Local responses to the poor in late medieval and Tudor England

1988 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjorie K. McIntosh
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Public Assistance ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Poor Relief ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Tudor England ◽  
Local Responses ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Deserving Poor

The leaders of English villages and towns between 1388 and 1598 accepted that deserving poor people, those unable to work to support themselves, warranted private and, if necessary, public assistance. Poverty was objectively mild in the century after the 1349 plague. Economic and demographic developments between c. 1465 and 1530 increased the number of poor people. Religious and political changes of the mid-sixteenth century forced individuals and parishes to assume virtually the entire burden of poor relief. Parliamentary legislation empowered local authorities to raise compulsory taxes for support of the poor. In Elizabeth's reign the problems of poverty intensified, forcing nearly all parishes to use taxation at least in bad years.

scholarly journals “It Is Extreme Necessity That Makes Me Do This”: Some “Survival Strategies” of Pauper Households in London's West End During the Early Eighteenth Century”

2000 ◽  
Vol 45 (S8) ◽  
pp. 47-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Boulton
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Survival Strategies ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Poor Relief ◽  
Elderly Parents ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Alternative Sources

Although research on survival strategies is still at a relatively early stage, there are clearly some areas where there is considerable difference in emphasis placed by historians on the relative importance of particular “expedients” deployed by the poorin extremisThere is, for example, uncertainty regarding the amount of support given by neighbours as opposed to relatives. There is some historical contention, too, over the importance to the elderly of care by their children, as opposed to alternative sources of maintenance such as earnings, charity and especially the formal institutions of poor relief. After all, in the early modern period the principle source for a study of the survival strategies of poor people is always likely to be the records of poor relief or charitable agencies and institutions. The obvious danger here is that historians of poor relief consistently overestimate the importance of such relief to the poor. Both Richard Wall and Pat Thane, using evidence from nineteenth- and twentieth-century England, for example, have demonstrated that the elderly received far more support from relatives than has been realized. Professor Thane has argued that this situation is unlikely t o have been new. Other historians, however, are much more sceptical over the value of intergenerational flows of wealth from children to elderly parents.

Conclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 215-226
Author(s):  
Esther Chung-Kim
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Community Formation ◽  
Poor Relief ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Religious Ideals ◽  
Political Persuasion

Religious reformers in sixteenth-century Europe were integral to the development and implementation of poor relief programs. They effectively utilized theological justification through writings, sermons, and strategic political persuasion to gain support and funding for social welfare. The reformers’ unique positions as ecclesiastical authorities allowed them to connect care for the poor with one’s practice of devotion to God and religious ideals of generosity and compassion. The establishment of these reforms emerged in the context of an expanding migration of religious refugees, who required relief but were at first poorly received by city residents. One of the key components of determining poor relief was the importance of community formation and the demarcations in the process of determining poor relief coverage. Ultimately, religious reformers served as a major driving force in the efforts toward poverty alleviation and community motivation in the care for the poor; and their efforts impacted the development of poor relief.

Monastic charitable provision in Tudor England: quantifying and qualifying poor relief in the early sixteenth century

2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
NEIL S. RUSHTON
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Poor Relief ◽  
Tudor England ◽  
The Core ◽  
Tax Assessment ◽  
Qualitative Evidence ◽  
National Tax ◽  
The Church

Monastic charitable provision in the later Middle Ages through to the Dissolution has often been described as inadequate in terms of both quantity and quality. It has been accused of ineffectiveness because of its allegedly indiscriminate nature. This article suggests that in fact the religious houses and hospitals of England were providing a greater amount of poor relief in a more assiduous manner than has previously been allowed. The core of evidence comes from the 1535 national tax assessment of the Church, the Valor Ecclesiasticus. This contains details of the charitable provision carried out by most monasteries and hospitals as recorded by Crown commissions. After allowances have been made for the bias in the survey, a statistical analysis is carried out which indicates that an upward reassessment should be made of the quantity of monastic charity. Qualitative evidence from both the Valor Ecclesiasticus and from other contemporary sources also suggests that the pre-Reformation Church was providing genuinely beneficial poor relief.

VII. Ightham Mote: Politics and Architecture in Early Tudor England

Archaeologia ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 107 ◽  
pp. 153-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Starkey
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Tudor England ◽  
Art And Politics ◽  
Country Houses ◽  
History Of ◽  
Four Square ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Steep Hill

Ightham Mote in Kent is one of the most beautiful of English country houses; it is also one of the most important. It stands at the foot of a steep hill, four-square and surrounded by the moat that gives it its name. Directly from the water rises the picturesquely irregular exterior. Most of the lower courses and the whole west or gatehouse front are of Kentish ragstone; much of the upper storey, however, is half-timbered. This mixture reveals the chief fact in the history of the house. It is a late medieval building, extensively remodelled in the early sixteenth century (pl. LII).The works were carried out by Sir Richard Clement, a minor Tudor courtier (pl. LIII a), and they embody his political and social ambitions with remarkable faithfulness. At the same time, the clarity of Clement's statement reflects back on his own society and raises important questions about the nature of both early Tudor art and politics and the relationship between them. I begin by tracing Clement's career to the time of his purchase of Ightham Mote; then the rebuilding of the house is described and its decorations placed within the context of the early Tudor court style; finally, the possible political significance of the style is explored, partly in terms of its origins and partly through an account of Clement's later career as a Kentish gentleman.

VAKIFAS INTENT AND PRACTICE: CHARITY AND POOR RELIEF IN TURKEY

2014 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damla Isik
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Charitable Giving ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Poor Relief ◽  
Archival Research ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Deserving Poor ◽  
Religious Ideals ◽  
To Receive

AbstractThrough ethnographic and archival research conducted in Istanbul and Izmir, this article examines the dynamics and regulation of charitable giving in contemporary Turkey. The article is based on interviews I conducted with the volunteers, employees, and aid recipients of three civil society organizations that rely on charitable giving to fund their projects, which center on helping the poor and providing aid during and after wars and other disasters. I document how religious ideals of anonymous charitable giving for the sake of giving, without expectation of return, are closely intertwined with anxiety over finding a worthy charitable association and recipient. In doing so, I focus onvakıfas both a concept and a practice that gives meaning to charitable giving in Turkey. The increasing desire to document, define, and categorize the deserving poor as a way to justify the intent to give and to receive goes against the anonymity and immediacy of giving, thus riddling intent with ethical contradictions. I argue that attention needs to be paid to the intent, practice, and various forms of giving, and not just to the effects and outcomes of charity.

Epilogue

2012 ◽  
pp. 226-230
Author(s):  
Tirtsah Levie Bernfeld
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Jewish Tradition ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Poor Relief ◽  
Dutch Republic ◽  
Remarkable Feature ◽  
Economic Opportunities ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The City

This chapter identifies the most important characteristics of poverty and welfare among the Portuguese community of early modern Amsterdam. One remarkable feature of the poor in the Amsterdam Portuguese milieu is the prominence of women, until recently hardly considered. The reasons for this were manifold: as a key group in the effort to perpetuate Jewish tradition in the peninsula, women were consistently persecuted by the Inquisition and many fled in fear of it, as well as out of the desire to live openly as Jews. Also, economic opportunities for men outside the Dutch Republic led to many women being left on their own in the city, dependent on welfare. The poor relief provided by the Portuguese community was not exceptionally generous, at least when judged by Amsterdam standards, nor was it granted permanently to all poor people. The system was hierarchical and elitist, presided over by a closed, wealthy caste who ran a strict regime. By the middle of the eighteenth century, the Amsterdam Portuguese community had lost its international attraction as a place of refuge.

1. Bainbridge, letters 1–16

2020 ◽  
pp. 43-53
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Poor Relief ◽  
Archival Material ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Way

These 599 letters relate to 20 individuals or family groupings, all of whom had a legal settlement (and thus a right to apply for poor relief from ) Kirkby Lonsdale in the historic county of Westmorland. The book assembles all archival material relating to these 20 families, such that the series contains letters written by or for paupers, bills, correspondence between and from officials, and the letters of those who were advocating for the poor. All other published collections of this sort focus just on letters by or from poor people. The wider canvas employed here allows the reader a unique window into the full lives of these poor people. By triangulating the sources it is possible to see how poor people were enmeshed in their communities, the sentiments of officials and the way in which the poor and their advocates sought to navigate a system to which they were in reality supposed to be merely subject, This is a unique collection; a far reaching resource for social history in this period.

scholarly journals The archbishop’s dinner? Late medieval fish from Esztergom-Várhegy-Kőbánya, Hungary

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
László Bartosiewicz ◽  
Erika Gál
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Relative Frequency ◽  
High Status ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Wild Game ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Carnivorous Species ◽  
Carp Fish ◽  
High Relative Frequency

AbstractFourteenth–fifteenth century food refuse from the kitchen of the Esztergom archbishopric shows a significant diachronic increase in cyprinid bones, in particular those of carp. Meanwhile, contributions by large acipenserids and carnivorous species (catfish/wels, pike, percids) declined. Contemporaneous account books indirectly suggest that the archbishop’s kitchen must have increasingly relied on farmed carp fish. Sturgeons were a commodity sold by the archbishopric but rarely consumed. Expensive pikes were bought at low prices for the archbishop, possibly related to the small size of individuals found in the deposits. The poor representation of high-status fish is consonant with the scarcity of bones from large game in an assemblage dominated by domesticates. Wild game is represented by brown hare, partridge, and a variety of thrushes. These finds confirm that the foodways in the archbishop’s palace were more modest than expected on the basis of its social status. Increasing contributions by cyprinids and sterlet to the assemblage also coincide with the high relative frequency of their recipes in a sixteenth century cookbook.

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