The good rearing of the children was in the interest of the whole community.
It was the responsibility of the wider family unit to ensure their offspring grew up to be strong, educated, honorable and upstanding people, after all, the family name depended on it!
Children were often fostered and reared by extended family members, family allies, or respected tutors until reaching maturity. The bonds between foster-kin are spoken about in the mythological sagas and were given a legal basis within the Brehon laws.
In this preview of "Lecture 9: Children and Fosterage" from my Upcoming Course: Ancient Ireland - Culture and Society I discuss the social and legal attitudes towards children and explore the common Irish custom of fosterage in greater detail.
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