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Vagrancy in the Tudor and early Stuart period was regarded by contemprary authorities as one of the most serious social problems thay had to face, and it figured prominently in the many Poor Laws passed by Parliament.

This book examines the nature of vagrancy, why it was felt to be such a threat to the stability of the country and the steps taken to overcome the problem. Based on detailed research into the judicial records of the time, particularly justices' examinations of 'masterless men', it scrutinises many aspects of vagrants' lives: their origins; patterns of movement; family and occupational patterns and the professional criminals found among them. A particularly fascinating aspect of the book is the author's extensive use of real-life incidents taken from the evidence of vagrants.

The increasing concern of the authorities to curb the growth of itenerancy led to the introduction of new measures, not least of which was the establishment of bridewells. [The author] examines the success or otherwise of these various attempts and society's changing attitude to the poor. In conclusion, he sets the problem of vagrancy in its historical context and discusses how far the government was successful in combating the problem of the poor.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Introduction

PART ONE: THE ORIGINS OF VAGRANCY

Chapter 1 The New Poverty

The de-sanctification of the poor

A vagrant underworld

The magisterial position

Conclusions

Chapter 2 The Growth of Vagrancy

The numbers issue

Poverty: dimensions and structures

Population growth and dispossession, 1500-1650

Wage-labour: a way out?

Conclusions

Chapter 3 Migrants and Vagrants

The rise of subsistence migration

The geography of vagrancy

Explanations

'London cannot relieve England'

Provincial towns

Conclusions

PART TWO: THE STRUCTURE OF VAGRANCY

Chapter 4 A Promiscuous Generation

Fragmented families

Alternative societies

Conclusions

Chapter 5 On the Road

The road goes on

Objectives

Haunts and habitats

Seasonal shifts

Getting around

Hospitality

Conclusions

Chapter 6 Dangerous Trades

The mutable world of work

Traders and craftsmen

Military men

Entertainers

Itinerant healers

Errant clerks

Wandering wizards

Conclusions

PART THREE: VAGRANTS, SOCIETY AND THE STATE

Chapter 7 The Seminary of Vagabondage

The beggar's burden

Licensed and illicit gains

The pitfalls of charity

Conclusions

Chapter 8 The Underworld Uncovered

Reality or illusion?

Crime in the underworld: an overview

Professional crime

Crimes against persons

Crimes against the state

Conclusions

Chapter 9 State policy: from Utopia to the penal colony

The enforcement issue

Modest proposals

Inventions of absolutism

Retribution

Bridewell: a proto-penal institution that failed

Conclusions

Conclusions

Notes

Appendix: Tables

Index