Italian Confraternities in the Sixteenth CenturyConfraternities were - and are - religious brotherhoods for lay people to promote their religious life in common. Though designed to prepare for the afterlife, they were fully involved in the social, political and cultural life of the community and could affect all men and women, as members or as the recipients of charity. Confraternities organised a great range of devotional, cultural and indeed artistic activities in addition to other functions such as the provision of dowries and the escort of condemned men to the scaffold. Other works have studied the local activities of specific confraternities, but this is the first to attempt a broad survey of such organisations across the breadth of early modern Italy. Christopher Black demonstrates clearly the extent, diversity and influence of confraternal behaviour, and shows how such brotherhoods adapted to the religious and social crises of the sixteenth century - thus illuminating current debates about Catholic Reform, the Counter-Reformation, poverty, philanthropy and social control. |
Contents
Setting the scene | 1 |
Catholic Reform CounterReformation and confraternities | 7 |
Attitudes to salvation and good works | 13 |
what where for whom? | 23 |
Membership of the confraternities | 41 |
Counting confraternities and their members | 49 |
Control and sponsorship | 58 |
Positive sponsorship of confraternities | 69 |
Attitudes to poverty | 130 |
needs and general responses | 151 |
Government responses to crises and needs | 159 |
The value of the assistance offered | 165 |
2 The imprisoned ignorant and dead | 214 |
Rosary devotion | 231 |
Confraternity buildings and their decoration | 234 |
Conclusions and suggestions | 268 |
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Common terms and phrases
activities alms areas argued assistance attitudes became bishop Bologna brothers cent chapel chapter charity Christian church Compagnia concerned confraternities contribution della designed developed devotion discipline discussed dowries early encouraged especially evidence example Florence fols Francesco fraternity funds Giovanni girls give given hospital increased indicated individuals institutions involved Italian Italy later leading least less living London major Maria meetings membership Milan Morte Naples nobles noted officials oratory Orders organised paid paintings parish particular period persons Perugia philanthropy Pietà Pietro places poor poverty priests prisoners problems processions Pullan received records reform religious rich Roman Rome rooms rules Sacrament scudi Scuola sick sixteenth century social society souls spiritual statutes Storia suggest various Venetian Venice visitation women