Confrérie de charité

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Page from the register of the Confrérie de charité Sainte-Croix in Bernay (16th century)

A Confrérie de charité ('Brotherhood of Mercy') is a Catholic brotherhood of lay people in a parish in Normandy , France . The fraternities are often called Charité for short in French and their members are Charitons . The brotherhoods are dedicated to the respective patron saint of their parish. Today there are 116 Confréries de charité in the Eure department , five in the Seine-Maritime department and 45 in the Pays d'Auge in the Calvados department . Their most important task is the funeral procession and the burial of deceased members of the parish. Brotherhoods similar to the Confréries de Charité also exist in other parts of France.

tasks

The original task of the Confréries de charité included the funeral procession and the funeral, the support of the brothers and their families in times of need, and help for the sick, widows and orphans. Some of the modern fraternities focus on funerals, while others are also devoted to charitable work. The brotherhoods still hold processions on the commemoration day of their respective saints .

construction

Clothing of an échevin

A Confrérie de charité consists of 10 to 15 members. The head of the brotherhood is called échevin (' aldermen '). The next in the order of precedence is the prévot (' provost '). The other Charitons are named according to their function. The tintenelliers lead the processions, calling the name of the deceased and ringing small bells, the clerc ('cleric') assists the pastor during mass , the others are frères ('brothers') without a fixed function. The term Frère is synonymous with Chariton . The lay judge only serves for one to three years, then the provost becomes a lay judge and one of the brothers becomes provost. The former jury is called antique . The title antique is awarded for life. After their service, the former brothers receive a certificate confirming their membership in the Confrérie de charité and guaranteeing them a free burial by the brotherhood.

history

Origins

The oldest Confréries de charité in Eure were founded in Menneval , Folleville and Landepéreuse in 1080, and in Orbec in Calvados as early as 1006. However, these dates are not verifiable because they were passed down orally. The first written statutes date from the end of the 14th century, for example the register of the Charité des Cordeliers von Bernay . The brotherhoods were of particular importance from 1348 to 1349 at the time of the Black Death . At that time, the brothers also attended funerals in other parishes, burned the deceased's clothes after the funeral and looked after his family. In the 15th century, the population suffered from the consequences of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). The 14th and 15th centuries were therefore the heyday of the Confréries de charité .

Page from 1682 in the register of the Sainte-Croix Brotherhood in Bernay

In the 16th century the brotherhoods were used for recatholicization in the course of the Counter Reformation . From the 17th century there were efforts by the church to monitor the independence of brotherhoods and later also to curtail it. The Church established rules that the brotherhoods had to adhere to. This was to prevent the brotherhoods from competing with the church. For example, when the new lay judge was inaugurated, bread and consecrated water were no longer allowed to be distributed.

According to Michel Bée, there were almost 900 Confréries de charité in Normandy at the beginning of the 18th century .

French Revolution

On August 18, 1792, the brotherhoods were dissolved in the course of de-Christianization by the French Revolution (1789–1799) and their property was confiscated. The lack of brotherhoods was a problem for the congregations. Some of the brotherhoods were reorganized as secular communities, others acted clandestinely underground. The Confrérie de charité de Sainte-Catherine of Honfleur called itself Citoyens servant volontairement pour les inhumations from 1793 (for example: 'Citizens who voluntarily organize funerals').

Concordat of 1801

In the course of the Concordat of 1801 , the Confréries de charité were allowed again. In 1805, Jean-Baptiste Boulier , Bishop of Évreux , published the rules of the Confréries de Charité . They were subordinate to the local national gendarmerie and the clergy . In 1842, Bishop Nicolas-Théodore Olivier issued new rules. He forbade the worship of crosses outside the church and the free choice of patron saint. Some brotherhoods then disbanded. In 1843 there were 550 Confréries de charité in the Diocese of Évreux.

Les Charitons by Louis-Émile Minet (1841–1923)

In the 19th century death was viewed more distantly, the family of the deceased came to the fore. The social differences now also became apparent in the rituals of the brotherhoods. The burials were free only for members of the fraternity and needy people or families. Other parishioners had to pay for the services. At the end of the 19th century, the Brotherhood of Sacquenville (Eure) offered three different versions of the burial, the particularly sumptuous burial cost 200 francs , the simple burial 60 francs and the free burial fewer brothers were present. The Sacquenville Brotherhood held a fundraising activity once a year in the ward. The donors were noted and then did not have to pay for the funeral. There were similar regulations with the other brotherhoods.

There had previously been minor internal penalties of one franc or a few centimes for brothers who did not behave appropriately during the ceremonies or who did not attend an event. In the 19th century the catalog of punishments was greatly expanded. In the Confrérie de charité of Goupillières (Eure) the list of penalties included 201 items with multiple paragraphs. There it cost, for example, 3 francs to drop the body of the dead because of drunkenness, only 2 francs if it was done out of clumsiness. The number of members fell due to the rural exodus in the second half of the 19th century.

reorganization

Charitons of the Confrérie de charité of Giverville

By law of December 28, 1904, the municipalities were responsible for organizing funerals. This was a measure in the course of the separation of church and state. Then the membership of the brotherhoods sank again significantly by the First World War (1914-1918).

In 1947, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the local Confrérie de Charité , a gathering of over 80 brotherhoods took place in Giverville . In 1948 the Union des Charités du diocèse d'Évreux was founded, an association of the brotherhoods of the diocese of Évreux. The brotherhoods of the Pays d'Auge founded an association of the Charités du diocèse de Bayeux in 1964 . Since then, the brotherhoods have met every five years. In 2005 over 700 brothers met in Le Bec-Hellouin .

The existence of the Confréries de charité is threatened today by the fact that the parishes are regrouped and churches are closed. In 1997 the 720 parishes of the Diocese of Bayeux were regrouped to 51 parishes. The brotherhoods feel connected to their communities. In addition, the members are getting older. In 1996 Fabienne Cosset asked 108 brothers from 10 brotherhoods about their age and profession. 40 percent were retired and 46 percent were over 60 years old. In the 19th century the brothers were much younger and mostly worked in agriculture, where they could organize their time themselves. In the meantime, many brotherhoods have to call for help from other villagers because the brothers can no longer carry the coffin.

Martine Segalen explains the survival of the Confréries de charité in rural areas by saying that deaths still interest the whole village. The burial ritual has changed, however; it no longer begins at the house of the deceased, but in the church. Most brotherhoods have modernized their internal rules. Some fraternities burial for free again, others charge low fees that are far below those of normal funeral directors. Occasionally there are new Confréries de charité . In Eure, the Manneville-sur-Risle Brotherhood was founded in 1992, La Trinité-de-Réville in 1995 and Fontaine-Bellenger in 2010.

Utils

dress

Two sashes and a tappert

In the 19th century, the clothing consisted of the brothers from the black soutanelle that a cassock recalls, but shorter and wider, a Geneva bands , a square black beret with embroidered edge, a cap and a scarf , which laid over the left shoulder and fastened on the right side at waist level . The sashes became wider, more colorful and more decorated over the centuries. The face and hands of the patron saint of the brotherhood were painted on canvas and sewn onto the sash, the saint's clothes were embroidered, and fantasy motifs made of gold or silver thread twined around it . Particularly wealthy brotherhoods had two sets of sashes. The tintenelliers wear a type of dalmatic called tabard (' tappert '). The tappert is richly embroidered. Today mostly only the sash, sometimes the tappert, is worn.

Other items

Processional candlesticks

During processions, the brothers carry painted candlesticks, small figures of saints or crosses on long poles. The candlesticks are called toulie . Others carry embroidered flags. The flags are provided with the names of the brotherhoods and show the respective saint on the front and the Virgin Mary on the reverse . The years on the flags correspond either to the year the brotherhood was founded or the year the flag was made.

The maison de charité of Saint-Cyr-de-Salerne

Other important objects of the brotherhoods are: a plate for the collection , a register in which the names of the Charitons are recorded and which is called the matrologue , a chest with three locks, an embroidered towel and a hearse . The jury, the provost and the clerc own the keys to the chest . In the 18th century the chests had two locks, the keys were owned by the pastor of the village and the aldermen. This was to prevent the brotherhoods from organizing processions or funerals on their own initiative. A shed behind the church or a small hut called maison de charité ('House of Mercy') was used to store the objects . Some of these buildings still exist.

Female Charitons

As early as the 16th century there were brotherhoods that consisted only of women. Their tasks were of a purely social nature, they were not allowed to assist in church services, conduct funerals, wear no sashes and were not allowed to participate in the internal celebrations of the brotherhoods. Only the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) allowed female acolytes . Today there are mixed brotherhoods and women are allowed to wear a sash, but they are not allowed to carry the coffin .

Brotherhoods in other parts of France

Seat of the Confrérie des Charitables de Saint-Éloi in Béthune
Procession of the white penitents from Avignon

In northern France, especially in the Artois , there are so-called Confréries des Charitables . The Charitable of Béthune and Beuvry was founded in 1188 and today still hosts around 300 funerals a year. The members of the Charitables do not wear sashes as distinctive clothing, but two-pointed ends . In 2011 over 500 members from over 70 Confréries de charité met in Fourmetot near Pont-Audemer for a procession followed by a mass. The Charitable of Béthune and Beuvry also took part.

The Confréries de pénitents ('Brotherhood of Penitents') have existed in the south of France since the end of the 17th century , for example in Avignon, Carpentras and Nice . They wear ropes as belts and a hooded habit that covers their faces. Her main focus is on "good deeds", including funerals. At the beginning of the 20th century, the remaining Confréries de pénitents founded the Association of Confréries du Midi . In 1975 there were still thirty of these brotherhoods.

literature

  • Adolphe-André Porée : Le registre de la Charité des Cordeliers de Bernay . E. Cagniard, 1887 ( online ).
  • Martine Segalen: Rituels funéraires en Normandie . In: Archives de Sciences Sociales des Religions . tape 39 , no. 1 , 1975, p. 79-88 , doi : 10.3406 / assr . 1975.2768 .
  • Association de Recherche sur la Sociabilité Musées départementaux de la Seine-Maritime (ed.): La sociabilité en Normandie . Publication Univ Rouen Havre, Rouen 1983, ISBN 978-2-902618-51-4 , pp. 15–122 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  • Michel Bée: Religion, culture et société: les conférences en Normandie, XVIIe-XXe siècles . In: P. Chaunu, A. Corvisier (eds.): Histoire, économie et société . tape 11 , no. 2 , 1992, p. 277-293 , doi : 10.3406 / hes.1992.1635 .
  • A. Roguès: Archives de Normandie . La Charité de Sacquenville. In: Jacques Borgé, Nicolas Viasnoff (eds.): Archives de la France . Éditions Michèle Trinckvel, 1993, ISBN 2-85132-028-9 , p. 174-177 (French).
  • Fabienne Cosset: Confréries de charité en Normandie . Enquete en Pays d'Auge. In: Center Régional de Culture Ethnologique et technique de Basse-Normandie (ed.): Les carnets d'ici . C.Ré.CET, Caen 1999, ISBN 2-9508601-5-X (French).
  • Edwige Jayet, Renée Roussel: Confluence 2011 . entre Risle et Vièvre Patrimoine méconnu du Lieuvin. Ed .: Amis des Monuments et Sites de l'Eure. Brionne 2011, p. 6-13 (French).

Web links

Commons : Confréries de charité  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Confréries de charité en Normandie p. 3
  2. ↑ Confréries de charité en Normandie p. 12
  3. ↑ a b Confluence 2011 p. 12
  4. ↑ Archives de Normandie p. 174
  5. ↑ Archives de Normandie pp. 174–177
  6. ↑ Confluence 2011 p. 7
  7. ↑ Rituels funéraires en Normandie p. 81
  8. ↑ Archives de Normandie p. 176f
  9. ↑ Confréries de charité en Normandie p. 23f
  10. ↑ Rituels funéraires en Normandie, pp. 80f
  11. ↑ Le registre de la Charité des Cordeliers de Bernay p. 4
  12. ↑ Confluence 2011 p. 6
  13. ↑ Confréries de charité en Normandie p. 8
  14. ↑ Confréries de charité en Normandie p. 14f
  15. ↑ Confréries de charité en Normandie p. 9
  16. ↑ a b Confluence 2011 p. 11
  17. ↑ Confréries de charité en Normandie p. 21
  18. ↑ Confréries de charité en Normandie p. 16f
  19. ↑ Rituels funéraires en Normandie p. 82f
  20. ↑ Rituels funéraires en Normandie p. 83
  21. ↑ Archives de Normandie pp. 174–176
  22. ↑ Rituels funéraires en Normandie p. 84
  23. ↑ Archives de Normandie p. 176
  24. ↑ Rituels funéraires en Normandie, pp. 84f
  25. ^ Historique des services funéraires. (No longer available online.) In: cpfm.fr. Confédération des Professionels du Funéraire et de la Marbrerie, archived from the original on October 6, 2011 ; Retrieved September 12, 2011 (French).
  26. ↑ Confréries de charité en Normandie p. 19
  27. ↑ Confréries de charité en Normandie p. 20
  28. ↑ Confréries de charité en Normandie p. 28f
  29. ↑ Rituels funéraires en Normandie, pp. 85f
  30. ↑ Entry of all chaperons de confrérie in the Base Palissy of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  31. ↑ Confluence 2011 p. 8
  32. ^ Religion, culture et société, p. 278
  33. ↑ L'écriture Au Moyen Age. (PDF; 3.2 MB) Les confréries de charité. (No longer available online.) In: musees-haute-normandie.fr. Musée des Beaux-Arts Bernay, pp. 1 + 7 , formerly the original ; Retrieved September 15, 2011 (French).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.musees-haute-normandie.fr
  34. ↑ Confrerie de charité en Normandie p. 14
  35. ↑ Confréries de charité en Normandie p. 29
  36. ↑ La legend des charitables. Joël Depretz, September 24, 2010, accessed September 19, 2011 (French).
  37. ↑ Des charités bien dans leur temps. (PDF; 3.7 MB) In: Paris Normandie. June 8, 2011, accessed September 24, 2011 (French).
  38. ^ Maintenance des Confréries de pénitents. In: penitents-confrerie.org. Confréries de Pénitents de langue d'Oc, accessed on September 22, 2011 (French).
  39. ↑ Confréries de charité en Normandie pp. 12-14