Philanthropy in Late Medieval London: Robbie Harris MA Defence

On April 14 History MA student Robbie Harris will defend his Major Research Paper: "Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way: Philanthropy in Late Medieval London, ca. 1350-1485"

The defence takes place in 2020 MacKinnon Extension at 3:00 pm. All welcome!

abstract: This project explores the rise of confraternities as charitable institutions and the changing nature of philanthropy in late medieval London circa 1350-1485. Before the implementation of formal poor relief legislation in England (which did not occur until the 16th century), It was common practice for people to leave money and/or property to their local church upon their deaths. These resources were quite often used by the local parish or were distributed to local parish members who were considered to be ‘in need’ by members of the local clergy. The Black Death that swept across Europe in the mid 14th century saw the whole scale collapse of these traditional religious and charitable institutions in Britain and, as a result, the nature of philanthropy in post plague Britain was drastically changed. Using wills & testaments from the Court of Hustings (the central court of medieval London), this paper will examine bequeathal trends in the city of London between the years of 1350-1485 and will argue that there was a gradual yet steady increase in bequests to confraternal organizations in the century immediately following the Black Death. This pattern of increasing bequests to confraternities between 1350-1485 represents the shifting priorities of medieval Londoners in the post plague landscape of late medieval London.