The Lytille Childrenes Lytil Boke, a medieval conduct book


Don’t pick your nose. Don’t burp. Wash your hands. Take your elbows off the table. Does this sound familiar? This manuscript is full of rules like these, written more than 500 years ago. The ‘Little Children’s Little Book’ taught children table manners, so that they would know how to behave in noble or royal households. By listing all the many things that medieval children should not do, it also gives us a hint of the mischief they got up to.

https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/t...nes-lytil-boke