The Reformation of Community Social Welfare and Calvinist Charity in Holland, 1572–1620

The Protestant Reformation and revolt against Spain led to major struggles among civic and religious leaders over how to care for the poor in the cities of Holland. For centuries parish charity had been devoted to all poor residents. Calvinists, however, intended their church deacons (who were responsible for charity) to care primarily, if not exclusively, for poor church members. Focusing on six cities, this study shows that the struggle over charity is best understood as a conflict between two distinct visions of Christian community during the Reformation.

By the time of the Calvinist Reformation, the cities of Holland had established a very long tradition of social provision for the poor in the civic community. Calvinists however intended to care for their own church members, who were by definition 'within the household of faith', through the deaconate, a confessional relief agency. This book examines the relationship between municipal and ecclesiastical relief agencies in the six chief cities of Holland - Dordrecht, Haarlem, Delft, Leiden, Amsterdam and Gouda - from the public establishment of the Reformed Church in 1572 to the aftermath of the Synod of Dort. The author argues that the conflict between charitable organizations reveal competing conceptions of Christian community that came to the fore as a result of the Dutch Reformation. This is the first comparative study of poor relief in Holland, which contributes to our understanding of the Reformation throughout Europe.

Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. The municipal community and parish charity in late medieval Holland; 3. The civic community and poor relief, 1500–1614; 4. Poor relief in a confessional community: the creation of the Dutch Reformed diaconate, 1566–78; 5. The dynamics of the Reformed community: discipline and poor relief, 1572–1620; 6. Municipal welfare and the Calvinist diaconate, 1572–1620; 7. The pillars of a new society: religious pluralism and confessional identity in Reformation Holland; Bibliography; Index.

The Protestant Reformation and revolt against Spain led to major struggles among civic and religious leaders over how to care for the poor in the cities of Holland. This study shows that this struggle over charity is best understood as a conflict between two distinct visions of the Christian community.