'Pyke notte thy nostrellys': 15th-century guide on children's manners digitised for first time

New British Library site ranges from medieval book Lytille Childrenes Lytil Boke to manuscripts by Lewis Carroll and Jacqueline Wilson

From Horrid Henry to Just William, naughty children are not difficult to find in children’s books today. But bad behaviour isn’t confined to recent decades – a manuscript from 1480, which has been digitised for the first time by the British Library, gives an insight into the antics of medieval children, as it exhorts them to “pyke notte thyne errys nothyr thy nostrellys” – don’t pick your ears or your nostrils - and to “spette not ovyr thy tabylle”.

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