ABSTRACT
The Emden city's poor relief authorities exhibited remarkable insights as they adjusted their activities to accommodate continued difficult issues and particular cases, yet institutional continuity after the dramatic shake-up of the 1550s proves that the new creations were flexible enough to respond effectively without additional major institutional changes. The administration of social welfare in Emden in the second half of the Sixteenth century was divided into both indoor and outdoor relief. The reorganisation of Emden's Klufts in February 1576 included the naming of these diaconal positions as 'head-deacons' and 'under-deacons' respectively. Fortunately for the haussitzenden poor, the deacons were able to operate with a surplus throughout most of the last quarter of the sixteenth century, so the loss probably had no direct effect on their aid. The head-deacons were also sometimes referred to as 'supervisors' of the haussitzenden poor, and it was they who represented the entire diaconate in loan contracts, negotiations and disputes.
