Description
Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1976. This book is a study of the charitable institutions of one French town, Aix-en-Provence. It begins with their foundation during the Counter-Reformation and ends with their dissolution during the Revolution. It details the impulses behind their foundation and describes how they were financed and administered. It also explores the lives of the people they helped. The study is based primarily on surviving records of the charities. These are the same sort of records that charitable institutions today accumulate: entrance registers, minutes of board meetings, account books, and fund-raising pamphlets. Records of the local and central government and court records were also consulted. One purpose of this study is to bring readers closer to the reality of the problem of poverty in Old Regime France. Another purpose is to historicize contemporary perceptions of poverty in the minds of French historical actors. Chapter 1 outlines the social and economic makeup of
Table of ContentsList of Tables
List of Figures
Preface
Part I. Charity
Chapter 1. Aix-en-Provence, "Ville Hospitaliere"
Chapter 2. The Charitable Impulse
Chapter 3. Administration and Finances
Part II. The Poor
Chapter 4. The Poor of the Charities
Chapter 5. The Poor outside the Charities
Part III. The Crisis of Traditional Charity
Chapter 6. The Financial Crisis
Chapter 7. From Charite to Bienfaisance
Conclusion
Part Four: Abbreviations, Notes, Bibliography
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index
