For my research project, I am focusing on social order in Elizabethan England and how the Great Chain of Being might have affected that order. Marjorie K. McIntosh’s “Poverty, Charity, and Coercion in Elizabethan England” highlights how the upperclass gave assistance to the lower classes because their Christian faith guided them to do so. However, A. L. Beier’s “Vagrants and the Social Order in Elizabethan England” takes a more cynical approach to the issue of social order and argues that the poor vagrants were not given widespread assistance. Although Beier and McIntosh disagree upon the extent to which the poor were given assistance and the upper class’s views of the lower classes, they are similar in that they both acknowledge that the only …show more content…
The purpose of his article is to demonstrate what the lives of the lower class were really like. Beier’s article covers the opinions of the upper class towards vagrants, the reasons why vagrants were problematic during this time, how vagrants were treated, how they ended up in their situation, and how they coped as vagrants with little to no source of income. For his evidence, Beier relies heavily upon primary source documentation and population records, as well as other scholarly articles that provide insights on this group of people. Beier concludes his article by describing the true nature of a vagrant in Elizabethan England: “Squeezed as these people were by rising food prices and an economy that could not absorb their rising numbers, it is surprising that more did not hit the road. But that those who did were brutally punished in a society where the pursuit of self-interest was permitted to the elite minority” (29). The reality Beier recounts suggests a strict interpretation of the Great Chain of Being because the upper class rarely reached out to aid vagrants, and when they did, it was only to those who could not work, which was a small portion of the poor population. This strict social order demonstrates what happens when there is no social mobility and the members of the upper class only cares about their own self-interest. Beier’s article showcases the haunting …show more content…
The purpose of her article is to demonstrate the varied views of the upper class and the multiple efforts that were made to help the poor vagrants. McIntosh’s article covers how members of the upper class helped vagrants, the steps that the government took to help the impoverished, and how the members of the lower class responded to aid. Throughout her article, McIntosh’s sources of evidence include other scholarly articles, census information, and population studies, but she also repeatedly cites her own works. In her article, McIntosh reflects upon the difficulties of providing enough aid to the poor, and she concludes this article by stating that many government officials had to figure out “how to balance genuine religious and social concern for the poor with the need to maintain order and discipline, and how to do so without inordinate expense” (479). Despite the desire to help the needy, there were many difficulties in providing aid, and the devotion to the Great Chain of Being’s strict economic divisions prevented members of the upper class and the government from deviating from the norm and helping the poor vagrants. McIntosh highlights that even though many tried to help the poor, there was not enough support in the