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Most of the medieval people did not have any idea what their birthdays were. The data we have about the births of members of the nobility often say such things as that they were born "in the end of May or the beginning of June." For many people, even important people, we have no record of the years in which they were born. The earliest person crowned king of England whose birthday is known was Henry II. Before him, we do not know even the years for the births of most kings.

Information about a person's birthday was crucial to casting that person's horoscope, so the information was kept about princes and other important people. But high born people, such as kings and emperors, who might have been exposed to the rumors that astrologers might spread about their futures would not want that information to leak out.

In the later Middle Ages in England, church registers have information about the births or baptisms of everyone in the parish. But even after them Middle Ages, the baptism was often considered more important than the birth. We know when Shakespeare was baptized, but have no record of his birthday.

There were doubtless people who did celebrate birthdays nevertheless. The Middle Ages covered a continent for a thousand years, and there was a lot of variation in custom. Also, birthdays were celebrated in some ancient cultures, so the celebrations are not purely recent.

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14y ago

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