A Medieval Guide to Children’s Table Manners

February 24, 2020

Children have been naughty for centuries, and a recently digitized manuscript from 1480 proves this. The Lyttle Chidrenes Lytil Boke is a guide for proper table manners, and Alison Flood at the Guardian notes tips such as “Bulle not as a bene were in thi throote” (Don’t burp as if you has a bean in your throat.”) or “And chesse cum by fore the, be not to redy” (“Don’t be greedy when they bring out the cheese.”)

Image credit: The British Library

is a writer and illustrator. She is the author of two illustrated books, Last Night's Reading (Penguin Books, 2015) and Sanpaku (Archaia 2018).