Abstract：The right of gleaning is a legacy of the medieval tradition, which also gets its basis in the Bible. In the early modern times, the gleaning is still widespread, and is also one of the food bulwarks to satisfy the poor peasants' hunger. With the development of capitalist private property rights, it was decided illegal by the Court of Common Pleas, which has caused widespread concern in society. Although the right of gleaning was judged illegal, the poor gleaners have received a general sympathy of the society. For more than half a century, the poor still fulfilled this ancient customary right, but they have not been severely punished. Finally, with the clarification of land property rights, the modernization of agriculture and the strengthening of the relief of the poor, the contradiction was gradually resolved.

Published on Economic and Social History Review, Issue 2, 2018.