The Problem of the Poor in Tudor and Early Stuart England

What can the `new'' historiography of political thought, political anthropology and sociology, and literary historicism contribute to our understanding of the Tudor commonwealth? This volume of innovative essays clears fresh paths into the languages, debates and underlying structures of Tudor political thought and policy. Emphasizing the intellectual and the cultural, and introducing interdisciplinary methods and perspectives, the essays address a range of problems in Tudor politics and statecraft which have traditionally received little attention. Issues such as the political uses of the past, approaches to resistance, the policy debates surrounding war and peace, poverty, usury and bankruptcy are explored with particular emphasis on medieval precedents and the context of continental thought.