Thinking Medieval: Charity and the Appearance of Respectability for rich folks

In much of the pre-industrial Earth (and in the modern world too), wealthy high status individuals are expected to show generosity to others Even low and middle status individuals have societal expectations to maintain respectability as well.   In medieval Europe, wealthy nobles and monied middle class businessman were expected to be generous in various ways and most of them apply to Scarterra. I already covered the notions of how Scarterran farmers strive to be respectable as part of this article on farming in general, now cover the higher ups.  

Quiet Charity is Rare in Scarterra

 

by Eron12 with Hero Forge

The Cult of the Compact encourages quiet giving with no hope of reward which might be why this illustrious and honorable ancient order barely has two copper pieces to rub together.   It is only proper that a Lord or Lady receives recognition and praise for his or her acts of generosity, and it just might keep Lanterns off their back...   Danuta, matriarch of the Fumayan Masks

  A common Christian value is that anonymous giving is the most virtuous form of giving though that certainly didn't stop some Medieval Europeans from giving to charity very loudly and publicly.   Anonymous giving isn't a completely alien concept on Scarterra and there are segments of Scarterran society that endorse it, but its far from a common value. It is possible for a Scarterra to lose respect of others by crowing too loudly about their own self-less acts but a modest lack of modesty when publicly giving is far from taboo and is considered very normal.     So with with a clear majority of the Nine leaning towards braggodocious acts of charity, it should be little surprise that secular acts of charity also tend to be loud and public though there is often a thin pretense of false modesty built into the process.   "That's very generous my lord."   "Oh it's nothing..."   "Nonsense, may Insert one fo the Nine reward your kindness!"   Speaking of the Nine's blessings, in the 21st century, it often seems that relgions are focused on scoring points for the afterlife, but to polytheist viewpoint, the primary focus is getting divine rewards (or avoiding divine punishmnets) in this life. This doesn't just include the remote but very real possibility of the Nine bestowing blessings or curses from above but the representatives of the local Nonagon are a lot closer to home and they are certainly not above bestowing blessings and/or curses in order to get their way.  

Daily Generosity

  Scarterrans of financial means are expected to gives to regularly give gifts friends, peers, the less fortunate, and the Nonagon and this can add up.  

by Eron12 with Heroforge

-Zajac of the Fumayan Lanterns

 

"A lot of nobles have a lot of servants to seemingly handle a bunch of trivial tasks. I'm sure most mighty lords are capable of lacing their boots or wiping their own asses but they have servants to do. This isn't out of laziness, or at least not entirely out of laziness. Wealthy people can show their status and their generosity by maintaining a large entourage of servants and retainers.   Shortly after his coronation, our good king Henryk decided that he would alleviate some of his financial problems by laying off much of the royal staff that became rather bloated during his father's reign. The young king wanted to garner funds without raising taxes which was laudable but the dozens of servants and ladies-in-waiting now out of job did not appreciate this.   Expectations of generosity scale with one's wealth and status. These societal expecations, along with other factors, leads to many nobles with lands and titles being rather cash poor while some merchants and adventurers are quietly sitting on giant piles of coins.

  A commoner that happens to be wealthy for whatever reason that cannot keep his wealth secret at the very least is going to face social derision or in the worst case scenario they attract robbers or tax collectors (which really are just robbers with nicer clothes).   A good way to preempt these issues is to be publicly generous, just like a noble with money would be. Rich commoners that can play this game can advance in status this way, picking up honorary court appointments or even getting marriage proposals from old noble families that are happen to be cash poor."

 

Grand Gestures

  Nobles and wealthy commoners have a social expectation to once in a while make grand gestures of generosity though there is certainly a level of self-aggrandizement or personal benefits involved.   Hosting a lavish feast is a way for a noble to show off status to his or her peers. Throwing a public festival is a way for nobles to show off their generosity to their lowborn subjects. Hosting a tournament is mostly to show off status to peers but it also entertains the masses to a degree and helps the elite knights keep their skills sharp.   Exhibiting public art is a way to show off to noble peers and the public at large and possibly the Nonagon if its religiously focused art. If a wealthy person patronizes a piece of public art or comissions a musical or theatrical performance, its is a near certainty that the art in question is one that the patron personally enjoys even though he or she is one beneficiary of the art among many. You can tell a lot about a noble or guild's leader by the art they favor.   Giving alms to the poor will both impress the populace at large and often pleases the Nonagon and to an extant will impress other nobles.   There is definitely an element of quid pro quo when princes and potentates make donations to Scarterran temples. Collectively, commands the loyalty of a great many theurgists and oracles, and they wield a lot of indirect political influence over different segments of society, so it is very common for nobles who make donations to temples to ask for magical or political favors later.   More than a few religious groups in Scarterra are violent and/or anti-authoritarian and in some cases nobles and other wealthy Scarterrans give them donations not to ask for favors but to pay them off to not cause them problems.