When entering the exhibition “From Yredam to Edam” the visitor is welcomed by a lifelike beggar. Here you read about his sad events:

The Life and Work of Beggars in the Early 1600s

By the late 1500s, ongoing wars and failed crops caused a surge in the number of beggars and vagrants across the Republic. Local authorities quickly cracked down. By 1595, the States of Holland required beggars to hold a written permit, and by 1613, begging was banned entirely.

Work vs. Begging
The average artisan or labourer earned about 14 stuivers a day, enough for basics like rye bread, cheese, and weak beer. However, loss of work due to illness, old age, or a freezing winter (when guild rules banned working after dark) could wipe out a family’s income overnight leaving them with little alternative but to beg.

The “Real” Poor
Many of those on the streets were widows, orphans, or people living with disabilities or injuries. They relied heavily on church charity, which had long offered donors a way to perform “good works.”

Creative Tricks and Crime
Public sympathy waned as many drifters turned to clever ruses, or outright theft. Some would leave their clothes at their overnight shelter and walk the streets naked, rubbing stinging nettles on their skin so they would shiver uncontrollably while claiming robbers had stripped them. Others faked grave illnesses, wandering the streets with begging bowls to play on the sympathies of passers-by.

Rented Children
Some beggars even “borrowed” young children, setting them outside church doors to tug on people’s heartstrings and solicit extra alms for a fake, struggling family.

Begging was certainly no easy trade! Would you give a dime – or not?

Fun fact: This beggar is made by Edam Museum volunteer Steef Reilingh, 2026.