Confraternity studies have expanded enormously in recent years. Traditionally the almost exclusive domain of local historians and clerical authors, confraternities have come to the attention of a much larger group of historians, art historians and sociologists. These scholars have begun to understand that the study of the institution, membership, practices and ideology of confraternities can offer a fresh look on a wide range of issues fundamental for the Old Regime such as devotion, charity, sociability, civic ritual, art patronage etc. Confraternity studies prove themselves also essential in the evaluation of the grand narratives of historical change, such as the theses on civilisation, confessionalisation, moral discipline and, more recently, social capital. After all, confraternities offered to large groups of Catholic men and women of often ordinary backgrounds a venue for a sophisticated social and spiritual life beyond the household and the parish.

The volume under review takes these considerations to heart. The eighteen contributions (in French and Italian) were first presented at a conference held in Rome in 2003, organised as a joint initiative of the Centre d'histoire ‘Espaces et cultures’ (Université Blaise-Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand), the Università degli studi of Milan and the Centre d'anthropologie religieuse européenne (EHESS), and supported by the École française in Rome. In the introduction and conclusion, the editors laud the growing versatility of confraternity studies, but underline that the interest of this volume is religion, and more particularly religious transformation in the early modern period. To avoid the clichés that rise from a too strict institutionalisation of historical periods, the volume privileges a chronology that goes beyond what the French call ‘les temps modernes’: the fifteenth century and the early nineteenth century are also included. Geographically, the focus is on the confraternal movement in the territories of present-day Italy and France. This perspective is broadened, however, with contributions on confraternities in the colonial (Hispanic) world by Bernard Vincent and Pierre Ragon.

The editors particularly insist on the renewal of methodology by the tapping of new sources and the phrasing of new questionnaires. Two approaches particularly stand out. In the first place, there is a strong focus on the printed book as the new medium par excellence of the early modern period (see in particular the contributions of Roberto Rusconi, Philippe Martin and Marie-Hélène Froeschlé-Chopard). Initially, the medium of print was used to publicise the statutes and indulgences of confraternities. Increasingly, however, the differences between confraternity books per se and devotional books in general became less clear as the first also recorded more universal spiritual admonitions and exercises. This, of course, signals an important transformation in the meaning of the brotherhood (or sisterhood) offered by early modern confraternities. In line with Counter-Reformation ideology, gradually individual spirituality came to be valued more highly than the religious sociability that had been so typical of the late medieval period.

In the second place, the editors of the volume point at the importance of Rome in the development of the spirituality and religious practices of early modern confraternities. Of course, Rome and early modern Catholicism are almost synonymic. But the observation is very relevant for confraternity studies, since, traditionally, these studies tend to favour local or at least regional sources and therefore often remain silent on the ties with the Catholic epicentre. In addition, narratives on confraternal history that take into account Roman policies are often negative in tone. They underline that the clerical hierarchy distrusted confraternities as traditionally they were the product of lay initiative and promoted adherence to local and – measured by Roman standards – often dubious cults. Yet, as this volume shows, the perspective can also be turned around: the higher level of control deemed necessary by the Catholic hierarchy caused a reorganisation of many confraternities and a renewal of confraternal spirituality. Existing and new confraternities were expected to recognise the authority of the Roman archconfraternities and adhere to cults promoted by Rome such as, for example, those of the Holy Sacrament or the Sacred Heart. Papal indulgences were a strong motivator in this process and a means to ensure the ongoing negotiation between local confraternal elites and Rome. Taken as a whole, the religious agency of lay believers was limited in early modern Catholicism, but at the same time its continuation was guaranteed by the framework that the restyled confraternities offered.

Taken as a whole, this volume presents a fine collection of contributions that illustrate the complexity of the early modern confraternal movement and its relevance for religious and cultural history in general. Implicitly, the challenges for future research are also made obvious. In a footnote in the conclusion, the editors acknowledge that there is also a vibrant Anglo-Saxon tradition in confraternity studies. Yet, none of its protagonists have contributed to this volume. This is all the more remarkable since the best and most pioneering work on early modern confraternities by English-speaking scholars has been done on Italian confraternities. I cite, for example, the work of Nicholas Terpstra and Konrad Eisenbichler on Bologna and Firenze respectively or the thoughtful synthesis on Italian confraternities in the sixteenth century by Christopher Black. Recently, this English-speaking network of scholars has published a collective volume on early modern confraternities that tackles many of the same questions as are discussed in the volume under review (Christopher Black and Pamela Gravestock [eds], Early modern confraternities in Europe and the Americas: international and interdisciplinary perspectives, Ashgate 2006). The relevance of confraternity studies needs no longer to be argued. It is now time to reach over the borders of historiographical traditions and fuse research agendas to come to a more comprehensive understanding of this all-important cultural phenomenon.