The Dolls of the Middle Ages

During this period the Great Fairs became popular, with their puppet shows and marionettes. Edible gingerbread dolls were also offered, sometimes made in two molds, so that a small gift might be concealed inside. These confections became the models of the embryonic wooden doll, simply cut from a block of wood and decorated to resemble those of gingerbread.

A Peddler Doll

Just as boys had military toys to prepare them for their roles later in life; so too the little girls of the time were encouraged to learn womanly skills by tending to their dolls.
The Dolls of European Children in the Middle Ages were largely made out of linen, wood or wool. Consequently, with the unfavorable climate , these primitive toys hardly could survive.
In the wealthier homes, however, a child might have owned a doll carved out of alabaster, while a peasant child would play with a doll made out of rags.
Dolls made of clay generally had the best odds of surviving the centuries, some dolls depicted fancy court ladies in all their finery
Others were knights on horseback, mythical beasts and ladies with falcons perched on their wrists.