On Thu, 12 Feb 1998, R.A.Ross wrote:
> My real
> question is, what is he trying to prove? Why does he want to show that
> parents did not love their children until the modern period? I have one
> suspicion, that it relates to Le Goff's ideas about the fundamental
> change represented by the French Revolution. But I haven't read enough
> other material by Aries to see if this is a trend in his other work.
> Does anyone have any other suggestions on what he was up to?
>
I've always assumed this was part and parcel of the argument that when
infant mortality is high, parents have large families to ensure the
survival of a few children but that they simply don't care about the
offspring until they are old enough to have a sporting chance at
survival.... I think it's not so much a common misconception about the
middle ages as a common myth about most of human history!
AAY
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