Growing up in Hospitaller Malta (1530-1798) : sources and methodologies for the history of childhood and adoloscence

Abstract

The study of young people in the past is fraught with methodological problems and unearthing source material on children and adolescents can be problematic. It requires the adoption of a different set of lenses through which textual primary material can be viewed. This entails striving to recognise and release previously unheard voices. Furthermore, the textual material can be complemented by an array of visual and material objects that have preserved a certain image of children and adolescents in the past. This chapter commences with a brief outline of the methodological developments that have taken place in this field since Philippe Ariès’s seminal book appeared in 1960, and traces the resulting changes and innovations that concern sources. In particular, it will underline the importance to historians of taking into account recent developments in the field of childhood archaeology. Furthermore, the fundamental role of religion in people’s lives in early modern times necessarily influenced their upbringing. In turn, most of the sources that are available from this era – court records, statutes, paintings – were either produced by religious institutions, or were heavily influenced by religious beliefs. Thus, this chapter will strive to demonstrate how approaches used in one place can be adapted and used in different historiographical contexts, and how vital it is to adopt an interdisciplinary approach.