self-discipline in young children.
- gravitate verb
To move toward or be attracted to a person, place, or thing, often instinctively
Despite adult attempts to direct them, children tended to gravitate toward each other to form their own culture.
- infancy noun
The early stage in the development or growth of something; the state or period of early childhood
Historical evidence confirms that adults gave toys to their children from infancy onwards during the Middle Ages.
- recreational adjective
Relating to or denoting activities done for enjoyment when one is not working
Historians investigate whether medieval adults viewed play primarily as a recreational activity or an educational tool.
- take the initiative verb
To be the first person to act or to do something, rather than waiting for others
Medieval children often showed a willingness to take the initiative in play by inventing their own games.
- thesis noun
A statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved
The evidence of active play effectively refutes the historian’s thesis that childhood did not exist in medieval times.
Answers with explanations
- 27. D
The correct letter is **D**. This paragraph provides explicit **economic evidence** regarding toys and play in medieval England. It mentions a commercially viable '**toy industry**' established by 1300, and specifies that girls' dolls ('poppets') were '**commercially manufactured, imported**,' and subject to financial regulation, being '**taxed at a halfpenny each**' in 1582.
- 28. G
The correct letter is **G**. This paragraph includes an explicit example of children creating their own playthings out of natural or raw materials. It records historical observations of children '**making footballs by filling pigs' bladders with dried peas**' during the autumn season, which clearly illustrates how they manufactured their own functional toys independent of commercial purchases.
- 29. E
The correct letter is **E**. This paragraph describes an active, martial sport that received official adult endorsement. It notes that boys shot arrows with bows, and states that '**archery is an example of a sport encouraged by adults**.' The paragraph explains that elders approved of this warlike play because they wanted boys to prepare for their roles in a '**warrior society**'.
- 30. F
The correct letter is **F**. This paragraph discusses a specific historical political event and demonstrates how it was reflected in children's games. It notes that in 1400, six months after '**King Richard II had been overthrown by Henry IV**,' the children of London mirrored this political upheaval by gathering in thousands, **choosing themselves kings**, and engaging in mock warfare.
- 31. B
The correct letter is **B**. This paragraph outlines the **origin of the academic debate** concerning the nature of medieval childhood. It introduces the foundational thesis of French historian **Philippe Ariès**, who argued that childhood did not exist in its modern sense, and contrasts his viewpoint with **more recent historians** who have disputed his claims.
- 32. I
The correct option is **I** (children's gang warfare). The text explains that in the year **1400**, the children of London gathered together in thousands, elected their own kings, and '**made war upon each other whereby many died**.' This historical account of mass conflict among youngsters directly corresponds to the description of children's gang warfare.
- 33. J
The correct option is **J** (a description of seasonal activities). The passage details that in **1518**, the poet Alexander Barclay recorded children playing with tops in **March** (spring), searching for fruit in **summer**, and constructing footballs from bladders in **autumn**. This chronological breakdown serves as a clear description of activities tied to the seasons.
- 34. F
The correct option is **F** (dolls taxed in England). The text outlines the commercial nature of girls' dolls (known as poppets or puppets) and explicitly notes that in the year **1582**, these manufactured items were formally '**taxed at a halfpenny each**' by the authorities, matching the event perfectly.
- 35. C
The correct option is **C** (poem about value of games). The passage opens by referencing the year **1908**, which is the publication date of Sir Henry Newbolt's celebrated cricket poem **Vitaï Lampada**. The text explains that this specific poem 'sums up views about play' and emphasizes how games promoted key character virtues, matching the description.
- 36. NO
The statement is **NO** because it directly contradicts the writer's explicit claims. The statement asserts that little is known about historical adult attitudes toward play. However, the writer explicitly concludes Paragraph C by stating, 'We know **not only how medieval English children played but what their elders thought on the subject**.' Since the author asserts that we do possess this knowledge, the statement is false according to the writer's view.
- 37. NOT GIVEN
The statement is **NOT GIVEN** because the writer does not provide enough data to confirm or deny the proportion of imported toys prior to 1300. The text states that by 1300 a toy industry existed in England, and notes that dolls were imported and taxed in 1582. However, it never states whether **most toys** were imported **before 1300**. Because the text is silent on this specific proportion, it is impossible to know the writer's view.
- 38. YES
The statement is **YES** because it completely aligns with the claims of the writer. The passage notes that children exhibited a 'willingness... to take the initiative in play' and '**observed the calendar**.' It adds that while they shared in adult religious festivals, they also 'had **their own observances as well, semi-detached from their elders**,' confirming that they celebrated the seasons in unique ways.
- 39. NOT GIVEN
The statement is **NOT GIVEN** because the text contains absolutely no mention of children making presents for their parents on special occasions or any other time. While the text discusses various toys and games children played or created, it remains entirely silent on the topic of gifts for parents. Thus, it is impossible to determine the writer's position.
- 40. YES
The statement is **YES** because it directly agrees with the final conclusions of the writer. In Paragraph H, the author explicitly states that 'the relationship between adults and children in medieval society was, in major respects, a **modern one**' and concludes the academic discussion by declaring that '**Childhood has always been much the same**.' This confirms the view that familial behavior patterns mirror contemporary ones.