1. HARK! HARK!
"Hark, hark, the dogs do bark.
The beggars are coming to town"
This old nursery rhyme reflected the fear and hatred of many townspeople in the times of Elizabeth I.
Something new, something sinister, some frightening mass movement was astir.
2. THE POOR, THE HOMELESS
The poor, the homeless were on the move. They were crowding into the towns of Europe and the authorities were afraid.
The citizens set their barking dogs on the poor, they flogged the beggars. They tried to keep the homeless out of their towns.
Such measures did not solve the problem - they never do.
3. DESERVING AND UNDESERVING
We worry about undeserving people drawing Social Security benefits.
The Elizabethans were even more concerned as they tried to sort out the "sturdy beggars" from the sick and maimed.
The Elizabethans flogged the undeserving at the tail of a cart. |
4. POVERTY WITHOUT BOUNDARIES
We are concerned when we find people from other places moving in to squat in Islington.
In the 16th century the poor and homeless of Europe ignored national frontiers in their desperate search for shelter and food.
There are reports of the poor Irish, even then among the most deprived, begging for help in the cities of Spain.
5. BROTHERHOOD OF BEGGARS
Some of the beggars began to band themselves into organised groups. They were tough, rough and criminal.
With their own slang and standards the brotherhood of beggars lived in a world apart from the rest of society.
They controlled various slum districts in London, Paris, Rome and Seville. |
