ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the donations and the charity institutions that were funded by these donations in the medieval merchant town of Bergen in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The aim is to describe the culture of donations in Bergen during these two centuries. Already in a decree of 17 February 1683, King Christian V ordered that a record be made of all trusts and charity institutions in his Danish-Norwegian realm. The purpose of the records for donation-based charity trusts and institutions was to make it easier for bishops and other civil servants to supervise them and for those who could benefit from the donations to become aware of their existence. Important sources for church revenues would be alms boxes and the Sunday collection. The poor relief system in Bergen was mainly financed through donations. Like donations to ecclesial institutions, donations to poor relief can be subdivided: between donations to poorhouses and donations to individuals.
