Members of one body. Representations of the poor, poor relief and charity in the Northern Netherlands 1300-1650. In pre-modern towns, solidarity between rich and poor inhabitants was just like in modern-day societies not a self-evident phenomenon. People had to be driven to give to charity. This study examines how government authorities, the church and other institutions in late medieval and early modern towns encouraged and motivated people to take social responsibility. These motivations are placed in the context of developments in the representations of the poor, poor relief and charity. How were poor people and poor relief depicted and represented and how did these images and notions develop over time? And was there a change in the way charity was presented, from being considered a private and religious duty to being seen as a more communal or civic responsibility? To answer these questions, this study analyses literary, educational and historiographical texts that discuss topics such as poor relief, charity and poverty, with a focus on the towns of Haarlem, Deventer and Den Bosch. Several of these texts responded to potential arguments against charity, presented exemplary figures and used appealing images and metaphors. In addition, they used notions and images that served to create a relationship between the poor and their potential benefactors and that emphasized the similarities between both. Both were brothers and sisters in Christ and members of the same Christian civic community.