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A Supplication for the Beggars

By Simon Fish
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About This Book

A sharp polemical tract condemns mendicant friars and the broader clergy for draining popular resources through tithes, fees, probates, mortuaries, pilgrim offerings and liturgical payments, and for concentrating land and wealth. It itemizes financial exactions and alleged moral corruptions, argues that ecclesiastical privilege weakens legal authority and public welfare, and warns that unchecked clerical power incites disorder and poverty. The author urges legal and structural remedies to curtail clerical immunities, reclaim revenues for the common good, and restrain institutions seen as parasitic on the laity.

About the Author

Fish, Simon portrait

Simon Fish

Simon Fish was a 16th-century English writer and reformer, best known for his work "A Supplication for the Beggars." This pamphlet, published in 1528, is a significant early example of Protestant literature that critiques the Catholic Church and advocates for social reform. Fish's writings reflect the tumultuous religious landscape of his time, as he sought to address issues of poverty and corruption within the church. His contributions to the Reformation movement highlight the intersection of literature and social justice in early modern England.

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