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Health, Social Care and Old Age Provisions in Medieval and Early Modern Leiden

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Health, Social Care and Old Age Provisions in Medieval and Early Modern Leiden
Authors: Zuijderduijn, Jaco, Looijesteijn, Henk, Walhout, Evelien
Contributors: Lund University, Lund University School of Economics and Management, LUSEM, Department of Economic History, Lunds universitet, Ekonomihögskolan, Ekonomisk-historiska institutionen, Originator
Source: A Companion to Medieval and Early Modern Leiden. :212-239
Subject Terms: Social Sciences, Economics and Business, Economic History, Samhällsvetenskap, Ekonomi och näringsliv, Ekonomisk historia
Description: By the end of the eighteenth century, Leiden was a very unhealthy city where life was characterised by disease and untimely death – in particular young children – mainly because of high population density and unhygienic conditions. Morbidity and a high mortality rate gave city life a specific dynamic: many children grew up without one or both parents present, while many elderly men and women had trouble finding the support networks they needed to help them during their final years. The absence of family was not only caused by high death rates, but also by high migration rates: newcomers to Leiden had usually left their family support group behind. For these reasons inhabitants could not always rely on family, and therefore also depended in times of need on a ‘mixed economy of welfare’ consisting of friends, mutual-aid societies, charities and commercial organisations. This chapter provides an overview of the development of social care in medieval and early modern Leiden, with special focus on the eldercare provided to the most vulnerable inhabitants. Particular attention will go to the many hofjes that were founded by benefactors to provide housing for older men and women, which were built around an inner courtyard.
Access URL: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004734227_009
Database: SwePub
Description
Abstract:By the end of the eighteenth century, Leiden was a very unhealthy city where life was characterised by disease and untimely death – in particular young children – mainly because of high population density and unhygienic conditions. Morbidity and a high mortality rate gave city life a specific dynamic: many children grew up without one or both parents present, while many elderly men and women had trouble finding the support networks they needed to help them during their final years. The absence of family was not only caused by high death rates, but also by high migration rates: newcomers to Leiden had usually left their family support group behind. For these reasons inhabitants could not always rely on family, and therefore also depended in times of need on a ‘mixed economy of welfare’ consisting of friends, mutual-aid societies, charities and commercial organisations. This chapter provides an overview of the development of social care in medieval and early modern Leiden, with special focus on the eldercare provided to the most vulnerable inhabitants. Particular attention will go to the many hofjes that were founded by benefactors to provide housing for older men and women, which were built around an inner courtyard.
DOI:10.1163/9789004734227_009