Cofradías y ciudad en la España del siglo XVIII

Abstract

Confraternities are a popular religious creation well established in early modern Spain both in urban and rural areas. Nevertheless, it was in the cities that they had their main growth and they achieved a more perfect status. This paper considers the status of confraternities in the main Spanish cities, according to the report enforced by the government during the reign of Carlos III. Some topics as different religious devotions, in parish churches and monasteries, are analyzed. The paper pays attention to specific features of urban confraternities: privileged people (the nobility and the clergy) and social elite, the weight of guilds, the creation of new religious patterns, confraternity realizations into the worship and the public holidays, as well as their activities with regard to the underprivileged.