Negligence, greed and the operation of English charities, 1350–1603

In: Continuity and change: a journal of social structure, law and demography in past societies, Band 27, Heft 1, S. 53-81

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the problems that hampered the effective functioning of charitable activities for the English poor during the later medieval years and sixteenth century and examines how the Poor Laws of 1598 and 1601 addressed those issues. It considers four types of challenges stemming from individual negligence or greed as well as the systemic legal obstacles that underlay them. The solutions provided by the Elizabethan Poor Laws placed charitable projects on a more solid legal and administrative footing, facilitating their expansion in the following centuries.