Abstract: In La pícara Justina de Francisco López de Úbeda (1605), the heroine, Justina, disguises herself as a shameful beggar (envergonzante), establishes herself in front of a church doorway, and makes use of public charity in order to buy herself a piece of golden jewellery. In the apocryphal Guzmán by Luján de Sayavedra (1602), Micer Morcón, the head of the beggars and a hermit defend opposing conceptions of begging. Neither of the works seek to promote an in-depth reform of public assistance.
