Review
"Both social and church historians will welcome this first comparative study of poor relief in Holland." Religious Studies Review
"This lucidly written and persuasively argued study will be essential reading for students of early modern social, religious, and political history." Catholic Historical Review
"This carefully researched contribution to the development of poor relief and conceptions of ecclesiastical charity leaves the reader with a sense of a work well done. This work is copiously provided with appropriate charts, tables, and comparative statistics. Select illustrations ably illumine the visions of charity assumed and practiced by specific communities, and could have been interpreted. An essential addition to one's library." Sixteenth Century Journal
Book Description
The Protestant Reformation and revolt against Spain led to major struggles among civic and religious leaders over how to care for the poor in the cities of Holland. For centuries parish charity had been devoted to all poor residents. Calvinists, however, intended their church deacons (who were responsible for charity) to care primarily, if not exclusively, for poor church members. Focusing on six cities, this study shows that the struggle over charity is best understood as a conflict between two distinct visions of Christian community during the Reformation.
Reformation of Community: Social Welfare and Calvinist Charity in Holland, 1572-1620 FROM THE PUBLISHER
This book examines the relationship between municipal and ecclesiastical relief agencies in the six chief cities of Holland - Dordrecht, Haarlem, Delft, Leiden, Amsterdam, and Gouda - from the public establishment of the Reformed Church in 1572 to the aftermath of the Synod of Dort. The author argues that the conflict between charitable organizations reveals competing conceptions of Christian community that came to the fore as a result of the Dutch Reformation. He analyzes how civic and church leaders faced these tensions and how the general settlements led to a unique blend of religious pluralism and confessional identity in seventeenth-century Holland. This is the first comparative study of poor relief in Holland, which contributes to our understanding of the Reformation throughout Europe.
Art & Photography
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