ABSTRACT
MuchattentionhasbeengiventothepoorinearlymodernEurope,especially theurbanpoor.Thepoorhavebeenmuchcategorised,butthesickpoorhave receivedlessattention,particularlywhencomparedwiththeprominencegiven thembyearlierEnglishwritersconcernedwithwelfareliketheWebbsand HermannLevy.1ResearchonEnglandhasfocusedinsteadontheemergence ofoutdoorrelief.Sicknessasacauseofpovertyhasbeenovershadowedbya justifiablepreoccupationwiththeconceptoflife-cyclepoverty,withthedemographicbalanceasitaffectsdependency,withthechangingagestructuresof populations,andwithlonemothersorwidows.Eventherefoundedhospitals ofLondonsetuptodealwiththeproblemofthesickpoor(StBartholomew's, StThomas's)havebeencomparativelyneglected.2However,thebalanceof interestinthesickpoorcannotinanycaseberedressedforEnglandsimply bythefocusuponinstitutions,asispossibleforcontinentalEurope,because England(asidefromLondon)offeredlittleinthewayofmajorinstitutionalisationforthepoor.
