ABSTRACT
Literatecontemporaryobservers,althoughacutelyawarethatall wasnotwellinthebodypolitic,wereunabletotakesodetacheda viewasmightthemodernhistorian.Asweshallsee,thevagrant emergedasthecriminalstereotypeinthelatesixteenthcentury. HisimportanceintheeyesofthosebentonkeepingEnglishsocietyorderlywasdemonstratedbyamassoflegislationandasubstantialbodyofpopularliterature,theformeraimedatcurbing hisescapades,thesecondathorrifyingthepublicwithsensational accountsofthem.R.H.Tawney'saphorismthat'thesixteenth centurylivesinterrorofthetramp' 17isseeminglybornoutbya massofcontemporaryopinion.18Thenatureofthisstereotype,and itsimplications,willbediscussedfurtherinalaterchapter;forthe present,ourpurposeistoanalysetherealityofvagrantcrime,and toassesstheextentofthethreatitposedtocontemporarysociety.
