IMC 2011: Sessions
Session 1431: The Experience of Being Poor in the Later Middle Ages: The Paupers' Perspective
Wednesday 13 July 2011, 19.30-20.30
| Introduction: | Sharon Farmer, Department of History, University of California, Santa Barbara |
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| Speaker: | Christopher Dyer, Centre for English Local History, University of Leicester |
| Abstract | A common approach to medieval poverty is to assess the problem from a modern perspective. We seek to define poverty and to identify the poor, and having measured it in the style of researchers such as Booth and Rowntree, the various attempts to alleviate it are discussed. The other perspective is focussed on those who were not paupers but sought to interact with them: Did they value the poor, or distrust them? Did they discriminate between different types of pauper, and did they seek to cure poverty or were they concerned primarily with the salvation of their own souls? These are both valid ways of looking at the subject, and there is plenty of evidence to enable these lines of inquiry to be pursued. This lecture is an attempt to see poverty from the point of view of those categorised as paupers. It will consider how they came to their condition, and their perception of their problems. Did they accept their lot, or did they hope to escape from it? What was their attitude towards charity and the various actions taken to deal with them? Please note that admission to this event will be on a first-come, first-served basis as there will be no tickets for the event. Please ensure that you arrive as early as possile to avoid disappointment (The room will be open 15 minutes before the beginning of the lecture). |