Three myths about old age before modernity – and why historians should care

Summary, in English

Despite the increasing challenges twenty-first-century societies face in accommodating older adults, many misconceptions about old age before modernity continue to exist. These are rarely expressed in ‘formal theory’ produced by academics, but rather persist in ‘lay theory’ which is anchored in collective memory and popular culture. Such taken-for-granted beliefs are nevertheless influential, first because they determine which questions academics do and do not ask about old age in history, and second because they present society with a grand narrative about ageing in the past, present, and future. We provide researchers with a research agenda. We do so by identifying three myths about old age: 1) people usually lived short lives and continued in their line of work until they dropped dead without having ‘retired’ from work; 2) men and women who did grow old simply moved in with their next of kin; 3) pensions played no role during old age. We debunk these based on a case study of the Nordic Countries before c. 1850 and hope to encourage research into myths about old age before modernity in other European regions.

• Author: Anton Svensson; Jaco Zuijderduijn
• Department/s: Department of Economic History; Financial history, banking and insurance; Growth, technological change, and inequality
• Publishing year: 2024-06-17
• Language: English
• Pages: 1-23
• Publication/Series: History of the Family
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1081602X.2024.2360937
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Topic: Economic History
• Status: Epub
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1873-5398