Description
Book SynopsisWidely regarded as one of the classics of post-war historical writing, this book shows how central the role of poverty has been throughout the history of Europe.
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- A history of poverty in Europe covering over 1000 years.
- Translated into Italian, French, German, Spanish and Japanese.
- High profile author - a leading member of solidarity and professor at the College de France.
Trade Review"A wise, distinguished medieval historian, veteran of Poland's own battles with poverty, here extends himself over a millennium and a continent to illuminate the constantly-changing social conditions, definitions, explanations, political measures, and charitable actions by which Europeans have generated, mitigated, and stigmatized material hardship."
Charles Tilly "A serious, meticulously researched history, Geremek's is a fine account of a fascinating and perennially topical subject." Literary Review
Table of ContentsForeword.
Introduction: What is Poverty?.
1. The Middle Ages: Charity and Salvation.
2. The Disintegration of Medieval Society.
3. Reformation and Repression: the 1520s.
4. The Reform of Charity.
5. Charitable Polemics: Local Politics and Reasons of State.
6. Prisons of Enlightenment.
7. Poverty and the Contemporary World.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.
