Gifts and Gift-giving [ Politics & Society / Furniture & Interior decoration / Social interaction ]
… and often intertwined, virtues of liberality, hospitality, charity, friendship, generosity, honour and patronage. The exchange of gifts helped to foster and deepen social relationships, from friends and kin to patrons and charitable donors. But gifts could also be problematic and create anxieties. The exchange of gifts was culturally ambiguous and could create doubts both about the motives and expectations of the giver, … simple meals and drink might be sufficient, rare, exotic or relatively expensive items of food, such as venison, were exchanged to foster, reflect and consolidate relationships between family, friends and patrons. Samuel Pepys , who had …
Charity | Empire | Friendship | Gift | Hospitality | Reciprocity | Religion
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