The Culture of Giving
Informal Support and Gift-Exchange in Early Modern England

A study of gift-giving, informal support and charity in England between the late sixteenth and the early eighteenth centuries.

Ilana Krausman Ben-Amos (Author)

9780521867238, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 March 2008

440 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.76 kg

Review of the hardback: 'The Culture of Giving is a fascinating and wide-ranging treatment of an elusive topic: gifting, charity and networks in early modern England.' Local Population Studies

An innovative study of gift-giving, informal support and charity in England between the late sixteenth and early eighteenth centuries. Ilana Krausman Ben-Amos examines the adaptation and transformation of varied forms of informal help, challenging long-held views and assumptions about the decline of voluntary giving and personal obligations in the transition from medieval to modern times. Merging historical research with insights drawn from theories of gift-giving, the book analyses practices of informal support within varied social networks, associations and groups over the entire period. It argues that the processes entailed in the Reformation, state formation and the implementation of the poor laws, as well as market and urban expansion, acted as powerful catalysts for many forms of informal help. Within certain boundaries, the early modern era witnessed the diversification, increase and invigoration, rather than the demise, of gift-giving and informal support.

Introduction
Part I. Social Spaces and Reciprocities: 1. Parents and offspring
2. Networks of support
3. Parishes, guilds, associations
4. The charitable gift
Part II. The Economy of Giving: 5. Cultivating the obligation to give
6. Honour and reputation
7. Discourses of giving
8. The perils of gifts
Part III. The State, Markets and Gifts: 9. Evolving boundaries
10. The invigoration of informal support
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], British & Irish history [HBJD1]