This topic is divided into sections:
balls,
dolls and doll clothes,
figurines,
games,
hobby-horses,
hoops,
miniatures,
noisemakers & rattles,
puppets,
scopperels,
stilts,
swings,
tops,
toy boats,
toy horses, and
toy knights.
Spielen und Spielzeug im Mittelalter features more photos and descriptions of medieval toys and other related artifacts; additional descriptions can be found in Juegos y juguetes infantiles en el arte medieval.
Also take a look at the BNF's online resources for L'enfance au Moyen Âge, as well as the related articles posted at the bottom of this page.
Additional articles: "Jointed Dolls in Antiquity" (American Journal of Archaeology #34) and Medieval Dolls.
- Roman rag doll made in Egypt, 1st-5th century AD
- Carved bone doll (Byzantine, carved c. 400-700) with tunic (Byzantine, woven c. 500-800)
- A cloth doll and carved wooden doll and bone dolls from Coptic Egypt at the Benaki Museum
Thei may be called legges of clowtes, as childre make popettis for to play with whil thei be yong. The Pilgrimage of the Soul, British Library MS Egerton 615, 1413
- The Stoneleigh Triptych, c. 1506; Isabel (at right) holds a doll
- A wooden doll from Thuringia, c. 1530
- In several versions of "Christ Blessing the Children" by Lucas Cranach the Elder or his followers, a small girl in the foreground carries a doll.
In the versions at the Hamburger Kunsthalle and Städelmuseum, it’s a simple painted peg doll.
In the versions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Schloß Friedenstein, the doll resembles a swaddled infant.
In the version at the Larvik church, the doll wears a dress, though it is hard to tell whether the doll is meant to look like a little girl or an adult woman.
- Clauß Schach makes wooden dolls and boxes, Mendel Hausbuch (Amb. 317b.2, fol. 10v), 1558
- Portrait of Arabella Stuart, 1577
Arabella clutches a fashion doll; the style of the doll's clothing date from about ten years before than the portrait, lending credence to the theory that fashion dolls would be given to children as playthings after they were used or out-of-date. For additional information about dolls from this era, see Arnold's Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd, pp. 107 and 157-158.
- Foemina Mediocris conditionis in Silesia (Commoner from Silesia) from Habitus praecipuorum populorum by Hans Weigel, 1577
- A cheife Herowans wyfe of Pomeoc and her daughter of the age of 8 or 10 yeares by John White, c. 1585-1593
- A girl with a doll and A Noblewoman of Pomeiock, illustrated by Theodore de Bry in Thomas Hariot's A Briefe and true report of the new foundland of Virginia, 1590
- Pandora, a fashion doll of 1600
- Three young girls, 1620
- Mother and child at toy-stall, Jacob Cats' Spiegel van den ouden ende nieuwen tijdt, 1632
- A family group, c. 1655
- 17th century dolls at the Nordiska museet: NM.0002203A, NM.0002203B, NM.0002203C
FIGURINES
- Medieval children's toys found in the excavations of a Carmelite friary in Esslingen, Germany
- Clay-pipe dolls, 14th century Nuremburg
- Dolls, 14th century Nuremburg
- Fragments of dolls, 14th century Nuremburg (also here)
The rootes which are counterfited and made like litle puppettes and mammettes which come to be sold in England in boxes with heir and such forme as man hath, are nothyng elles but folishe fened trifles and not naturall. William Turner's Herball, 1562
- Clay figurines (dolls) with the "Kruseler" headdress, Upper Rhine, 14th-16th centuries
- A praying monk, Tulln, 15th century
- Clay figurine (doll), Rhineland (Glogau?), 15th century
- Two clay dolls, 15th century Germany
- A figurine-seller in a detail from an altarpiece, 1445
- Lead-alloy dolla> found near Grimsby in England, 16th century
- Stoneware toy figurines of women riding horses sidesaddle, MoL 6412 and A26527, made in Raeren, c. 1500-1540, and found in London
- Lead alloy female toy figurine, 16th century
- Lead alloy doll with handle, found in South Yorkshire, 16th century
- Doll made in Thüringia c. 1530
- Hollow pewter doll found at Bull Wharf in London, late 16th century
- Riding stick-horses, Blumen der Tugend, c. 1400-1450
- Boys ride stick-horses at the Crucifixion, c. 1450-1460
- Border, Fleur des histoires (BNF Fr. 55, fol. 133v), second half of the 15th century
- Two children with toy lances and hobby-horses in Danse Macabre (BNF Fr. 995, fol. 7), late 15th century
- Border, De civitate dei (BNF Fr. 19, fol. 190), c. 1469-1473
- A little boy rides a hobby-horse in an illustration of the seven ages of man, De proprietatibus rerum (BNF Fr. 218, fol. 95), fourth quarter of the 15th century (also here)
- Children playing, a book of heraldry (ÖNB 12820, fol. 182r), c. 1484-1486
- The Christ Child riding a hobby-horse (Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Cod. theol. quart 136), first half of the 16th century
- June base-de-page, the Golf Book (Brit. Lib. Add. 24098, fol. 23v), c. 1540
- Boys play with scopperels and a hobby-horse in the July section of the Augsburger Monatsbilder (1520s)
- January in a book of hours, 1522
- A fresco in Rappottenstein, c. 1525-1535
- Two pairs of farmers with children at a covered table by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, c. 1525-1569
- A fresco at the church of St. Peter in Slovenia, c. 1530-1540
- Misericord by Albrecht Gelmers at Sint-Catharinakerk in Hoogstraten, c. 1532-1548
- Detail from Children's Games by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1559-60
- Conrad, aged 1 to 3 years, Schwartz Trachtenbuch, 1561
- The Bell-Maker, Eygentliche Beschreibung aller Stände auf Erden, 1568
- Portrait of Don Diego, son of Philip II of Spain by Alonso Sanchez Coello, 1577
- Sketch by Adam Elsheimer, c. 1578-1610
- Children at play, Splendor Solis (British Library Harley 3469, fol. 31v), 1582
- A family playing games by Hans Bol, 1583
- Handbill c. 1586-1600
- The Holy Kinship from Kutna Hora Kuttenberg, Czech Republic, c. 1595-1600
HOOPS
- Rolling hoops, Breviary of Eleanor of Portugal (PML M.52, fol. 2v), c. 1500-1510
- Detail from the Spring mural, Die Augsburger Monatsbilder, Germany, 1520s
- February base-de-page, the Golf Book (Brit. Lib. Add. 24098, fol. 19v), c. 1540
- Children's Games by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1559-60
- Matthaus plays in the street at the age of eleven years and 8 months (see also BNF Allemand 211, fol. 7v); and Conrad, at age eight and a half, playing various games in the street; Schwartz Trachtenbuch, 1561
MINIATURES
- Toy shears, 13th century
- Medieval children's toys found in the excavations of a Carmelite friary in Esslingen, Germany
- Doll-cradle, 14th century
- Toy pewter jug, 15th century
- Some of the 14th-18th century playthings from the Museum of London and the Society of Thames Mudlarks from the "Buried Treasure: Finding Our Past" exhibit are in the British Museum, including some miniature guns and cooking and serving vessels.
- Toy shears, 15th century
- 16th century ceramic toys from Raeren: miniature pots, three-footed pot, a goblet
- At the age of 12, Matthaus goes through a phase of wanting to be a monk, and holds Mass in his bedroom with his own miniature altar (see also BNF Allemand 211, fol. 9), Schwartz Trachtenbuch, 1561
NOISEMAKERS & RATTLES
- Terra cotta rattles made in the second half of the 12th century, found at the manorial residence of Rubercy
- A rattle shaped like a pig, 15th century
- Portrait of Edward, Prince of Wales by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1539
- Conrad, aged 1 to 3 years, Schwartz Trachtenbuch, 1561
- Pierre de Moucheron, Merchant of Middelburg and Antwerp, and his family, 1563
- Portrait of Antonius Anselmus, his wife and their children, Marten de Vos, 1577
SCOPPERELS (a sort of pinwheel or whirligig, often on a long stick held like a lance while riding a hobby-horse; some seem to be shorter, and mounted on a ball held in the hand)
- Melica, Tacuinum Sanitatis (BNF Fr. 9333, fol. 46v), early 15th century
- A boy in a family tree, Somme rurale de Jean Boutillier (BNF Fr. 202, fol. 15v), 1471
- The Magician by Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1485-1480
- Base-de-page, Bible (Bibl. Mazarine MS 0062, fol. 070v), c. 1475-1499
- A little boy wields a scopperel as a lance while riding a hobby-horse in an illustration of the seven ages of man, De proprietatibus rerum (BNF Fr. 218, fol. 95), fourth quarter of the 15th century (also here)
- Christ Child with a Walking Frame (reverse of Christ Carrying the Cross) by Hieronymus Bosch, 1480s
- Children playing, a book of heraldry (ÖNB 12820, fol. 182r), c. 1484-1486
- Miniature from a prayerbook (ÖNB 2729, fol. 39r), c. 1485-1495
- A child with a pin-wheel, The Breviary of Eleanor of Portugal (PML M.52, fol. 578v), c. 1500
- The Bellows-Repairer by Hieronymus Bosch
- Cylindrical pharmacy jar with a boy holding a scopperel while riding a boar, Siena, c. 1510
- Boys play with scopperels and a hobby-horse in the July section of the Augsburger Monatsbilder (1520s)
- January in a book of hours, 1522
- June base-de-page, the Golf Book (Brit. Lib. Add. 24098, fol. 23v), c. 1540
- Children's Games by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1559-60
- Pierre de Moucheron, Merchant of Middelburg and Antwerp, and his family, 1563
- Children at play, Splendor Solis (British Library Harley 3469, fol. 31v), 1582
STILTS
SWINGS
TOPS
- Tops from after 1278, found in excavations in Konstanz and Freiburg
- Two boys whipping a top, The Queen Mary Psalter (British Library Royal 2 B VII, fol. 164r), c. 1310-1320
- Fol. 64r, Romance of Alexander (Bodley 264), c. 1338-44
- Boy playing with a top in the ages of man, De proprietatibus rerum (BNF 22531, fol. 99v), first quarter of the 15th century
- A boy plays with a top in the ages of man, De proprietatibus rerum (BNF Fr. 9141, fol. 98), first quarter of the 15th century
- Boy playing with a top in the ages of man, De proprietatibus rerum (BNF Fr. 22533, fol. 84v), 3rd quarter of the 15th century
- A top lies on the floor in front of Cato of Utica and his brothers, The so-called Chronicle of Badouin of Avesnes (BNF Fr. 279, fol. 127), second half of the 15th century; note also the crooked stick and ball, which may have been used to play one of these games
- Boys playing ball games, 16th century
- Detail from Children's Games by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1559-60
- Peg tops and whipping tops in the Harborough Hoard, c. 1570-1630
- The Battle of Carnival and Lent by Pieter Brueghel the Younger; in the background, boys play with spinning tops
TOY BOATS
- Viking Toy Horses
- Toy horse with wheels, 7th century
- Ceramic figurines of horses and knights, Upper Rhine, 13th-14th centuries
- Children's wooden horse toys, Novgorod, 13th-14th centuries
- Glazed ceramic toy horse, 13th-15th century
- Toy horse, ceramic, 14th century; and another
- Jesus in the Temple, Krumauer Bildercodex (Czech National Museum-Library III B 10, fol. 52), c. 1360
- Ceramic toy horse, Tulln, 15th century
- Ceramic toy horse, Kempten, 15th-16th century
TOY KNIGHTS
- Fighting knight-puppets, Hortus Deliciarum, end of the 12th century
- Ceramic figurines of horses and knights, Upper Rhine, 13th-14th centuries
- Bronze toy mounted knight with wooden lance, 13th-14th century
- Ceramic toy knight, Regensburg, 13th-14th century
- Toy knight in hollow-cast pewter, c. 1300
- Ceramic knight, 14th century Nuremburg
- Ceramic toy knight, Regensburg, 14th century
- A toy knight with a lance, medieval Strasburg
- Mounted knights with wheeled bases, probably belonging to one of the grandchildren of Maximilian I, probably manufactured in Innsbruck c. 1500
- Matthaus as a sickly three-year-old (see also BNF Allemand 211, fol. 9), Schwartz Trachtenbuch, 1561
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