Scotland was overwhelmed with injured servicemen and their families during the wars of the 1640s. Centralized attempts to help support war veterans and, later, their families were ambitious but continued to rely upon local church sessions to collect, distribute and monitor charitable payments. Using local parish-based manuscript material, this article shows how this system proved remarkably successful in providing financial support with one striking caveat: Unlike similar schemes in England and some areas of the continent, Scottish authorities only intended payments to injured servicemen and their families as a form of supplementary relief rather than permanent pensions. Moreover, despite local calls for further financial support, the central government made no effort to wrestle away the management of charitable activity from the parish setting. Veterans and their families continued to rely on informal support from family, friends and neighbours within a remarkably local charitable context. Such networks draw attention to the limited aims of official support in the seventeenth century and the necessity for it to co-exist with, and co-opt, a variety of less formal measures of charitable help.

中文翻译：

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照顾苏格兰的士兵、退伍军人和家庭，1638-1651 年

在 1640 年代的战争期间，苏格兰被受伤的军人及其家人淹没。集中帮助支持退伍军人及其家人的努力雄心勃勃，但继续依靠当地教会会议来收集、分配和监控慈善款项。本文使用基于当地教区的手稿材料，展示了该系统如何在提供财政支持方面取得巨大成功，但有一个引人注目的警告：与英格兰和欧洲大陆某些地区的类似计划不同，苏格兰当局只打算向受伤的军人及其家人付款一种补充救济而非永久性养老金的形式。此外，尽管当地呼吁提供进一步的财政支持，但中央政府并未努力将慈善活动的管理从教区环境中剥离出来。退伍军人及其家人在当地非常慈善的环境中继续依靠家人、朋友和邻居的非正式支持。这样的网络使人们注意到 17 世纪官方支持的有限目标，以及它与各种不太正式的慈善帮助措施共存和选择的必要性。