Co-sleeping was frowned upon. From the illustrated Vie et miracles de saint Louis (c1340) by Guillaume de Saint-Pathus. Courtesy the BnF, Paris Edited bySam Haselby and a further 20 per cent did not survive to adulthood the impact could be even greater: seven of King Edward I’s 16 children died before their seventh birthday while Catherine of Siena’s mother gave birth to at least 23 children Such high mortality rates are largely explained by the extreme susceptibility of the very young to malnutrition childhood ailments such as measles and diarrhoea Medieval chroniclers often claimed that the majority of the plague-dead were children and the archaeological record provides further proof of their vulnerability: the excavation of one Sienese cemetery suggests that 88 per cent of plague victims were children Confronted with such distressing evidence, some historians – notably Philippe Ariès, in his pioneering study Centuries of Childhood (1962) – have argued that medieval babies were largely ignored resources and above all emotions in fragile beings who had an extremely high chance of dying young But there is plenty of evidence to suggest that premodern people loved and cared for their children Although few recorded their feelings as eloquently as Petrarch many medieval parents would surely have identified with his account of his infant grandson’s death: surprise us to learn that medieval people were extremely interested in babycare – especially as contemporary medical theory held that the child was extremely delicate According to medieval understandings of the body health was based on the equilibrium of the four humours (blood and illness was the result of humoral imbalance Very young children were naturally hot and moist and these qualities needed to be maintained but not enhanced This meant that the child’s environment must be carefully managed since an individual’s health was believed to be greatly influenced by a set of external factors known as the non-naturals (air and environment all of which had the potential to change an individual’s humoral make-up it was very important that a baby was protected from cold draughts which meant that medieval texts about babies are (like their subjects) preoccupied by food – and specifically with breastfeeding From Comédies (c1410) by Térence; manuscript 664 if modern mothers often feel pressured by the ‘breast is best’ brigade at least they don’t have to live up to the impossibly high standard set by the ideal medieval mother: the Virgin Mary who was often depicted nursing the infant Christ Saintly women such as the 12th-century Ida who insisted on nursing all three of her sons herself were lauded for emulating Mary’s maternal devotion Such was Ida’s commitment to this practice that when she returned from mass to find that another woman had fed her screaming son for her and this brother was always less successful than his siblings was rooted in the many medical arguments in favour of maternal breastfeeding According to the 13th-century physician Aldobrandino of Siena the mother’s milk was always the best option ‘because this is what he was nourished on when he was in his mother’s womb and after he is out of the womb the milk reverts naturally to the breasts.’ (The exception was the milk produced immediately after giving birth – whereas modern medicine places great emphasis on the benefits of colostrum medieval physicians feared that the upset of labour damaged this milk.) The milk given to a baby was the main influence on its health: medieval people took quite literally the idea that an infant ate what its mother did and her poor diet could leave the baby’s humours out of balance bad milk could lead to all sorts of unpleasant illnesses from acute problems such as ‘spewinge’ and ‘squirte’ to serious conditions such as leprosy and epilepsy Breastfeeding also shaped the child’s character and not just because it spent a lot of time with its mother developing a close emotional bond with her (According to the 15th-century Venetian humanist Francesco Barbaro one of the key differences between women and female animals is that the former have nipples on their chests rather than their stomachs which allows them to fondle their child as they nurse.) A woman’s characteristics were thought to be passed on through her milk pious sons – and the child of a drunkard or a fool would follow in its mother’s misguided footsteps nursing mothers received lots of advice about their technique Most medical writers agreed that women fed their babies too much and too often; they suggested a schedule of well-spaced feedings (possibly as few as two or three a day) but claimed that many women effectively fed on demand Nursing women were advised not to have sex which would reduce both the quality and quantity of the milk for ‘a pregnant woman when she nurses destroys and kills children.’ Women who did not breastfeed their own children were criticised in the strongest terms by both churchmen and medical writers The 13th-century English theologian Thomas of Chobham insisted that a woman’s refusal to nurse her baby was tantamount to murder while refusing to use her breasts as God intended was a form of blasphemy The 15th-century Italian physician Michele Savonarola was equally hostile asking: ‘How can you not want to breastfeed your child taking into consideration the quality of his care and even your own health and longevity?’ Many male proponents of breastfeeding accused non-nursing mothers of prioritising their looks and their lovers over the wellbeing of their offspring The 15th-century Valencian physician Jaume Roig blamed his son’s death on his wife’s vanity about her figure which meant that the child was sent to incompetent wet nurses An animal horn could be used in place of a baby bottle many mothers were either unable or unwilling to nurse their own children the obvious alternative is bottle feeding but in an age of limited sanitary facilities and no formula milk Although nursing horns were sometimes used the grain merchant Paolo da Certaldo warned that ‘a baby who nurses on animal’s milk does not develop like a child who is nourished with human milk; rather he always seems somewhat stupid and empty-headed and not with full understanding.’ but she also allowed the dynastically minded mother to focus on having more children (Medieval people were well aware of the contraceptive effects of lactation.) And if wealthy women often delegated the task because they could the poor sometimes did so because they had no choice a Florentine father called Niccolò Ammanatini explained his poverty to tax officials: ‘[My] wife has no milk and we must hire a wet nurse.’ In 14th-century Montaillou in France poor girls were sometimes obliged to hand over their babies so that they could work When Brune Pourcel was encouraged to leave her six-month-old son Raymond with ‘a woman from Razès who has too much milk’ fearing that ‘Her milk would be bad for my son.’ but was flighty; another was described as ‘evil’ what did parents look for when employing a wet nurse in robust health and of sound moral character and with a strong resemblance to the nursling’s mother Her breasts should be firm and medium sized (very large breasts might squash the child’s face she should have given birth about two months previously although she must not nurse her own child alongside her new charge Margherita Datini was often tasked with finding nurses for the offspring of her merchant husband’s wealthy Florentine friends but was flighty; another was described as ‘evil’ by her last employer Datini was suspicious of any wet nurse who had a toddler writing: ‘Never shall I believe that when they have a one-year-old of their own they do not give some [milk] to it.’ All too often her success rested on another woman’s tragedy as when she told her husband: ‘I have found one in Piazza della Pieve whose milk is two months old; and she has vowed that if her babe Some nurses moved in with the family: in August 1328 Beatrix Rossel hired herself to Berengarius Sesmates ‘to live with him and nourish with her own milk his children Petrus and Johanna for one year starting immediately.’ In Florence parents often sent their children away to nurse as the city air was thought to be unhealthy for delicate young bodies and so it was particularly important that the woman was carefully chosen and would move their child if its care was inadequate Thus little Francesco Guidini was sent to Monna Andrea in November 1380 Monna Mina announced that she was now expecting his parents decided that he was old enough to be fully weaned medieval babies were often breastfed for much longer than their modern counterparts: skeletal evidence from England and Scotland indicates that breastfeeding typically stopped around the child’s second birthday María Garcés testified that she had found a 15-day-old baby on the steps of Zaragoza Cathedral she fed him ‘with milk from my breast’ for three years – possibly inspired by the popular belief that Mary fed Christ for three years breastmilk would have been given with other food and drink with the introduction of solids often coinciding with the eruption of the first tooth Suitable weaning foods included bread (either pre-chewed by the mother/nurse very young babies sometimes seem to have drunk wine – and in sufficient quantities that the 15th-century German physician Bartholomäus Scherrenmüller discussed what a nurse should do ‘if she cannot get the child off wine’ well diluted.) Not everyone thought this was a good idea with some authorities stating that the under-fours should never be given wine It is hard to tell how often medieval children were given alcohol she apparently gave her baby son beer for a whole week after which she went to pray at the tomb of St Osmund who ‘do not use hot water to raise the nose or press down the face or lengthen the legs’ and for a medieval baby this often meant being placed in a cradle because of the perceived risk of overlaying: sermons warned against it and women were asked about it in the confessional Many medieval miracle stories concerned women such as Ceccha who shared her bed with her daughter Clarucia and her son Vannucio One night she fell asleep while feeding and cuddling her children to ‘free her Clarucia from death and to free herself from infamy’ and he reputedly performed a miracle cure for the unfortunate family because gentle rocking aided digestion and encouraged sleep It was sometimes described as a form of exercise which made sense in the context of contemporary medical theory which saw exercise chiefly as a way of moving humours around the body But rocking too hard was dangerous: the 14th-century Catalan mystic Ramon Llull warned that this was ‘contrary to the brain which is shaken by rocking and does not achieve the aptitude it would otherwise attain.’ And the brain was not the only body part that needed to be handled with care Medieval writers often stressed the softness of the infant body the baby’s body could be easily shaped into attractive forms (the 12th-century polymath Gerald of Wales criticised the Irish or press down the face or lengthen the legs’) but it could also be bent out of shape by something as apparently innocuous as a blanket or even its own movements This was one of the reasons (along with cleanliness) why physicians suggested that babies should be bathed in warm water almost immediately after birth and then at frequent intervals (around two to three times a day for the first month It also explains the medieval enthusiasm for swaddling which was widely used to keep children still during the early months when the body had not yet solidified From the illustrated Vie et miracles de saint Louis (c1340) by Guillaume de Saint-Pathus the cradle was not always a place of safety Based on the evidence of English coroners’ records cradle-bound infants were extremely vulnerable to house fires William Senenok and his wife left their baby in the care of her big sister Agnes when they went to church on Christmas Day 1345 Yet we should be wary of assuming that such neglectful parents were the norm or that medieval babies were routinely ignored Both legal and spiritual authorities condemned those who did not take good care of their children Elizabeth found her seven-month-old daughter Margaret dead in her cradle on returning from a night out because this was the second child they had lost; their toddler son had died after falling into some boiling water Now the couple feared that people would say: ‘Look again they neglected their child.’ Fortunately for all concerned the child was miraculously revived thanks to the intervention of St Dorothy von Montau Even parents who stayed at home with their child might be criticised if they did not pay it enough attention since the debate over whether babies should be left to cry is a very old one Several medical experts suggested that they should be allowed to cry for a short time before feeding; this was good for them because it released noxious superfluities which might impede digestion But others worried that wailing was a waste of breath and it was generally agreed that it was important for a baby to maintain an emotional equilibrium with caregivers being advised not to scare their charges One technique for encouraging speech development involved rubbing the gums with butter and honey there is plenty of evidence that medieval parents did their best to nurture their children and spend time with them they often mentioned the infant they were holding at the time as when Guillemette Clergue told the Inquisition how she ‘was standing in the square at Montaillou with my little daughter in my arms’ Savonarola told women to play with their babies and his suggestions are timeless ones: dangle an interesting object so that he follows it with his eyes; move his arms around and tickle him; or lift him to his feet and gently bounce him the child’s environment should be a stimulating one with interesting pictures and colourful cloths and although few medieval baby toys have survived we know that rattles were sometimes tied to cradles from Le Livre des propriétés des choses by Barthélemy l’Anglais medieval parents were preoccupied with teaching their little ones to talk although some of their methods now seem rather unorthodox One popular technique for encouraging speech development involved rubbing the mouth This was believed to encourage the growth of teeth the emergence of which would facilitate speech one should sing to the child and talk to it repeating easy words such as ‘mama’ and ‘papa’ that do not make the tongue move too much Bartholomew the Englishman describes how nurses whisper and lisp to children in order to help them talk although not everyone approved of this practice: Sir Thomas Elyot described babytalk as a habit of ‘foolish women’ by speaking correctly when in the company of their children The content as well as the accuracy of their conversation mattered and the 15th-century Florentine humanist Matteo Palmieri railed against parents who laughed when a small child said an obscene or blasphemous word and who taught babies to make rude gestures at their mothers and Savonarola’s description of this process will be familiar to anyone who has ever spent time with a toddler she should be encouraged to cruise along the furniture and then persuaded to walk to you: call her name He stresses that someone should always be ready to catch her as she falls warns against leading her by the arms (which may hurt her shoulders) and even suggests using a small cart to help her in her efforts Medieval manuscripts include numerous drawings of babywalkers not dissimilar to those still used to teach babies how to walk used to equip the child with the skills it would need in adult life not only underscores the similarities between medieval and modern experiences of growing up even in an age of horrendously high infant mortality medieval parents took good care of their children EmailSavePostShareSYNDICATE THIS ESSAYSaveessay The Norse ravaged much of Europe for centuries. They were also cosmopolitan explorers who followed trade winds into the Far East Like today’s large language models, 16th-century humanists had techniques to automate writing – to the detriment of novelty Saveessay After a murderous kidnapping in Nigeria, I launched a campaign to put a stop to the abductions. Why did no one listen? When AI takes over the practice of science we will likely find the results strange and incomprehensible. Should we worry? In Plato’s Symposium, Socrates shared a theory of love from the teachings of a ‘non-Athenian woman’. Who was she really? Saveessay Condemned to death by firing squad, French resistance fighters put pen to paper. Their dying words can teach us how to live Insufficient knowledge or experience for flying in mountainous areas Mountain flight has environment-related specificities such as unusual visual references due to the loss of the natural horizon complex and changing aerological conditions Specific knowledge and skills are required to fly safely in this hostile and demanding environment recalling good practice and points to watch out for Similar occurrences for which reports were published in 2022: It should be noted that these three accidents involved pilots affiliated to aero clubs or training organisations located near the accident site. This topic was already addressed in 2021 Eight people were fatally injured and one was seriously injured in the above-mentioned occurrences In 2022, two reports showed the pilot’s determination to reach his/her destination. The accident to F-GFGO on 16 February 2020 at Creissels illustrates this safety topic with a flight in which the pilot lost control of the aeroplane in adverse weather conditions for visual flight An occurrence on the same topic gave rise to a report published in 2022: Five people were fatally injured in the two above-mentioned occurrences The term loss of control is frequently used in reports it is interesting to look at the flight phases in which they occurred Except for losses of control during landing the consequences of a loss of control are often severe as the energy of the collision with the ground is high      3.1 Loss of control in aerobatic flight It should be noted that for the latter accident the investigation report addressed the topic of improvised manoeuvres and impaired judgment in the presence of third parties on the ground Three people were fatally injured in the above-mentioned losses of control         3.2 Loss of control during initial climb the pilot must manage the aircraft's flight path while being prepared for the unexpected Discussing potential threats and solutions to deal with them to quickly find the information needed for immediate action The report concerning the accident to F-HRDM on 12 June 2021 in Wambrechies illustrates this topic the pilot and instructor lost control of the aeroplane while performing a turnaround to return to the runway after a problem in the cabin during take-off The report concerning the accident to N918SE on 28 September 2020 at Chevillotte deals with a go-around after an unstabilised approach in IFR flight Occurrences on the same topic giving rise to reports published in 2022: The accident to G-CLDO on 12 May 2019 at Montmorillon was the result of a loss of control after a rejected landing. This topic was also mentioned in the 2021 review Another occurrence is the loss of control following a bird strike involving F-GNNE on 18 April 2021 at Saint Pathus the report states that the aeroplane was probably very difficult to control after the collision with a great cormorant Twelve people were fatally injured and one was seriously injured in the above-mentioned losses of control       3.3 Loss of control on the ground during take-off the aeroplane is flying at a low height and low speed; the losses of control observed do not usually end in a head-on collision with the ground or an obstacle although in rare cases people on board may be injured The following reports illustrate this topic: Solo flight is an essential part of pilot training It allows the student pilot to implement all the skills and knowledge provided by her/his instructors numerous conditions must all be met to let the student fly solo In the report concerning the accident to G-CBGC on 2 November 2020 off Cannes aerodrome the reader can find information concerning the supervision of solo flights carried out at night Lastly, in the report concerning the accident to the electrical-powered aeroplane,  F-HGAH on 30 June 2022 at Aix-les-Milles the pilot indicated that she was surprised by the aeroplane’s behaviour when flying it with a low weight once the instructor was no longer on board On this topic, the DGAC (French civil aviation authority) has published a guide for instructors on the supervision of solo flights.  One person was fatally injured and one was injured in the above-mentioned occurrences The accident to F-ORVY is a special case because it was not a solo flight authorised by the training organisation and because the circumstances of the disappearance of the aeroplane and its pilot suggest that it might have been intentional a topic concerning aeroplane maintenance and engine malfunctions was identified pilots were confronted with a loss of power or even an engine shutdown which forced them to make a forced landing or a ditching On this subject, the report concerning the accident to F-HPMO on 5 September 2021 at Bedous can be consulted the pilot was forced to land in a field because the engine was not providing power due to a faulty electrical supply resulting from inadequate maintenance This problem had already been reported on a previous flight The report concerning the accident to F-HFBR on 17 March 2021 at Pessac particularly addresses the exceedance of the 50-hour inspection intervals (including in the time between overhaul (TBO) extension period) and the non-application of the manufacturer's recommendations in the event of a lengthy downtime Occurrences on the same subject giving rise to reports published in 2022: There were no fatal accidents in the above-mentioned accidents BEA Bâtiment 153 - 10 rue de Paris Zone Sud - Aéroport du Bourget 93352 Le Bourget Cedex Standard +33 1 49 92 72 00 Permanence H24 > reporting of accidents and incidents only +33 1 49 92 72 72 +33 1 48 35 86 54 Too many automated requests from this network the aircraft registered as F-GNNE had left Beauvais at around 1 p.m and crashed 23 minutes after the take off The aircraft was flying at a speed of  203km/h at an altitude of 365m before falling sharply to crash Four people died when a light plane crashed east of Paris on Sunday ⛔19:30 Nous vous informons que la rue de Noëfort (D9D) sera fermée demain toute la matinée                                                                         The crash Site , as captured by Nationale 2 infos A Robin DR400 aircraft that had taken off from Beauvais The light aircraft was "of French origin limited by law to visual flights at altitudes of no more than 15,000 feet," an airfield source said A search unit from the paramilitary gendarmerie police was dispatched to the scene where a strong smell of  fuel  filled the air The Circumstances of crash is being investigated                                                                    F-GNNE FL360aero | All right Reserved 2025 and an investigation was begun to determine the cause of the accident Information provided to AFP by the Lognes-Emerainville airfield suggested it was a training flight limited by law to visual flights at altitudes of no more than 15,000 feet," an airfield source said It crashed around 20 kilometres from France's biggest airport where a strong smell of kerosene filled the air please register for free or log in to your account You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed.