Chapter 7 The Catholic Reformation and the Dying: Confraternities and Preparations for Death in France 1550–1700
In: The Moment of Death in Early Modern Europe, c. 1450–1800Search for other papers by Elizabeth Tingle in
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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.