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Alms for the Poor: A Sixteenth Century Debate on Almsgiving and the Regulation of Begging in Castile

Chmiel, Justin

Abstract Details

2014, Master of Arts, Miami University, History.
This thesis examines the 1545 treatises published in Salamanca on the topic of poor relief and almsgiving by the theologians Domingo de Soto and Juan de Robles. Placing the two documents in conversation with each other, it provides a novel reading of the debate. Rather than emphasizing the distinction between public and private charity or consigning the debate to a mere theological disagreement, this thesis shows that the debate turns on the use of poor relief as a means of discipline and social control. In his critique of the 1540 poor law, Soto objected to the limitations placed on beggars and the elements of compulsion contained in the law such as the requirement to confess and receive communion in order to be licensed to beg. Robles, in contrast, argued in defense of the law that these restrictions worked toward the common good and provided significant benefits which outweighed the drawbacks.
Wietse de Boer, PhD (Advisor)
Renee Baernstein, PhD (Committee Member)
Tatiana Seijas, PhD (Committee Member)
48 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Chmiel, J. (2014). Alms for the Poor: A Sixteenth Century Debate on Almsgiving and the Regulation of Begging in Castile [Master's thesis, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1407361230

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Chmiel, Justin. Alms for the Poor: A Sixteenth Century Debate on Almsgiving and the Regulation of Begging in Castile. 2014. Miami University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1407361230.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Chmiel, Justin. "Alms for the Poor: A Sixteenth Century Debate on Almsgiving and the Regulation of Begging in Castile." Master's thesis, Miami University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1407361230

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)