1710 · Parma
by CONFRATERNITY STATUTES, WOMEN —
Parma: Paolo Monti, 1710. 4to (202 x 150 mm). [8], 144 pages. Shoulder-notes. Woodcut title vignette, woodcut (and typographic) head- and tailpiece ornaments and initial. (Small stain to penultimate leaf, else fine.) Contemporary flexible pasteboards covered in white on gold floral and foliate Brokatpapier. ***
Rare statutes and rules of the charitable confraternity of Cremona, with the rules of the entirely feminine Casa del Soccorso in Cremona. Both were previously published in 1598, in separate editions. Typically of charitable lay confraternities, the charitable brothers wished to do well, but not in any way that would challenge the status quo. This is here most vividly embodied in the punish-the-victim method of addressing the massive problem of harassment and sexual exploitation of women.
The Cremona Compagnia della Carità was one of three lay confraternities which, from the late 16th to the late 18th century, met in the Barnabite convent next to the church of San Giacomo & San Vincenzo. The thirty chapters of Part 1 of these rules and guidelines cover admission criteria of new members, the proper spiritual and mental disposition for charitable works, members’ charitable duties (helping the poor, the sick, prisoners, and “above all” rescuing young girls who are in danger of losing their “onestà,” by sending them to the Casa del Soccorso), their religious obligations, periodicity and reasons for the confraternity’s assemblies (Congregazioni), 14 benefits of providing charity (including indulgences, and the promise of eternal life), collection and modes of distribution of alms, Pope Gregory’s counsels for administering charity, guidelines for visiting the sick and prisoners and for burying the dead, how to handle fights among the recipients of charity, the delicate matter of “fraternal correction,” general remarks on the administration of the Casa del Soccorso, and bequests and benefactors. Part 2 describes the various officials of the Confraternity, and their elections: the Protector was the local Bishop, the Rector was a chosen cleric, and the rest were laymen: President, treasurer, chancellor (an archivist-secretary), overseer of the oratorio, visitor of prisons (a special charge), etc. The rules conclude with a list of the privileges and indulgences accorded to the confraternity by various popes.
Described in a separate section, with its own half-title, is the Casa di Soccorso (Rescue Home) of Cremona. Founded in 1587 by the Compagnia della Carità, who funded and governed it, it was a temporary home for disadvantaged girls and young women (aged 10 to 30), often orphans or daughters of widows, but also Jewish girls or women who wished to convert to Christianity. The admission criteria and the rules of daily life are strikingly negative: these paragraphs are literally filled with NOs. Admitted were: no foreigners (only citizens of Cremona), no non-virgins (except in certain, egregious cases [of rape], which one can imagine depended mainly on the victim’s family connections), no girls even at risk of losing their virginity (understood: no daughters of prostitutes), no physically infirm or in any way physically challenged girls; none too headstrong, none with mental illness; and none — or almost none — admitted against their wills, certain exceptions being made, upon a united decision of the Regents, to avoid scandal or “any other disorder,” as long as the unwilling girl was admitted quickly.
The boring days of these young women, occupied by prayer, needlework, a few hymns, and pious reading (recommended are the Life of the Virgin and works by Gerson, Luis de Granada, and Diego de Estella), were filled with no-nos: no giggling, no looking around at meals, no complaining about the food, no talking privately, no one-on-one friendships, no being alone with another girl, no touching, no going outside without permission, no receiving visitors without authorization, etc. After eight months to a year, the rescued girls were set free — to be married or enter a convent, or, if neither of those options was available, to enter service. The Casa provided dowries, and contracted with employers, who agreed to pay a fine if the girls were abused or maltreated.
The second part of this last section is devoted to the governance of the Casa. The regents were all male members of the Confraternity, but women were appointed to supervise the internal workings of the home: four noblewomen to act as supervisors, a Madre or headmistress, her second in command (a Vicaria), and various specialized authorities (teacher, nurse, head housekeeper, etc.). This section also contains guidelines for the headmistress of appropriate punishments of recalcitrant or misbehaving girls. Other than a few humiliating acts of penitence such as having to lick the floor in the sign of the cross (for telling lies), these counsels are reasonable, urging dispassion, objectivity (requiring careful fact-checking of any accusations), and a careful balance between mercy and effectiveness. Physical punishments like beating are excluded.
ICCU and OCLC locate no copies of either edition outside Europe. ICCU ITICCULO1E�53137. (Inventory #: 4399)
Rare statutes and rules of the charitable confraternity of Cremona, with the rules of the entirely feminine Casa del Soccorso in Cremona. Both were previously published in 1598, in separate editions. Typically of charitable lay confraternities, the charitable brothers wished to do well, but not in any way that would challenge the status quo. This is here most vividly embodied in the punish-the-victim method of addressing the massive problem of harassment and sexual exploitation of women.
The Cremona Compagnia della Carità was one of three lay confraternities which, from the late 16th to the late 18th century, met in the Barnabite convent next to the church of San Giacomo & San Vincenzo. The thirty chapters of Part 1 of these rules and guidelines cover admission criteria of new members, the proper spiritual and mental disposition for charitable works, members’ charitable duties (helping the poor, the sick, prisoners, and “above all” rescuing young girls who are in danger of losing their “onestà,” by sending them to the Casa del Soccorso), their religious obligations, periodicity and reasons for the confraternity’s assemblies (Congregazioni), 14 benefits of providing charity (including indulgences, and the promise of eternal life), collection and modes of distribution of alms, Pope Gregory’s counsels for administering charity, guidelines for visiting the sick and prisoners and for burying the dead, how to handle fights among the recipients of charity, the delicate matter of “fraternal correction,” general remarks on the administration of the Casa del Soccorso, and bequests and benefactors. Part 2 describes the various officials of the Confraternity, and their elections: the Protector was the local Bishop, the Rector was a chosen cleric, and the rest were laymen: President, treasurer, chancellor (an archivist-secretary), overseer of the oratorio, visitor of prisons (a special charge), etc. The rules conclude with a list of the privileges and indulgences accorded to the confraternity by various popes.
Described in a separate section, with its own half-title, is the Casa di Soccorso (Rescue Home) of Cremona. Founded in 1587 by the Compagnia della Carità, who funded and governed it, it was a temporary home for disadvantaged girls and young women (aged 10 to 30), often orphans or daughters of widows, but also Jewish girls or women who wished to convert to Christianity. The admission criteria and the rules of daily life are strikingly negative: these paragraphs are literally filled with NOs. Admitted were: no foreigners (only citizens of Cremona), no non-virgins (except in certain, egregious cases [of rape], which one can imagine depended mainly on the victim’s family connections), no girls even at risk of losing their virginity (understood: no daughters of prostitutes), no physically infirm or in any way physically challenged girls; none too headstrong, none with mental illness; and none — or almost none — admitted against their wills, certain exceptions being made, upon a united decision of the Regents, to avoid scandal or “any other disorder,” as long as the unwilling girl was admitted quickly.
The boring days of these young women, occupied by prayer, needlework, a few hymns, and pious reading (recommended are the Life of the Virgin and works by Gerson, Luis de Granada, and Diego de Estella), were filled with no-nos: no giggling, no looking around at meals, no complaining about the food, no talking privately, no one-on-one friendships, no being alone with another girl, no touching, no going outside without permission, no receiving visitors without authorization, etc. After eight months to a year, the rescued girls were set free — to be married or enter a convent, or, if neither of those options was available, to enter service. The Casa provided dowries, and contracted with employers, who agreed to pay a fine if the girls were abused or maltreated.
The second part of this last section is devoted to the governance of the Casa. The regents were all male members of the Confraternity, but women were appointed to supervise the internal workings of the home: four noblewomen to act as supervisors, a Madre or headmistress, her second in command (a Vicaria), and various specialized authorities (teacher, nurse, head housekeeper, etc.). This section also contains guidelines for the headmistress of appropriate punishments of recalcitrant or misbehaving girls. Other than a few humiliating acts of penitence such as having to lick the floor in the sign of the cross (for telling lies), these counsels are reasonable, urging dispassion, objectivity (requiring careful fact-checking of any accusations), and a careful balance between mercy and effectiveness. Physical punishments like beating are excluded.
ICCU and OCLC locate no copies of either edition outside Europe. ICCU ITICCULO1E�53137. (Inventory #: 4399)
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