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The Kindness of Strangers: The Abandonment of Children in Western Europe from
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The Kindness of Strangers: The Abandonment of Children in Western Europe from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance Paperback - 1998

by John Boswell

Historian John Boswell argues persuasively that child abandonment was a common and morally acceptable practice from antiquity until the Renaissance. Boswell examines evidence that parents of all classes gave up unwanted children, "exposing" them in public places, donating them to the church, or delivering them in later centuries to foundling hospitals. 17 photos.


From the publisher

In The Kindness of Strangers, John Boswell argues persuasively that child abandonment was a common and morally acceptable practice from antiquity until the Renaissance. Using a wide variety of sources, including drama and mythological-literary texts as well as demographics, Boswell examines the evidence that parents of all classes gave up unwanted children, exposing them in public places, donating them to the church, or delivering them in later centuries to foundling hospitals. The Kindness of Strangers presents a startling history of the abandoned child that helps to illustrate the changing meaning of family.

Details

  • Title The Kindness of Strangers: The Abandonment of Children in Western Europe from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance
  • Author John Boswell
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 506
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
  • Date 1998-11
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Illustrated, Index
  • ISBN 9780226067124 / 0226067122
  • Weight 1.21 lbs (0.55 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.96 x 5.23 x 1.15 in (20.22 x 13.28 x 2.92 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: Ancient (To 499 A.D.)
    • Chronological Period: Medieval (500-1453) Studies
    • Cultural Region: Western Europe
  • Library of Congress subjects Europe - Social conditions - To 1492, Abandoned children - Europe - History
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 98019356
  • Dewey Decimal Code 362.730
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Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998. xviii, 488 pages, illustrations; 21 cm. Tight, clean text. Light edgewear. "Using a wide variety of sources, John Boswell examines the evidence that parents of all classes gave up unwanted children, 'exposing' them in public places, donating them to the church, or delivering them in later centuries to foundling hospitals. He shows what happened to these children, and he illuminates the moral codes that condoned abandonment." - Publisher.. Paperback. Very Good. 8vo.
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New York, NY, USA: Pantheon Books, 1988. Soft cover. Good. Minor to moderate shelf wear. Binding tight, pages clean but lightly age toned. Pictures available upon request.
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