Overview

After the State and the Church, the most well organized membership system of medieval and early modern Europe was the confraternity. In cities, towns, and villages it would have been difficult for someone not to be a member of a confraternity, the recipient of its charity, or aware of its presence in the community. In A Companion to Medieval and Early Modern Confraternities, Konrad Eisenbichler brings together an international group of scholars to examine confraternities from various perspectives: their origins and development, their devotional practices, their charitable activities, and their contributions to literature, music, and art. The result is a picture of confraternities as important venues for the acquisition of spiritual riches, material wealth, and social capital. Contributors to this volume: Alyssa Abraham, Davide Adamoli, Christopher F. Black, Dominika Burdzy, David D'Andrea, Konrad Eisenbichler, Anna Esposito, Federica Francesconi, Marina Gazzini, Jonathan Glixon, Colm Lennon, William R. Levin, Murdo J. MacLeod, Nerida Newbigin, Dylan Reid, Gervase Rosser, Nicholas Terpstra, Paul Trio, Anne-Laure Van Bruaene, Beata Wojciechowska, and Danilo Zardin.

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Reviews

The essays in this volume reveal the undeniable centrality of confraternities between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries. Each contribution raises possibilities for further research. Early modern political and legal history might benefit from considering confraternal influence on statutory law. Bianca Lopez, Southern Methodist University, in Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Reforme 43.2 (Spring 2020), pp. 371-373.

This is an excellent volume. [...] Any student of confraternities will profit from reading this book. D. Henry Dieterich, in: The Medieval Review, 21.01.10. The essays in this volume reveal the undeniable centrality of confraternities between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries. Each contribution raises possibilities for further research. Early modern political and legal history might benefit from considering confraternal influence on statutory law. Bianca Lopez, Southern Methodist University. In: Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Reforme 43.2 (Spring 2020), pp. 371-373. A brief review cannot do full justice to such a rich collection about the growing field of confraternity studies as approached from so many perspectives. Even with this rich tapestry, almost every chapter ends by suggesting areas for further research. Kenneth Jorgensen, Albertus Magnus College. In: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 73, No. 3 (Fall 2020), pp. 1085-1087 (doi:10.1017/rqx.2020.183) Confraternity studies have grown tremendously in the last thirty years and A Companion to Medieval and Early Modern Confraternities reflects the depth and width of that growth [...]. The team of scholars brought together by Konrad Eisenbichler for this volume highlights the strength and maturity of the scholarship of confraternity studies. A Companion to Medieval and Early Modern Confraternities provides an important guide into this important field of research. Mark A. Lewis, S.J., Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome). In: Journal of Jesuit Studies, Vol. 6, No. 4 (2019), pp. 707-710 (doi:10.1163/22141332-00604007-04)

Konrad Eisenbichler has brought together a team of scholars that details the development and strength of confraternity studies as well as showcases the lacunae in scholarship in certain aspects of confraternity studies. A Companion to Medieval and Early Modern Confraternities provides a guide to scholars interested in the study of the religious practices of the laity, the social assistance provided by confraternities, and the arts they sponsored. As a whole, it illustrates the richness and complexity of premodern confraternities and the many opportunities still open for further research. Scholars of medieval and early modern European culture will find this volume particularly useful for its detailed introduction to confraternity studies and its array of articles on various aspects of premodern lay religious associations. Nilab Ferozan, McMaster University. In Confraternitas, Vol. 31, No. 1 (2020), pp. 52-53. This is an excellent volume. [...] Any student of confraternities will profit from reading this book. D. Henry Dieterich, in: The Medieval Review, 21.01.10. The essays in this volume reveal the undeniable centrality of confraternities between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries. Each contribution raises possibilities for further research. Early modern political and legal history might benefit from considering confraternal influence on statutory law. Bianca Lopez, Southern Methodist University. In: Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Reforme, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Spring 2020), pp. 371-373. A brief review cannot do full justice to such a rich collection about the growing field of confraternity studies as approached from so many perspectives. Even with this rich tapestry, almost every chapter ends by suggesting areas for further research. Kenneth Jorgensen, Albertus Magnus College. In: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 73, No. 3 (Fall 2020), pp. 1085-1087 (doi:10.1017/rqx.2020.183) Confraternity studies have grown tremendously in the last thirty years and A Companion to Medieval and Early Modern Confraternities reflects the depth and width of that growth [...]. The team of scholars brought together by Konrad Eisenbichler for this volume highlights the strength and maturity of the scholarship of confraternity studies. A Companion to Medieval and Early Modern Confraternities provides an important guide into this important field of research. Mark A. Lewis, S.J., Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome). In: Journal of Jesuit Studies, Vol. 6, No. 4 (2019), pp. 707-710 (doi:10.1163/22141332-00604007-04)

Author Information

Konrad Eisenbichler (University of Toronto) works on the intersection of literature, politics, and religion in Renaissance Italy, with a special focus in how this intersection operates within early modern confraternities.

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