3 Inventing the poor
-
Mark Henrickson
Abstract
This chapter covers the period from the 4th to the early 12th centuries CE. Constantine became emperor of the Roman Empire in 324 and established Byzantium (later Constantinople) as his capital. He granted the church the right to collect donations and to be financially independent. In return, drawing on the traditional Greek and Roman civic habit of philanthropy, he gave the church the responsibility of caring for the poor. The church not only responded to the needs of the impoverished but it also invented a category of the poor who had never before existed as a distinct social class. Constantine expected that the church would keep the poor out of sight of the wealthy by caring for them in hospitals, orphanages, and poor houses. The church became an agent of state control of the poor. The Cappadocians theologised wealth, not poverty, as a problem. Charitable giving by the wealthy to the poor through the church was encouraged. Ambrose and Augustine promoted the distinction between worthy and unworthy poor, codified in the 12th century Decretum Gratiani. As the empire declined, the church’s power increased. From 622 CE Islam with its central pillar of zakāt (almsgiving) emerged and spread throughout Arab nations.
Abstract
This chapter covers the period from the 4th to the early 12th centuries CE. Constantine became emperor of the Roman Empire in 324 and established Byzantium (later Constantinople) as his capital. He granted the church the right to collect donations and to be financially independent. In return, drawing on the traditional Greek and Roman civic habit of philanthropy, he gave the church the responsibility of caring for the poor. The church not only responded to the needs of the impoverished but it also invented a category of the poor who had never before existed as a distinct social class. Constantine expected that the church would keep the poor out of sight of the wealthy by caring for them in hospitals, orphanages, and poor houses. The church became an agent of state control of the poor. The Cappadocians theologised wealth, not poverty, as a problem. Charitable giving by the wealthy to the poor through the church was encouraged. Ambrose and Augustine promoted the distinction between worthy and unworthy poor, codified in the 12th century Decretum Gratiani. As the empire declined, the church’s power increased. From 622 CE Islam with its central pillar of zakāt (almsgiving) emerged and spread throughout Arab nations.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents ix
- Acknowledgements xi
- Introduction 1
- A royal responsibility 18
- Inventing the poor 42
- Reforming the poor 67
- Capitalising the poor 94
- Industrialising the poor 121
- Liberalising the poor 154
- Professionalising work with the poor 180
- A global perspective 198
- Creating a global future 214
- References 224
- Index 246
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents ix
- Acknowledgements xi
- Introduction 1
- A royal responsibility 18
- Inventing the poor 42
- Reforming the poor 67
- Capitalising the poor 94
- Industrialising the poor 121
- Liberalising the poor 154
- Professionalising work with the poor 180
- A global perspective 198
- Creating a global future 214
- References 224
- Index 246
