‘Wat bedroeft lot is oudt stijf ende arm te wesen': Waardigheid in verzoekschriften van verarmde Brusselse ouderen, ca. 1750-1800.

This article offers a b o ttom -u p perspective to the research on inclusion processes in p oor relief in general and elderly care and almshouses in specific at th e end o f the Ancien Régime. By means o f an extensive study o f the application letters sent to the Brussels Tw a a lf A po s te le n 'almshouse between 1750 and 1800, th e article examines how deservingness is anticipated by th e elderly applicants and how it is argued in th e ir discourses. In addition, th e article offers insight in to th e mental framework o f these elderly men surrounding coping strategies and channels th ro u g h which care should or could be obtained. By doing this, the article examines to which e x tent p ro cesses o f formalization during previous centuries influenced the mental framework o f the elderly d u rin g th e second half o f th e eighteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]