This was the very first research project to be carried out and so many years later it is not easy to establish what the precise intention of the project was – except that a research thesis was needed to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in history in 1984. This was a research subject that was chosen on account of feelings of astonishment. In the Netherlands, vagrancy and begging were only scrapped from the Penal Code in 2000. But why were vagrants persecuted for so long, and why were they so often condemned to such shocking punishments? Why exactly is the practice of roaming around with no fixed means of existence, which is essentially what vagrancy entails, deemed criminal or threatening? In order to provide answers to these questions, a number of theories on disciplinary processes appropriate to the social-scientific paradigms of those days were used; theories developed by Elias, Foucault, Lis & Soly, and Weisser. The theories were assessed against original archive material, namely the placards against vagrancy issued in Guelderland in the period between 1545 and 1798 and the criminal prosecution files pertaining to the 602 vagrants who were prosecuted in the Court of Gelre and Zutphen during this period. The research came up with the following conclusions: vagrants are regarded by the authorities as a threat to public order, because they are so difficult to control, disregard the prevailing work ethic and do not have the usual family ties that promote stability, controllability and productivity. The outlawing and prosecution of vagrancy in the early-modern period is part of an attempt by the ruling classes to discipline the people. In this context, it is striking that the prosecution of vagrants was essentially a task of the authorities. The local rural communities only cooperated in part and regularly hindered the court officials in their duties. Witness statements are more frequently laconic or even sympathetic towards the apprehended vagrants than disapproving, except when the vagrant was also guilty of other offences. During the course of the eighteenth century, there is a drop in the number of corporal punishments imposed, the punishments become less severe and the number of vagrants also drops, both in absolute and relative terms when compared with other individuals being brought before the Court. This humanising tendency is not necessarily connected with the positive influence of humanism in general or with the Enlightenment. It could also be due to the development of other disciplinary mechanisms and the need arising from changed social relations for those in a position of control to find new, subtler ways of using power. Publications: 'Lopen over het land: een "misdrijf" uit een voorbij verleden', in: Cultuurwijzer - Lopen over het land (publication online) (12 March 2003). Summary. 'De landloper en het gerecht', in: K. Jansma en M. Schroor, Tweeduizend jaar geschiedenis van Gelderland, Leeuwarden 1986, p.229-233. Summary. The article is available as Pdf.