Galician childhood at the beginning of the 20th century in the light of the peasant memoirist literature

Abstract

The peasant memoirist literature is a valuable document of changes which happened during years in the Galician villages. The descriptions of village life and customs provide knowledge about the culture, the national awareness, the spiritual life of the population of that time. The publications of the folk writers such as Roman Turek, Walenty Kunysz, Jan Stryczek and others can be recognised, among others, as an especially valuable source of historical knowledge. They present memories dating back as far as the earliest years in their work giving the idea of the Galician childhood at the beginning of the 20th century at the same time. The image of the childhood depicted in the article, in the light of memories of various authors, is presented in a sullen, sad way. As early as their youngest years of life, the Galician peasant children had to work hard in the farm and they were often malnourished, dirty, ill and without a possibility of the systematic education. It can be frankly stated that their childhood was very short as the children quickly entered the world of the adults with its all worries, problems and often also cruelty. The childhood sometimes did not last long since the death approached it due to different reasons. The rich memoirist literature perfectly brings the specific character of the Galician childhood closer.