Gdańskie odznaki żebracze (XVI–XVIII w.)

Beggar badges of Gdańsk In Gdańsk of the 16th century, due to the failure of medieval forms of aiding the poor based on Church institutions, the growing number of people seeking support in a port town which was quickly getting rich and under the influence of ideas spread by Martin Luther, the policy concerning beggars and people seeking aid changed. It was demonstrated by passing the first beggar ordinance in 1525, which introduced the supervision of the city council over the system of social welfare based on the existing hospitals in town. Special badges with the crest of Gdańsk had been known since the middle of the 16th century, which entitled their wearers to beg in the vicinity of the city as well as to receive aid from public funds. Those artefacts were cast from lead and apart from the crest also had a depiction of a beggar and a date specifying the annual validity of the symbol. They would most often be sawn to clothes or worn around the neck. There are four beggar categories known to us: 1) for the inhabitants of Gdańsk unfit for work and their children thus entitled to basic education; 2) badges for the poorest group of citizens having trouble making a living, which included their personal data and address; 3) badges for city visitors who needed aid and had not been admitted to hospitals, which entitled them to beg temporarily; 4) badges for the patients of the City Hospital (the Lazaret), which since the 17th century had become the main centre of medical care for the poorest. Artefacts registering those entitled to permanent or temporary hospital care are known dating even from the middle of the 18th century. With the popularisation of written documentation in the hospital, at the end of the 18th century artefacts of that kind became obsolete.