Approaches To Poverty In Medieval Europe: Complexities, Contradictions, Transformations, C. 1100-1500 (international Medieval Research)
by Sharon Ann Farmer /
2016 / English / PDF
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The essays in this volume re-examine two major medieval turning
points in the relationship between rich and poor: the revolution in
charity of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and the era of
late medieval crises when the vulnerability of the poor increased
dramatically and charitable generosity often declined. Drawing on a
variety of sources from England, France, the Low Countries, Italy,
and Iberia, the contributors to this volume add new perspectives on
the agency of the poor, the influence of gendered forms of
devotion, parallels in Christian and Jewish representations of the
deserving and undeserving poor, and the effect of mendicant piety
on the status of the involuntary poor. A broader implication of the
volume as a whole is that medieval studies of poverty and wealth
need to pay more attention to the role of rulers, ruling elites,
and public policy in shaping the experiences of the poor.
The essays in this volume re-examine two major medieval turning
points in the relationship between rich and poor: the revolution in
charity of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and the era of
late medieval crises when the vulnerability of the poor increased
dramatically and charitable generosity often declined. Drawing on a
variety of sources from England, France, the Low Countries, Italy,
and Iberia, the contributors to this volume add new perspectives on
the agency of the poor, the influence of gendered forms of
devotion, parallels in Christian and Jewish representations of the
deserving and undeserving poor, and the effect of mendicant piety
on the status of the involuntary poor. A broader implication of the
volume as a whole is that medieval studies of poverty and wealth
need to pay more attention to the role of rulers, ruling elites,
and public policy in shaping the experiences of the poor.
