Poor Relief in England, 1350-1600

Marjorie Keniston McIntosh is Distinguished Professor of History Emerita at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her previous publications include Controlling Misbehavior in England, 1370–1600 (Cambridge University Press, 1998), Working Women in English Society, 1300–1620 (Cambridge University Press, 2005) and two books about colonial and postcolonial African women.

• 1. Introduction; Part I. Late Medieval and Early Tudor Patterns: 2. Seeking alms; 3. Late medieval hospitals and almshouses; 4. Aid given through and by the parish; Part II. Profound Change during the Early Reformation Period: 5. New ideas and new policies, c.1530–53; Part III. Intensified Problems and Altered Approaches in the Later Sixteenth Century: 6. The burgeoning of begging, collection, and fraud; 7. The changing nature of almshouses and hospitals; 8. Support for the parish poor; Part IV. Responding to the Problems: 9. The Poor Laws of 1598 and 1601; 10. Conclusion; Appendices.

'… a magisterial account of the early evolvement of practices that were to become the pillars of the 'mixed economy' of caring for the poor over the course of the entire early modern era. Superbly researched and cogently written, the book is an essential reading for students and scholars of society and politics in late medieval and early modern times.' Ilana Krausman Ben-Amos, author of The Culture of Giving: Informal Support and Gift-Exchange in Early Modern England