Philanthropy in England

W. K. Jordan, W.K. Jordan

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781317850878
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

In these works Professor Jordan studies the origins of modern social and cultural institutions in England. He is concerned with the momentous shift which occurred in men's aspirations for their society in the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as reflected in the charities which were established by gifts and bequests. In a fascinating account of the measures taken by the Tudors and Stuarts to deal with the problem of poverty, Jordan concludes that it was principally dealt relieved by an immense outpouring of charitable wealth.

PHILANTHROPY IN ENGLAND 1480–1660

This study documents a momentous shift which occurred in men’s aspirations for their society in the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The author has examined gifts and bequests left for charitable causes over a period of nearly two centuries in ten English counties, in order to assess the changing pattern of social aspirations and observe the different ‘velocities of change’ among the several social classes.

Professor Jordan examines the problem of poverty in the early modern world and discusses the various measures taken by the Tudors and Stuarts to deal with the needs of the poor. He concludes that poverty was principally relieved by an immense outpouring of charitable wealth. This wealth flowed principally from an urban aristocracy determined not only to care for the hopelessly destitute but so to enlarge the ‘area of opportunity’ so that poverty could be prevented. At the same time, the Elizabethan law of charitable uses marshalled this generous wealth into effective agencies. The study closes with a full assessment of the noble achievements of the period: the founding of a widespread and effective system of education, the establishment of almshouses in all parts of England, and extraordinary and fertile experiments with the several agencies of social rehabilitation.

The author records in this volume a great and enduring historical achievement; he also records the triumph of the secular preoccupations of mankind.

The book was first published in 1959.

PHILANTHROPY IN ENGLAND 1480–1660

A Study of the Changing Pattern of English Social Aspirations

W.K. Jordan

First published 1959 by Routledge

Published 2016 by Routledge

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Copyright © 1959, 2006 W.K. Jordan

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ISBN 13: 978-0-415-40193-7 (set) (hbk)

ISBN 13: 978-0-415-40194-4 (volume I)

ISBN 13: 978-0-415-40195-1 (volume II)

Publisher’s Note

The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original book may be apparent.

Philanthropy in England 1480–1660

by the same author

THE DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGIOUS TOLERATION IN ENGLAND

1 From the beginning of the English Reformation to the death of Queen Elizabeth

2 From the Accession of James I to the Convention of the Long Parliament, 1603–1640

3 From the Convention of the Long Parliament to the Restoration, 1640–1660

4 Attainment of the theory and accommodations in Thought and Institutions, 1640–1660

Philanthropy in England 1480–1660

A STUDY OF THE CHANGING PATTERN OF ENGLISH SOCIAL ASPIRATIONS

BY

W. K. JORDAN

President of Radcliffe College

Professor of History, Harvard University

FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1959

This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act 1956, no portion may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiry should be made to the publisher.

in 10 on 11 point Plantin type

BY HAZELL WATSON AND VINEY LTD
AYLESBURY AND SLOUGH

FOR

F. R. J.

Animae dimidium meae

PREFACE

This is the first of a series of volumes dealing with the changing pattern of men’s aspirations for their society during a long and critical period in the history of western Europe. The present volume is an essay commenting on the subject and presenting conclusions drawn from a considerable mass of available evidence. In the very nature of the case the whole of the research had to be completed and the later volumes written in first draft before it was possible to undertake this essay. The second projected volume will deal in some detail with the philanthropic impulse in the English urban society, attention being confined to London, where a rich, an incredibly generous, and a most articulate merchant aristocracy was in the course of our period to lay solidly the foundations of liberal institutions not only in the metropolis but throughout England. The third volume will consider at length the changing structure of men’s aspirations in rural England, with documentation supplied from a sampling of counties in various parts of the realm. There will remain studies of several additional rural counties and of Bristol, an urban complex second in importance only to London. It is hoped that these may be published separately in appropriate periodicals.

Many years have elapsed since this study was begun under the kindly auspices of a grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. The work has been sustained through the years by mos...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Volume 1
• Volume 2