A pauper's history of England : 1,000 years of peasants, beggars and guttersnipes

What would English history look like from the gutter? The past is traditionally told from the viewpoint of kings and queens, politicians and pioneers. But what about the people struggling to survive at the very lowest levels of society? Surely the poor are just as much a part of our heritage? A Pauper’s History of England covers 1,000 years of poverty from Domesday right up to the twentieth century, via the Black Death and the English Civil War. It uses contemporary sources creatively to give the reader an idea of just what life was like for the peasants, paupers, beggars and the working poor as England developed from a feudal society into a wealthy superpower. Experience the past from a different perspective: • Tour the England of the Domesday Book • Make a solemn Franciscan vow of Poverty • Join the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381 • Converse with Elizabethan beggars’ and learn their secret language • Meet the inmates of Bedlam Hospital and Bridewell Prison • Enjoy a gin-soaked Georgian night of debauchery • Spend the night in a workhouse • Go slumming in Victorian London A unique tour through British history—from the perspective of the peasants and the poverty-stricken. The past is traditionally told from the viewpoint of kings and queens, politicians and pioneers. But what about the people struggling to survive at the very lowest levels of society? A Pauper's History of England covers a thousand years of poverty, from Domesday right up to the twentieth century, via the Black Death and the English Civil War. It paints a portrait of what life was like for the peasants, paupers, beggars, and working poor as England developed from a feudal society into a wealthy superpower. Experience the past from a different perspective: Tour the England of the Domesday BookMake a solemn Franciscan vow of povertyJoin the Peasants'Revolt of 1381Converse with Elizabethan beggars and learn their secret languageMeet the inmates of Bedlam Hospital and Bridewell PrisonEnjoy a gin-soaked Georgian night of debaucherySpend the night in a workhouseGo slumming in Victorian London, and more! Contents List of Plates Introduction Chapter 1 Domesday Chapter 2 The King of the Poor Chapter 3 Mendicants Chapter 4 Black Death Chapter 5 Rebellion Chapter 6 To the Spital House Chapter 7 The Counterfeit Crank Chapter 8 A Census of the Poor Chapter 9 Bridewell Chapter 10 Witch Hunt Chapter 11 At the Fair Chapter 12 Bedlam Chapter 13 The Common Side Chapter 14 Gin Chapter 15 Foundlings Chapter 16 Night Walkers Chapter 17 The Black Poor Chapter 18 Poor Stockingers Chapter 19 The Workhouse Chapter 20 Immigrants Chapter 21 Street Orphans Chapter 22 The Casual Ward Chapter 23 Sleeping Rough Epilogue Notes and Sources Index A view of English history from the gutter, transporting the reader from the 1100s to the early 1900s. A Pauper's Guide takes a popular approach to history in the same vein as existing popular history titles focusing on the sights, sounds and smells of history, like Ian Mortimer's Time Traveller's Guides and Terry Deary's Horrible History series.