Poor Relief and the Church in Scotland, 1560-1650

An exploration of poverty and charity in early modern Scotland

This book sets out the importance of charity in Scottish Reformation studies. Based on extensive archival research involving more than thirty parishes, it sheds new light on the practice of poor relief in the century following the Reformation.

John McCallum challenges the assumption that charitable activity was weak and informal in Scotland by uncovering the surviving records of welfare work carried out by the church. And he skilfully demonstrates that kirk sessions were key welfare providers in early modern Scotland and provided effective relief to a range of people who struggled in poverty. In addition to the analysis of specific parish activities, readers gain a rare insight into the lives of the poor Scots who looked to the church for assistance in the early modern era.

Key Features

• Challenges conventional interpretations which stress secularisation in the development of welfare
• The first analysis of the practice of poor relief and experiences of poverty in pre-modern Scotland
• Based on extensive archival research involving over thirty Scottish parishes
• Provides a new interpretation of the nature and effectiveness of pre-modern welfare provision
• Extends Scottish Reformation studies into new territory by considering charity for the first time