A Century Book (also called Book of Centuries) is a timeline notebook used in Charlotte Mason education where each two-page spread represents one century. Students record historical figures, events, and artwork as they encounter them, creating a personal chronological reference that grows throughout their education.
What is Century Book?
The Book of Centuries began as a "Museum Notebook" where Charlotte Mason students sketched items from British Museum visits. Gertrude Bernau, a principal who studied under Mason in 1894, developed it into the timeline tool that entered the PNEU curriculum in 1915. The concept is elegantly simple: a bound notebook where each two-page spread covers one hundred years. As students study history, literature, science, and art, they add entries—sketches, dates, names—to the appropriate century. Over years of use, the book becomes a personal reference that reveals connections between historical periods, showing at a glance that Abraham Lincoln lived at the same time as Tchaikovsky.
Key Takeaways
- Each two-page spread represents one century—all centuries get equal space
- Students typically begin around age 10-11 (after using simpler century charts)
- One book continues throughout a student's entire education
- Entries include historical figures, events, artists, composers, and authors studied
- No two Books of Centuries look alike—creativity is encouraged
How to Create One
Charlotte Mason specified a 96-page A4 hardcover book with sewn binding—sturdy enough to last through years of use. Each two-page spread is labeled with a century: BC centuries count backward (1000 BC, 900 BC), while AD centuries count forward (100 AD, 200 AD). The left page typically holds sketches and illustrations; the right page contains dates and written information. Reserve the last ten pages for maps and supplementary materials.
Modern options include pre-made books from publishers like Simply Charlotte Mason and Living Book Press, or printable templates for DIY versions. A hardcover composition book from an office supply store works fine—just label the pages manually.
What Students Include
The beauty of a Book of Centuries lies in its cumulative, personal nature. Students add entries as they encounter historical content across all subjects: leaders, inventors, and explorers from history studies; artists from picture study; composers from music appreciation; poets and authors from literature; scientists and their discoveries. Hand-drawn sketches, symbols, and small illustrations bring entries to life.
Charlotte Mason emphasized simplicity. An entire century should be viewable "at a glance." Resist the temptation to expand interesting periods with extra pages—this defeats the book's purpose of showing historical relationships across time. Every century matters equally, whether sparsely or densely populated in your student's record.
When to Start
Mason did not introduce the Book of Centuries until students were about 10 or 11 years old. Younger children (around age 8) might use a simpler Century Chart covering just one hundred years. Some families maintain a shared Family Book of Centuries before children start their own individual books. The tool requires minimal weekly time—perhaps 30 minutes—and little parental supervision once established. Students work independently, making their own connections between historical periods.
The Bottom Line
A Book of Centuries transforms history from isolated events into a connected narrative that students build themselves. The tool works because it accumulates over years: when adding a new entry, students see previous entries on the same spread, reinforcing temporal relationships. This personal reference becomes more valuable each year of use. For Charlotte Mason families seeking a simple but powerful timeline method, the Book of Centuries remains the signature approach.
