Institutional and Legal Responses to Begging in Medieval England

2002 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Clark
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
The Political ◽  
Community Life ◽  
Social Planning ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
Positive Aspect ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Legal Responses ◽  
Religious Impulse ◽  
The Needy

A great many factors other than philanthrophy influenced social policy in England during the Middle Ages. Although political thinkers steadfastly acknowledged the importance of received tradition, especially the religious command to help the poor, many lawmakers were profoundly ambivalent about begging. It is true that the opinion of the nineteenth century implied that medieval almsgiving was so “reckless” that English “beggars had an easy life,” but more recent research has challenged this perspective, bringing the parameters of medieval mendicancy into sharper focus. Seen individually, beggars were pathetic and vulnerable, but if viewed collectively they were thought to be dangerous and willfully idle. Parliament's decision to regulate begging in the years after the first appearance of the Black Death (1349–50) compelled the king's subjects to rethink the claims of the needy, even though almsgiving had long seemed a positive aspect of community life. Obviously by the close of the fourteenth century something had happened to broaden the story of casual relief, extending its boundaries beyond religious impulse to include the frustrations and passions that animated the political arena. Here contentious voices sounded, although parliamentary argument and debate were often tempered by the conviction that men of affairs could legislate a more orderly realm. Even so, efforts at social planning were by no means limited to statutory decree or confined to the late medieval world.

scholarly journals NADGOPLAŃSKI GRÓD SZARLEJ I JEGO WŁAŚCICIELE W ŚREDNIOWIECZU

2021 ◽  
pp. 399-412
Author(s):  
Joanna Karczewska ◽  
Dariusz Karczewski
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
The Political ◽  
Western Coast ◽  
The South ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
14Th Century ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Teutonic Knights

The gord of Szarlej is located on a small peninsula on the south-western coast of Lake Szarlej at the mouth of the river Noteć. Gopło - a ribbon lake – reached that far in the late Middle Ages. The gord of Szarlej was established in the last decade of the first half of the 14th century on the initiative of Kazimierz Ziemomysłowic, a Kuyavian prince and the lord of Gniewkowo, or alternatively by his son and successor, Władysław the White. The gord in Szarlej was built following destruction of the previous ducal residence in Gniewkowo during an invasion of the Teutonic Knights in 1332. The stronghold was a favourite residence of Władysław the White, prince of Gniewkowo until 1363 when he placed a lien against it to Kazimierz the Great, king of Poland. Most probably, after 1382 another ruler of Kuyavia, prince Vladislav II of Opole, handed over the stronghold in Szarlej to the affluent Kuyavian Ostoja family. The first nobility owner of the Szarlej estate (encompassing the stronghold, the villages, Łojewo, Witowy and Karczyn), confirmed in the sources, was Mikołaj of Ściborze (†1457). He was a member of the political elite of late-medieval Kuyavia.

The Social Origins and Provenance of the English Bishops during the Reign of Edward II

1959 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 51-79
Author(s):  
K. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Early Career ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Origins ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Edward Ii ◽  
The Social ◽  
Complete Study ◽  
History Of

During the last twenty or twenty-five years medieval historians have been much interested in the composition of the English episcopate. A number of studies of it have been published on periods ranging from the eleventh to the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. A further paper might well seem superfluous. My reason for offering one is that most previous writers have concentrated on analysing the professional circles from which the bishops were drawn, and suggesting the influences which their early careers as royal clerks, university masters and students, secular or regular clergy, may have had on their later work as bishops. They have shown comparatively little interest in their social background and provenance, except for those bishops who belonged to magnate families. Some years ago, when working on the political activities of Edward II's bishops, it seemed to me that social origins, family connexions and provenance might in a number of cases have had at least as much influence on a bishop's attitude to politics as his early career. I there fore collected information about the origins and provenance of these bishops. I now think that a rather more careful and complete study of this subject might throw further light not only on the political history of the reign, but on other problems connected with the character and work of the English episcopate. There is a general impression that in England in the later middle ages the bishops' ties with their dioceses were becoming less close, and that they were normally spending less time in diocesan work than their predecessors in the thirteenth century.

Domina Paupertas: the praise of voluntary poverty by St. Francis of Assisi and its reflection in late medieval Spanish painting

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
José María Salvador González
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Perfect Model ◽  
Material Goods ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Francis Of Assisi

As is well known, St. Francis of Assisi heroically embraced evangelical poverty, renouncing material goods and living in abject poverty, in imitation of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, through his writings and oral testimonies collected by his disciples, the saint fervently urged Christians to live to some degree voluntary poverty , of which Christ was the perfect model. By basing this reading on some Poverello’s quotations, this paper intends to show the potential impact that these exhortations from San Francisco to poverty may have had in the late medieval Spanish painting, in some iconographic themes so significantly Franciscan as the Nativity and the Passion of the Redeemer. Through the analysis of a large set of paintings representing both issues, we will attempt to put into light if the teachings of St. Francis on evangelical poverty are reflected somehow in Spanish painting of the late Middle Ages.

Female Representation in Colombia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Pachón ◽  
Santiago E. Lacouture
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Political Context ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Electoral Democracy ◽  
Almost All

Mónica Pachón and Santiago E. Lacouture examine the case of Colombia and show that women’s representation has been low and remains low in most arenas of representation and across national and subnational levels of government. The authors identify institutions and the highly personalized Colombian political context as the primary reasons for this. Despite the fact that Colombia was an electoral democracy through almost all of the twentieth century, it was one of the last countries in the region to grant women political rights. Still, even given women’s small numbers, they do bring women’s issues to the political arena. Pachón and Lacoutre show that women are more likely to sponsor bills on women-focused topics, which may ultimately lead to greater substantive representation of women in Colombia.

Communication

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian D. Liddy
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
And Control ◽  
Ordinary Citizens

The exercise of political power in late medieval English towns was predicated upon the representation, management, and control of public opinion. This chapter explains why public opinion mattered so much to town rulers; how they worked to shape opinion through communication; and the results. Official communication was instrumental in the politicization of urban citizens. The practices of official secrecy and public proclamation were not inherently contradictory, but conflict flowed from the political process. The secrecy surrounding the practices of civic government provoked ordinary citizens to demand more accountability from town rulers, while citizens, who were accustomed to hear news and information circulated by civic magistrates, were able to use what they knew to challenge authority.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document