The Poor, the Secular Courts, and Access to Justice in Thirteenth-Century France

Abstract

In this interdisciplinary and cross-cultural volume edited by Dr. Cynthia Kosso and Dr. Anne Scott, medieval and Early Modern historians and literary scholars unearth, define, and re-define the nature of poverty and prosperity. Through the exploration of texts, religious and spiritual behavior, statistics, class and gender issues, philosophical concepts, and figurative language, the authors investigate poverty and wealth in Middle Ages and Early Modern era. As the introduction to the volume states, “It stands to reason that the multitude of ways in which we represent and have discussed wealth or its absence; the myriad conditions that make us either rich or poor, prosperous or impoverished; and the ways in which we have maintained the better condition or have ameliorated the worse have captured our imaginations and intellect, as they continue to do today.” These essays provide a nuanced examination of the conceptualization and material representation of two terms that help define and shape our very existence today. Drs. Kosso and Scott are the editors of Fear and its Representations in the Middle Ages and Renaissance (2002) and The Nature and Function of Water, Baths, Bathing, and Hygiene from Antiquity through the Renaissance (2009).