ABSTRACT
The previous chapters have dealt with old people as a group, and consequently with images, attitudes and norms. The following chapters will deal with sub-groups of the aged population, and hence with the lives of old men and women in the various social strata, their political and social status and their economic conditions. In the discussion about the working stratum special attention will be given to some solutions to the economic plight of old people who could no longer work, partly or entirely. Later, the discussion on the upper social strata will examine the extent to which their members looked after their aged subordinates, such as retainers, officeholders and male and female servants. The question of how property was passed on to the younger generation, with all its implications, will be examined with regard to all the strata. The present chapter concerns monks, nuns, the secular clergy and their servants. These did not face the problem of passing their property on to their offspring, but the Church system did have to deal with the issue of retirement (or non-retirement) of officeholders, and the transfer (or non-transfer) of those positions to younger persons in their lifetime.
