The Catholic Reformation and the Dying: Confraternities and Preparation for Death in France 1550-1700

Date

2024-06-05

Advisors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Brill

Type

Book chapter

Peer reviewed

Yes

Abstract

Guilds and confraternities were widespread in the later Middle Ages, but the Reformation attack on saintly and collective intercession led to a decline in membership. From the later part of the sixteenth century, however, with the reaffirmation of intercession by the Council of Trent and papal sponsoring of high-profile Roman confraternities as agents of Counter Reform, the confraternity once again became a prominent institution of local religious life. This chapter examines the role of the confraternity in aiding early modern Catholics to prepare for death, spiritually, through devotional activities and materially, by providing for mortuary rites and post-mortem intercession. Their role was to provide opportunities to acquire merit through lifetime actions and assurance that after death, individuals would be catered for by the ongoing activities of their chosen community. In addition, associations created specifically to assist the dying were introduced in the post-Tridentine period. Confraternities were also major consumers of another post-Reformation revival, the indulgence. To illustrate how these activities worked in practice, focus will be on a case study of the confraternities of Brittany in western France, although comparisons will be drawn with other regions as well.

Description

Keywords

Confraternity, Catholic Reformation, Counter Reformation, Indulgences, Intercession

Citation

Tingle, E. (2024) The Catholic Reformation and the Dying: Confraternities and Preparation for Death in France 1550-1700. In: B. Brunner and M. Christ eds., The Moment of Death in Early Modern Europe c.1450-1800. Contested Ideals, Controversial Spaces, and Suspicious Objects, Brill, pp. 119-141

Rights

Research Institute

Institute of Humanities and Political Studies