ANDALUSIAN CONFRATERNITIES AT THE END OF THE MIDDLE AGES AND THE ORIGIN OF PENITENTIAL PROCESSIONS

In the first part of this work we define Andalusian brotherhoods and expose their main characteristics. We especially study their social composition and the numerous charitable activities that they developed. Those made them enjoy an indisputable role in the societies in which they were inserted. In a second section, we focus on the analysis of the phenomenon of public discipline. This practice definitely changed the nature and vocation of medieval brotherhoods during the Baroque. We analyze the theological bases of the flagellation and its diffusion through popular religiosity. We illustrate it with two very significant examples, the Brotherhoods of the Blood of Seville and Malaga 1 .


ANDALUSIAN CONFRATERNITIES AT THE END OF THE MIDDLE AGES AND THE ORIGIN OF PENITENTIAL PROCESSIONS
In the first part of this work we define Andalusian brotherhoods and expose their main characteristics. We especially study their social composition and the numerous charitable activities that they developed. Those made them enjoy an indisputable role in the societies in which they were inserted. In a second section, we focus on the analysis of the phenomenon of public discipline. This practice definitely changed the nature and vocation of medieval brotherhoods during the Baroque. We analyze the theological bases of the flagellation and its diffusion through popular religiosity. We illustrate it with two very significant examples, the Brotherhoods of the Blood of Seville and Malaga 1 .

Introduction 1
In this work we study the Andalusian brotherhoods of the Late Middle Ages in two main sections. On the one hand, we define these institutions and expose their main characteristics. In a second section we focus on the analysis of the phenomenon of public discipline which definitely changed the nature and vocation of medieval brotherhoods during the Baroque.
The documentation used for this work is made up by 18 rules belonging to Andalusian Confraternities of the True Cross, all of them written during the 16 th century in different dioceses: Diocese of Cádiz: El Puerto de Santa María (1548, 1566) and Espera (1578) Scholars have often considered confraternities' statutes to be one of the main sources of information on the life and organisation of lay religious organi zations. Despite the fact that there are considerable differences between the normative models and the actual daily practices of confraternities, regulations adopted by confraternities do allow us to reconstruct the ideal experience and spirituality of these associations.
Affidavits of Jerez de la Frontera between 1302 and 1504 are the other documentation on which our work is based. Affidavits, unlike the rules, show us more social aspects of brotherhoods in their everyday practice. Therefore they are and excellent source to know other aspects which rules do not refer to. We reference them indicating the documentary collection from what they come, the date and the page.
The joining of these sources and the specialized bibliography has allowed us to build a fairly complete global overview of what Andalusian brotherhoods were like at the end of the Middle Ages. Also we can present their main activities in society and their evolution to the Baroque brotherhood. In the case of Andalusia this model of confraternity did not appear until the beginning on the 17 th century. In that moment the norms emanating from the Council of Trent were applied and acquired full force. As a result, the model of brotherhood that we study in this work began its extinction.

Definitions
The brotherhood from the thirteenth century to mid sixteenth century is defined very generally as an association of people, men and women, priests and laypeople, belonging or not to the same work, guild or stratum, who joined for different aims: merciful, professional, social, political, leisure or penitential. It had a more or less extensive organization and was under the patronage of a patron saint or protector 3 .
In this period brotherhoods were the authentically secular ecclesiastical institutions 4 . The laypeople who belonged to them not only had the obligation to shut up and pay, but they were active members of Church and God's people 5 .
We use the terms of brotherhood and confraternity equally. Therefore it is necessary a terminological clarification about these concepts. The current Canon Law Code canon 298 says: "In the Church there are associations distinct from institutions of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life; in these associations the Christian faithful, whether clerics, lay persons, or clerics and lay persons together, strive in a common endeavor to foster a more perfect life, to promote public worship or Christian doctrine, or to exercise other works of the apostolate such as initiatives of evangelization, works of piety or charity, and those which animate the temporal order with a Christian spirit". 6 This definition is completed by others canons like 305: "All associations of Christian faithful are subject to the vigilance of competent ecclesiastical authority" 7 . As you can appreciate the current ecclesiastical hierarchy only uses the term "associations" but not confraternity or brotherhood and defines them very broadly. But the previous Canon Law Code which was promulgated in 1917 distinguished between different kind of confraternities and between confraternities 3. Further more information: Sánchez Herrero, José. Las diócesis del Reino de León. Siglos XIV y XV. León: Fuentes y Estudios de Historia Leonesa, 1978; "El origen de las cofradías de Semana Santa o de Pasión en la Península Ibérica". Temas Medievales, 6 (1996) and brotherhoods. Canon 707: Associations of the Christian faithful which were founded to develop pious or charity jobs are called pious associations. If they were constituted as an organic bodies are called brotherhoods. And the brotherhoods which were founded to increase the public worship are called confraternities.
So we deduce that the association which was constituted as an organic body and its aim was to do charity or piety jobs is a brotherhood. But if the brotherhood is dedicated to public worship is a confraternity. We can illustrate this affirmation with a document from Jerez de la Frontera dated on 23 rd of June of 1392: "And I give to the confraternity of the brotherhood of Saint Salvador of which I'm a brother ten reales" 8 . So We deduce that the Hospital of Saint Salvador from Jerez was a charitable institution which was looked after by a brotherhood. When the brotherhood celebrated worships the brotherhood became a confraternity. Therefore we conclude that the confraternities which looked after a hospital were brotherhoods so We can use the terms brotherhood and confraternity equally 9 .

Main characteristics of Andalusian brotherhoods
The devotion to the Precious Blood, together with the cult of the True Cross and the appearance of flagellants 10 (groups of people who made public discipline) were responsible for the birth of penitential brotherhoods in Spain. These associations were mainly composed of laypersons. They were born at the end of the Middle Ages but began to practise public discipline during the first part of the 16 th century 11 . Every brotherhood was dedicated to a specific devotion. The most important ones, andalusian confraternities at the end of the middle ages 357 as we have mentioned, were the True Cross and the Holy Blood. We will refer to Andalusian confraternities, given that this region can be used as a model to study brotherhoods from all Spain during this period.
We can study these brotherhoods using different types of documentation, such us notarial protocols 12 or their own rules 13 . Brotherhoods were very simple: they were controlled by a little group of people 14 and their members, men and women 15 , usually live close to each other. These members had to pay different fees in order to become part of the brotherhood. There were two main purposes: charity and public discipline.
Studying social composition in confraternities during this period is not easy given that there are few sources of information. Brotherhoods usually preserve books to register all their members, but they are common from the 17 th century. Fraternities' rules do not offer this type of data, so it is necessary to use other sources such as notarial protocols, as we have already mentioned. According to notarial documentation 16 we can know several aspects on this matter.
Fraternities' members were normally related to the same profession. We can say that brotherhoods worked as a religious extension of guilds, and given that they mostly lived in towns their members were part of the secondary sector of the economy, that is, they were artisans. However, we can also find some members of the primary sector (fruit sellers, gardeners, farmers, sailors, fishers...) or the tertiary sector and liberal arts (surgeons, pharmacists, notaries, barbers, merchants...).
In spite of what we have seen, at the end of the 15 th century some confraternities began to open their doors to people from other professional sectors. In Seville we can find several examples: in some cases this evolution was more important and the percentage of members who belonged to the original profession was not very high. That is the case of the Brotherhood of Saint Isidore, belonging to wineskin 12  Clergy could also establish their own confraternities or join other ones 19 . Andalusian priesthood was present in the life and activities of fraternities. A lot of members of the secular priesthood and those from the regular priesthood, specially from the Franciscan order, wanted to experience this kind of spirituality. When they joined fraternities, priests had to observe a number of obligations and perform certain functions (such as celebrating masses or funerals), whereas they enjoyed some benefits which differentiated them from the rest of members 20 .
Women could join confraternities and take part in them. It was not usual, but we can find cases in which they participated in fraternities' administration. Apart from that, links between women and confraternities in medieval Andalusia were extraordinarily rich. These links were related to economic, social and, specially, welfare relations, which were one of the main factors to explain the extraordinary success experimented by confraternities during the end of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. But there were also links which connected women and were distributed according to the following activities: textile (43.83%), leather (18.90%), metal (11.50%), wood (8.49%), building (6.30%), art (3.83%), wax (2.46%), food (2.19%), ceramic (1.91%) and books (0.13%). This information totally agrees with other studies on Sevillian professions at the end of the Middle Ages 17 . In spite of what we have seen, at the end of the 15th century some confraternities began to open their doors to people from other professional sectors. In Seville we can find several examples: in some cases this evolution was more important and the percentage of members who belonged to the original profession was not very high. That is the case of the Brotherhood of Saint Isidore, belonging to wineskin makers. At the andalusian confraternities at the end of the middle ages 359 confraternities during the afterlife, trough a wide range of religious dispositions present in testaments 21 .

Sectors
In order to carry out their activities, fraternities obtained money from several sources. Using notarial documentation we can study most of them 22 . Brotherhoods received a lot of properties (houses and lands) from people who donated them in their testaments. They could also receive professional instruments and tools. Fraternities used these donations to rent and sell them, and this way they obtained more money. Although notarial documents do not talk about alms as a main economic resource, confraternities' rules mention them in several cases 23 . People donated money and properties to brotherhoods. In return, fraternities prayed for their souls and celebrated masses for them and their families, specially for those ones who had passed away.

Hospitals
Most of confraternities had a hospital and this is an important issue that We find in the documentation. In fact all of them are called hospital and confraternity of… in documentation from Seville 24 . It is obvious that theses associations had a charitable aim and they were called confraternities. So the term confraternity can be used with two meanings: charitable and for celebrating worships.
The institutions where the confraternities developed their charitable activities were their hospitals 25 . Most of these hospitals were small and worked equally as hospitals to take care of ill people, inns where travelers could sleep and old people's homes. In addition according to their religious nature these hospitals had immunity from civil authorities. Therefore some people looked for protection in them 26 . The origin 27 of the hospitals of the brotherhoods and confraternities was varied. The hospitals of the guilds were born from the own way fi having a place where to develop mutual assistance, to celebrate meetings and other items related to their profession, besides to celebrate worships.
In the case of charity brotherhoods and confraternities the hospitals were built by the efforts of the brothers. They bought and built the houses for the hospitals. Most of these brothers were modest people and had a deep religious feeling which was the main reason to join and found the hospital. We have documented a good example of this affirmation. The brothers of the brotherhood of Santa Maria del Pilar from Jerez de la Frontera were involved in a lawsuit for a house which was next to their hospital and they wanted to buy it to take more poor people in 28 .
Some hospitals were founded in a building donated by individuals. Although the confraternity was responsible for the proper operation of the hospital, the first step was private but only as an initial effort and without properties for the hospital maintenance. An example is the hospital of Santa Maria from Jerez de la Frontera which was founded by Gil de Hinojosa, Martín de Hinojosa and his wife Maria Sánchez 1362. Its purpose was to welcome poor pilgrims giving them a bed to sleep in 29 . This hospital was born from private donation and the interest of the confraternity to have a hospital.
Most of brotherhoods and confraternities which we have studied were born as or ended up being institutions with a hospital. But it is very important the definition made before. These hospitals were inns, poor people's homes, a center where to celebrate meetings of the brotherhoods and a place where to develop charitable actions as giving alms, dowries for poor girls, burials for poor people and so on. Even more other activities which weren't care or sanitary based took place in the hospitals.
We can do a split between different types of hospitals according to their purpose 30 : a. Hospitals belonging to guilds or people with similar profession. Their only charitable actions were developed between their members, helping his companions in case of illness, paying funeral for dead members, giving aid to their widows and orphans etc. In addition professional activities were developed in these hospitals belonging to guilds. b. Hospitals belonging to charitable brotherhoods. They were assistance centers through which brotherhoods developed charitable activities. One can make a difference between brotherhoods which celebrated offices and developed andalusian confraternities at the end of the middle ages 361 charity in their hospitals not having assistance obligations and brotherhoods which developed charity especially with poor people. The broader charitable activity included giving home, beds 31 and clothes, distributing alms, treating poor people if they were ill and burying them if they died. All was paid at the expense of the hospital. For these activities hospitals belonging to brotherhoods received donations to pay expenses. These donations were destinated to the institution or to people who were in it.
We We want to emphasize the donations made to the Brotherhood of the sisters of the Confraternity of Santa Maria of the Yellow Candles which was integrated only by women. It was very important that this Brotherhood had a hospital for women because medical coverage was very limited for women from the end of the Middle Ages to the end of the sixteenth century. There were fourteen hospitals in Jerez during this period but only three admitted women: the Hospital of El Pilar took care of women with fever, the Hospital of Saint Pedro and the Hospital of Saint Catalina took two poor women in and the Hospital of the Conception in the neighborhood of Saint Marcos accepted old women. After the process of reduction of hospitals at the end of the sixteenth century the Hospital of the Conception remained. After this one only the Hospital of the Blood of Christ took care of ill and pilgrim women 38 .
About donations of money for the poor people who were in the hospital, we have the case of Catalina Fernandez, Juan Sanchez's wife, donated to the Hospital of El Pilar 100 maravedis from the rent of a house which she had in the neighborhood of 31 The hospital was attended by nurses or people responsible for it. The most illustrative example is the Hospital of the Blood of Christ and the donation made by Francisco os Hinojosa to give it a staff of nurses. This donation is in a document dated on 12 th of February of 1519. Francisco of Hinojosa donated some properties in the countryside to be rented out. With this money the Hospital would hire a married couple to take care of ill people, to clean the Hospital related to infirmary, latrines, clothes of beds and tables, hygienic practices that should be dispensed to the sick people, to attend terminal ill people and spiritual care of them (confession, communion, keeping candles of the Holy Sacrament lit and cleaned).
It isn't easy to know the structure of the hospitals because one only have descriptions and blueprints of the Hospital of the Blood of Christ. At this moment the building remains in Taxdirt Street and works as residence for old people. But We can't say almost anything about the rest of hospitals. We only can affirm that their structure and capacity were in direct proportion to the devotion that the confraternity and its patron saints had because donations depended on it.
Some hospitals had a special patronage for example the Hospital of Zurita by the elder relative of this lineage 41 . But most of hospitals depended on confraternities and were managed by the brothers. They designated one member of the brotherhood who was responsible for the good operation of the hospital. Sometimes there was a rotation in the position between brothers for certain periods.
But the ecclesiastical hierarchy developed a overlooked action on the hospitals. Its jurisdiction covered all ecclesiastical institutions and confraternities should receive the visit of the bishop delegate. But these inspections didn't work in terms of their periodicity and effectiveness. This absence of control favored a relaxation in the charitable action.

Burials and funeral honors
The second great charitable activity developed by confraternities was the accompaniment of the burials and the celebration of funeral honors 42  death men had a series of attitudes which they hoped would secure his salvation preparing for the good death. They resorted to testamentary dispositions 44 and donations to ensure the salvation of their soul after death. This aid was also sought in the brotherhoods because people came together to respond to the problem of the end of earthly life 45 and the existence of the great beyond. Man associated with others looking for answers to the problem of death and the afterlife.
During the period studied the feeling about death was the same 46 . All testaments have the same diagram and identical conceptions. The only difference can be found in the number of religious provisions.
First confraternities developed their funeral services for their brothers because they were forced to by their rules. But there were an important number of people not belonging to a confraternity who paid some money or granted a property to be buried by a brotherhood. These people gave money, buildings, assets or rural properties for this service. This predominance of references related to no brothers is easy to explain. In the case of brothers they had this right as members of the brotherhood and they only had to make a reminder in their last wills.
Confraternities make a clear distinction between the people to whom they gave this service, establishing defined categories: brothers and wives of brothers, sons of brothers, paying customers, parents and in law, outdoor staff, charity cases and slaves. The rights of burial went down in direct proportion to the personal relationships.
When the confraternities learn to a brother's death the announcer 47 wearing his official uniform is in charge of informing the rest of brothers 48 . They are compelled to go to the dead man's home to organize the funeral procession.
When all brothers arrive to the dead man's home, the officers verify if it is needed some belongings to prepare the deceased body properly before its burial 49 . Sometimes the dead brother was so poor that he didn't have a shroud. Therefore the brotherhood provides one of its uniforms 50 . The brothers of the True Cross of Carmona used to be buried with the robes they wore in the procession every Holy Thursday: Their habits and self-flagellation equipment 51 .
Later the funeral procession 52 is organized appointing those who carry the dead body on their shoulders and those who have to accompany praying for the soul 53 . Cleric brothers are present wearing surplices 54 . This funeral procession was one of two ways: to the monastery or church chosen for the burial if they are in the city walls, or until the city doors if the tomb is in another place 55 . Sometimes brothers did not want to carry the dead body on their shoulders, so it was necessary to apply a fine of half a pound of wax to everyone who disobeys this obligation 56 . Members of the regular and secular clergy could be present too 57 .
A very important part of the budget of the brotherhoods was destined to buy wax 58 . The expense of wax could be an obsessive worry and it was designated to be carry by officers and brothers during the funeral procession, in offices for the dead in the day of the burial, before this, and in special celebrations of the brotherhood. This explains the omnipresence of a chapter in the rules dedicated to the wax that must be in the chest of the confraternity related to its amount and typology. There are different types of wax: large candles, altar candles, candles, and the one called small wax used by the brothers. The main colour in which the wax is tinted is green 59 , while white is the favorite colour of the True Crosses of Cordoba 60 . In all the cases the wax had an emblem: the badge of the confraternity painted or printed in red colour in the case of green wax, a green cross on white wax or some exception: red cross on green wax in the case of the True Cross of Lora del Río 61 and the emblem of Jesus's five stigmatas in Olivares 62 .
The solemnity of the funeral procession was increased by the presence of the confraternities' insignias 63  andalusian confraternities at the end of the middle ages 365 it. We know how the True Cross of Espera cape was in silk with a tawny cross 64 . The coffin was carried on a frame 65 . Officers bore batons made of wood and painted in green with a cross on the top. Deputies carried two scepters with a cross 66 , while the leaders bore the insignias 67 with two green cross on them 68 . Finally the provost was the officer who carried the crucifix 69 .
Some brothers were so poor after their death that they couldn't pay the debts they had with the brotherhood. This was an obligatory requirement if they wanted to be buried conveniently. In these cases the confraternities, for the best service to God, hired eight priests and four sacristans for the burial. If brother could be found to carry the dead body sacristans weren't necessary 70 .
Some brothers died out of the city where the confraternity was located. Therefore it was necessary to include a chapter in the rules to regulate this situation. When the death was known by the brotherhood, three or four members were designated to bring the dead body to the city door 71 . The rest of the confraternity was waiting there place with candles in the hands and the crucifix. If the dead brother was so poor that he couldn't pay the removal to the city, the confraternity assumed costs 72 up to a distance of a half a day trip 73 .
When the brother's wife died the confraternity buried her with the same rights as her husband because as it says in Gospels flesh is one 74 . But there were two conditions to enjoy these rights. First they verified that she was married to the brother. There were a lot of cases in which a man and a woman lived together without being married 75 . This situation was very frequent because most of the brotherhoods included a chapter in their rules about the punishment of a brother who cohabited 76 . On the other hand widows kept their burial rights if they didn't remarry 77 . Usually the burial of the brother's wife had the same elements that her husband had related to wax, belongings and assistance of brothers. Second class burial included brother's children, his parents and parents-in-law if they were under his safe keeping 78 . Some confraternities buried brother's children if they were under ten years old 79 and single 80 . The True Cross of Écija buried them with a pillow and four altar candles 81 . All the members of the brotherhood had to go to this burial, but the amount of wax for the funeral was less than a half of the first class burial.
When the economic situation of the confraternity was critical the budgetary cutback was directly applied to the burial rights. In 1570 the True Cross of Écija didn't have resources so decided not to bury the brother's parents and parentsin-law if they didn't pay an alm for it. On the other hand the brother's wife was afforded a second class burial instead of a first class one.
The notion of family in the period when the rules were written was wider than at present 82 . The big family prevailed to the nuclear family typical of our days. Therefore brother's servants had burial rights according to their social category 83 . All the brothers had to go to this burial and the amount of wax for them was different depending on the cases 84 .
In the case of brother's slave 85 burial the brotherhoods had their own rules. Some of them specifically forbade burying a brother's slave not giving the reasons 86 . In other cases We have documented some funeral processions for the brother's slave burial. There weren't any prohibition because the brotherhoods had this activity between their care ones. They paid four poor men to carry the dead body on their shoulders giving them an alms and were accompanied by twenty brothers 87 . Others confraternities like the True Cross of Palomares changed the prohibition and in a new chapter described the brother's slave burial with all details. The reasons were the service of God and love for all men. Brothers were reluctant to go to these burials because if they didn't complete this obligation they were punished with a fine of a half a real 88 . andalusian confraternities at the end of the middle ages 367 Some charitable brothers had poor people living in their homes and sometimes they died there 89 . If they were living with the brother for at least four months 90 some True Crosses buried them with a second class burial. They paid for two 91 or six altar candles, the little wax or a half of it 92 and a mass without hymns 93 . All brothers had to go to this funeral. If they didn't they had to pay a fine of ten maravedís 94 .
Paying customers were people who didn't belong to a brotherhood but they wanted to be buried by them 95 . The chapter about this item can be found in nineteen rules. Therefore We can understand that the True Crosses brotherhoods were one of the most important institutions to which the member of the contemporary society entrusted their last trip on Earth and their salvation after death.
The confraternities offered two kinds of funeral services and people could choose between a first class burial, paying different amounts of money depending on the brotherhood 96 , or a second class burial paying 1.5 ducats 97 , ten reals 98 , or 250 maravedís 99 . The burial price increased if the paying customer was on their death bed 100 . If he got over that critical situation the paying customer became a member of the confraternity. The True Cross of Antequera modified its rule due to the abuses committed in some cases. Thus it decided not to admit people in articulo mortis, because some dying people had took advantage of the confraternity not paying for the burial 101 .
However We want to make clear that profiteering wasn't common in confraternities when they offered these services. At the time of the death of a paying customer the brotherhood confirmed the lack of sufficient resources to pay a second class burial. In this case the officers had to decide which amount of was going to be used in the burial of a poor paying customer 102 . At the same time the assistance of the brothers 89. Martínez García, Luis. "Pobres, pobreza y asistencia en la Edad Media hispana. Balance y perspectivas". SIlVIa-María Pérez-González and Juan CarloS arboleda GoldaraCena 368 to theses burials was guaranteed by fines of ten maravedis 103 , one real 104 or a half of real 105 .
Confraternities also buried executed people 106 . For example the True Cross of Carmona had among their charitable activities the burial of executed people. The brotherhood buried them solemnly with the cross and two candles, after the officers had asked for the dead body from the relevant authorities. After the burial a mass was celebrated for the soul of the dead person 107 .
The economic side of these religious services justifies that the confraternities are present in the notaries' protocols: brotherhoods incorporated new properties to their patrimony for celebrating funeral honors. Paying customers and confraternities wanted to confirm their agreement in the presence of a notary to ensure compliance. These agreements were very important for confraternities because they received houses, properties, shops, income-generating assets and money. Therefore confraternities worked hard to comply with the testamentary orders and to guarantee their celebration. In this way they were able to gain the confidence of potential clients who would bring new goods and income.
The funeral services comprised from the burial of the corpse to the celebration of worships for the soul of the dead people. These activities were part of the charitable actions if the brotherhood and they were developed with brothers and no brothers. Therefore this charitable activity wasn't exclusive. We are going to analyze what kind of worships were celebrated by confraternities and those who entrusted them their last wishes.
Brothers and non brothers asked confraternities for celebrating different worships for the salvation of their souls. After analyzing the documentation one can affirm that people not belonging to confraternities were the main authors of these last wishes. This is explained because brother had rights as members of the confraternity and worships celebrated for their soul were financed by different fees they had to pay. They trusted that their confraternity celebrated all the offices required for the salvation of their souls and to reduce their stay in Purgatory.
But non brothers hadn't this institutional protection. They were aware of the long time they would spend purging their sins in Purgatory 108 . Therefore they had to guarantee their immediate future in the great beyond paying for the celebration of worships. The amount and nature of these offices depended on their economic 103 andalusian confraternities at the end of the middle ages 369 capacity. Rich people were able to pay for an important number of offices. People who died with their sins forgiven were saved. The rest of dead people should spend a period in Purgatory depending on the offices that were celebrated for their soul. Anyway justice and mercy of Lord always prevailed.
People looked for help in confraternities. They were aware that their life as Christians had not been an imitation of the Gospel and had disobeyed the command of Church 109 . Which confraternities? One can suppose that these people would chose brotherhoods for which they felt special devotion, ones of their neighborhood, confraternities with recognition as good executors of testamentary orders etc. In the period studied confraternities which received a greater number of celebrations of worships were: Confraternity of the Misericordia (four), Confraternity of the Sangre Death was staged in several acts 110 . First the wording of the last wills which took place mostly when the end of life was approaching 111 . When death felt close people required the services of a public notary. He came to the dying people's home to give public faith of the last provisions contained in the will. This was the general rule although there were some exceptions like Catalina Alvarez whose will was written by her husband after her death 112 .
Wills included two kinds of provisions: religious ones as faith profession, ideas about temporality of earthly life, hope in eternal life, ways to secure salvation, etc. and material dispositions to guarantee last wills of testator and the distribution of his estate among his heirs.
After death this went out from the private area of the house through an act of special significance: the burial 113 . Unlike the current custom of privatizing and hiding almost all related to death, until recent dates the burial was the moment in which dead people said goodbye to their family, friends and neighborhood. Also it was the last tour around the stages of their earthly life. Therefore people tried to have a burial with the greatest solemnity and ostentation depending on their economic capacity. Confraternities had an important role in these sumptuous burials. Actually it was the second charitable activity developed by brotherhoods after their hospitals. First they developed with their brothers because a lot of chapters in their rules obligated them. This was one of the most important reasons to join a confraternity. But sometimes it was worth remembering this obligation to brotherhoods. Diego Fernandez's will is a good example. He remembered the obligation to accompany him at his funeral to the confraternity of Saint Nicolas of the Portal, as ruled ordered 114 .
Also paying clients demanded the presence of brotherhoods at their burials. The presence of brothers with candle in hands was an essential element in burials of certain entity. In Jerez de la Frontera burial of Catalina Lopez must have been impressive due to the large entourage. She ordered in her will that Hospital of the Misericordia, Hospital of the Blood, and Hospital of Saint Sebastian must be present in her funeral procession 115  The documentation isn't very explicit about the ritual developed during the accompaniment of the corpse. It only mentions the accompaniment of the dead body from the house of the deceased people to the church or convent chosen to be buried in 117 . Paying clients wanted brothers to be present with candle in hands and precisely the money they paid was destinated to the wax for the burial.
Most of burials were paid in cash because it was something celebrated once, unlike worships for the salvation of the soul which were financed by income generating properties to celebrate them perpetually. There wasn't a stipulated amount. This indicates that confraternities accepted what each people considered well to pay or the pomp of these worships depended on the money paid. Documentation says nothing about this. 114 In Jerez de la Frontera the amounts of money documented are 20 maravedis, 118 , 30 maravedís 119 , 200 maravedis 120 , 500 maravedis 121 . Juana Garcia la Melera paid the highest amount, 6.000 maravedis, to the Confraternity of Misericordia of Jerez for the accompaniment in her funeral procession 122 . Sometimes testators preferred to entrust the payment of their funeral to an institution. Marina Sanchez 123 ordered to be accompanied by the Confraternity of Saint Sebastian to the Torrecilla 124 . She wanted to be buried in the Convent of Santa Maria of the Defension 125 and Carthusian monks had to pay what they considered to the brotherhood. Beside these examples one can think that there were infixed taxes to take part in a funeral procession. Catalina Alfonso ordered in her will that brother of the Hospital of Saint Sebastian accompanied her corpse to be buried and gave them what it was costume to give 126 .
Sometimes hospitals were burial places because they had a religious nature. In Jerez de la Frontera the Hospital of the Blood had this purpose. Three testators orders to be buried in this institution. The cemetery was in the cloisters next to the church and was small with stonework pillars. It had altars on three sides and on the forth a chapel of Our Lady of Belen. The golden imagen was placed on a tabernacle. The walls of the cloisters were decorated with unknown thematic paintings 127 .
After the burial 128 worships were celebrated depending on the last will of testators and were paid by properties or in cash. The most ordered worships were offices of the Virgin. We present them according to their celebration along the liturgical year. One of the most celebrated offices was the Incarnation on the 25 th of March. This is a festivity with double significance because it celebrates the Incarnation of the Son of God and the Annunciation of Mary although in the Christian liturgy it is celebrated as a Marian feast 129 . 118 Sancho Diaz, priest of the Church of Saint Lucas, ordered the celebration of this feast to the Confraternity of Saint Blas 130 . In his will he described how he wanted the feast to be celebrated: without sermon, in the Church of Saint Mateo 131 , by three hired priests and those of the Parish, each priest earned 120 maravedis and he would pay for candles and everything necessary for the celebration. Another feast of Virgin mentioned in the documentation is Assumption celebrated on 15 th of August. It is one of the oldest feasts of the Catholic Church 132 .
A worship frequently requested by testators was remembrances of dead people which is a memory with a mass or funeral oration 133 . Usually confraternities decided where to celebrate them as well as others worships ordered by testators 134 . One can suppose that testators preferred that the brotherhoods chose the parish, convent or their hospitals for these celebrations. In this choice opinions related to proximity, timetable of the chosen place and availability of priests, preferences of brothers etc. must prevail.
The documentary evidences that there wasn't any regulation stipulating what had to be paid to confraternities for the celebration of worships. The amount to pay was stablished by testators. Usually payment wasn't made in money because testators preferred the donation of fixed income generating assets. They were convinced that their souls would spend considerable time in Purgatory so they needed the celebration of masses and feasts almost perpetual. These assets were: the purchase of rents (36 and 50 maravedis which were paid to the testatrix from a rent 135 ; 1.000 maravedis from rents in El Puerto of Santa Maria to celebrate a perpetual feast of Incarnation every year 136 ), tents of houses (100 maravedis from the hire of a house in the neighborhood of Saint Miguel to celebrate a feast of Our Lady in the Parish of Saint Miguel 137 ). One can see a predominance of rents in cash perpetually received to guarantee at least theoretically compliance forever with donor mandates. Finally some people only asked confraternities that poor people in their hospitals prayed for their souls 138 .

373
Funeral Honors 139 celebrated for the brother's soul were vey varied on the funeral day. The most common service included a mass with hymns and a variable number of masses with payers 140 , sometimes on the tomb. The True Crosses of Córdoba preferred funeral honors formed by a mass and a vigil without hymns 141 . Attendance was obligatory to these masses and the brothers said Ave Marias and the Lord's prayer for the salvation of the dead brother during the funeral. If the brother died out of the city the confraternity celebrated a funeral first class honor if he could pay for the offices. If not the brotherhood only celebrated a mass without hymns 142 . The funeral honors were reduced depending on the degree on kinship. For example the brotherhood of Espera celebrated a mass without hymns for the brother's child 143 .
After the burial day the confraternities celebrated different masses for the brothers' soul: a mass with hymns during the three Easters 144 , the first Sunday or Friday of the month on the day chosen by the officers 145 , every holy day a mass without hymns for the souls of purgatory 146 , vigils and masses with hymns in the days of the Triumph and Exaltation of the Holy Cross 147 . These funeral honors were largely paid by the alms gathered by the executors between the brothers 148 . The rules compelled the clergy members who were brothers to officiate some of these funeral honors.

Other activities
We want to finish this point by mentioning different charitable activities which had a special social importance 149 . When a brother was captive in the lands of Islam 150 each brother donated twenty maravedis for his rescue while the brotherhood paid a ducat. After the rescue the captive brother went back to the confraternity but he 139. Collins, James B. and Taylor  hadn't to pay any debt. If the brother died while he was captured and he hadn't converted to Islam the brotherhood celebrated a mass and a vigil for his soul. If he had converted to Islam the money for his rescue was for the confraternity 151 .
When the brother's lost house because of a fire members had to collaborate in the reconstruction of the building giving rafters, tiles, bricks, channel bars or lime 152 . The confraternity wanted the brother not to have to leave his wife and children because of the loss of the house 153 .
Easter day of resurrection 154 brother donated smocks, shirts and caps to six poor men and skirts, smocks and shoes to six poor women. Also these poor person were invited a lunch. This donation must be authorized by the Archbishopric of Seville to ask for alms during the Lent, on Sundays, on holidays and every Friday of the year 155 .
The True Cross of Marchena had as obligation to provide dowry for one or two orphan girls every year 156 . They had to meet some requirements: being a dead brothers' daughter, honest and virtuous 157 . The leaders had to look for girls with these characteristic. The confraternity gave them a dowry which was on shown in the chapel of the brotherhood on Maundy Thursday from the proposal to the marriage day. The scribe and leaders visited the girl to verify that she lived as an honest person every two months. Three or four days before the marriage celebration the orphan girl had to communicate the wedding date to the confraternity. The brothers had to assist to the celebration which took place in the chapel of the brotherhood. Two of them were witness of the marriage 158 .
If the confraternity had enough money it was obligatory to have kneaded bread for the poor brothers in years of bad harvests. The surplus was distributed between widows of the city. The flour came from the wheat which was asked for as alms in the city. The bread was baked by female brothers or poor brothers' wives in return for a salary. The bread was kept in a wood box with three keys guarded by three offices 159 . Finally brotherhoods gave alms for indigents. They came from the fines paid by the brothers. They were distributed by the provost and scriban 160 . andalusian confraternities at the end of the middle ages 375 3. The origin of penitential processions: torturing the body to save the soul

Two important devotions
Penitential brotherhoods 161 are a very important element in Spanish popular religiousness. These associations were born during the Middle Ages and their main purpose was to invite people to purge their sins through public discipline. When studying their origins, there is a common problem: most of the times it seems that researchers only want to know how old some brotherhoods are. To the contrary, we think that it is necessary to make a global approach in order to understand a lot of aspects which must not be ignored 162 .
Our studies 163 make us think that there were at least three elements which gave rise to Spanish penitential brotherhoods: the cult of the True Cross 164 in a suffering meaning, the devotion to the Precious Blood of Christ and the appearance of flagellants. We also think that the devotion to the Precious Blood could have influenced the cult of the True Cross, which changed from a glorious meaning to a penitential one. In short, without rejecting Christ's divinity, His humanity deserved a main place in medieval thinking, thanks to authors like Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). The arrival of flagellants during the 15 th century by the hand of Saint Vincent Ferrer was the last factor which contributed to the origin of current Holy Week in Spain. In this chapter we study two of these important elements: the devotion to the Precious Blood and the first penitential processions in which Christians tortured their bodies in order to imitate Christ and save their souls.
The devotion to the Precious Blood comes from the New Testament (Matthew 26, 28; 1 Corinthians 11, 25; 1 Ephesians 1, 4; Colossians 1, 15, Hebrews 9, 14). It also appears in the exegesis made by some authors in the 4 th century. The first artistic representation of this devotion dates from the 6 th century: Longinus (a roman soldier) pierced Jesus in His side with a lance and blood and water flowed out. This is a miracle which reveals Christ's suffering and divinity. According to the Gospel of John (John 19, 32-34): So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already 161. Also called "confraternities" or "fraternities". We use all terms. 162. Arboleda Goldaracena, Juan Carlos. "La devoción a la Sangre de Cristo y el origen de las cofradías penitenciales a fines de la Edad Media", Historia Autónoma 1 (2013): 73-88. 163. Sánchez Herrero, José and Silvia María Pérez González, "La Cofradía de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo de Sevilla. La importancia de la devoción a la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo en el desarrollo de la devoción y la imaginería de la Semana Santa", Aragón en la Edad Media XIV-XV (1999), vol. II, 1429-1445; CXIX Reglas de hermandades y cofradías andaluzas… 164. Ferré Puerto, J. "L'art medieval a la Vall d'Albaida. La Vera Creu d'Albaida i el seu context", 750 anys com a valencians: Albaida i la Vall, 1245Vall, -1995 dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
The interpretation of this text underlines its importance in a sacramental meaning: blood is a symbol of Eucharist and water represents Baptism 165 . This passage is frequently related to another one in which a soldier ran to get a sponge, soaked it in wine and gave it to Jesus to drink (Matthew 27, 48-49). A remodeled version of the Gospel of Matthew had a special success in Western Europe, mainly in Ireland. This text includes John's passage on Longinus' lance between the episode of wine and the death of Jesus narrated by Matthew. This fact affirmed the sacramental meaning given by the Church Fathers and tried to demonstrate that Jesus was alive after His own death, because blood and water were a symbol of life.
The real change in medieval thinking which allowed to contemplate Christ's humanity was a result of Saint Francis of Assisi's ideas during the 13 th century. According to Lázaro Iriarte 166 , Francis absolutely identified with Christ. Jesus was the way by which God the Father was revealed to humankind. In this sense, Francis made a Christological reduction: Christians can understand God, the Church and their own lives only through Christ, who can be found in the Gospels. Saint Francis was the first person in the world to represent the Birth of Jesus and he also suffered the Stigmata.
This saint was followed by several men and women who also contemplated Christ's humanity: Saint Clare of Assisi (1193-1253) 167 , who frequently meditated the Passion of Jesus following the teaching of Saint Francis 168 ; or Saint Bonaventure (1221-1247), who was author of several treatises and sermons on Christ, even though he was mainly a theologist and not only a person who tried to imitate the Passion of Jesus 169 . Saint Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373) was a non-Franciscan nun influenced by Francis' thinking. Her devotion to the Passion of Christ made her design a very special habit for other nuns who decided to follow Bridget's rule: nuns had to wear a crown with thorns and blood drops 170 .
Franciscan school was followed by other ones during the end of the Middle Ages: Dominican school with Henry Suso (1295-1365), who represented Rhenish mystic. This author perfectly imitated every single aspect of Christ's life and when drinking he used to take five sips in memory of the Five Holy Wounds 171 . 378 against spiritual temptations which was firstly attributed to Saint Bonaventure and influenced a lot of Franciscan authors, Beguines and Beghards and popular religiousness in general 177 . When Olivi talks about the Passion of Jesus, he defends that blood and water came out from Christ's wound before His death. This theory was related to a discussion on the divinity of Jesus and maintained by Olivi's followers.
Other important authors were Saint Angela of Foligno (1248-1309), member of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis and devoted to the Blood of Christ; and Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), tertiary of the Dominican Order. The Blood of Christ is considered by them as the price of human salvation, symbol of the love of God and the New Alliance. Angela of Foligno understood the dimensions of this love. According to Catherine of Siena, the Church is a garden irrigated by the Blood of Jesus. This Blood is also sustenance for Christians in this life before the eternal one 178 .
All these mystical schools were responsible for different hymns, prayers and legends (for instance, the Holy Grail legend 179 ). When Crusaders arrived at the Holy Land, a lot of supposed relics of the Precious Blood began to appear in different places 180 : Mantua; Bruges, where the relic arrived in the 13 th century and a brotherhood was founded in 1449 181 ; Fécamp (France), where a hymn to the Precious Blood was composed. In Bruge there was a procession on May 3 rd which was approved by the Holy See in 1310.
The devotion to the Precious Blood grew a lot during the 14 th and 15 th centuries and became an important element in popular religiousness. This way, we find different affirmations in Spanish medieval testaments, such as: "Firstly, I send my soul to God the Father, who bought it for me by His Precious Blood" or similar sentences (1262 182 , 1333 183 , 1347 184 , 1385 185 ).
In the 14 th century, a legend with a great success in Spain related that Pope Gregory I the Great had seen Christ filling the holy chalice with His own Blood during the mass 186 . In northern Europe we find a typical artistic representation of this devotion: the "mystic press". This is a comparison between grapes which must be pressed in order to obtain wine and Jesus who was tortured. Christ is represented with a lot of blood flowing from His wounds. This blood is collected by bishops, priests or angels. Some representations show a chalice next to Mary who holds Her Son's body.
Another typical iconography was the fountain of life (in which Jesus is compared with this element), based on water as a symbol of Baptism and blood representing Eucharist. Sometimes Christ is crucified or embraces the cross. Other times we see a big chalice with a cross in its middle and Jesus who presses His wounds to obtain blood.
In 1459, pope Pius II (1458-1464) accepted the veracity of a relic which was in Mantua. In this century there was also an important theological discussion on the Blood of Christ: Dominicans affirmed that the divinity of Jesus was present in the blood shed during His Passion, whereas Franciscans thought the opposite 187 . An important author was Francesco della Rovere, who wrote the treatise De sanguine Christi. Pope Pius II tried to conclude this debate and wrote a bull in 1464 (Ineffabilis summa providentia) in order to prohibit any discussion on the Blood of Christ. But five years later, Francesco della Rovere was elected pope (Sixtus IV, 1471-1484).
In Spain, at the end of the 15 th century, there were a lot of representations of Christ plenty of blood. In Salamanca (Golden Chapel, New Cathedral) we can find one of them in which blood is collected by four angels. In popular religiousness, the devotion to the Precious Blood was the reason for the birth of penitential brotherhoods, which began to practise public flagellation from the 16 th century 188 .

Penitential processions
Public discipline 189 was the most important activity for confraternities. It took place during the Holy Week, where a lot of members of these brotherhoods flagellated themselves following a procession 190 . The importance of discipline was related to medieval mentality but also to the Council of Trent (1545-1563) 191 . However, the 380 origins of this practice come from monastic orders. It is mentioned in the Rule of Saint Benedict, but only as a method to punish people. Saint Peter Damian (1007-1072), a reforming Benedictine monk, was the first to introduce self-flagellation in his writings, specially in his letters to other monks. He replied to those who affirmed that discipline was a modern invention and defended that nakedness was not a problem when practicing it: "If this kind of penitential discipline should appear to some people to be harsh and even, perhaps, superfluous, and if they neglect to do what he does and are even totally unwilling to do so, let me explain in a few words what I, a sinner, think about this opinion. When the faithful, in reverent devotion recall their sins and punish themselves with strokes of the discipline, they believe that they are partaking in the passion of our Redeemer. For, on the testimony of the Gospels, our Savior himself was scourged; the apostles too were beaten before the council, and five times Paul received forty blows of the whip, less one. Whoever will read their lives, can hardly be unaware that numberless martyrs also had to undergo severe scourging. Therefore we rejoice in also receiving from them this type of penance, just as from them we have learned of all the tools for living the spiritual life. Moreover, if we accept fasts, nighttime prayer, nakedness, hairshirts, genuflections, and other similar things as penitential practices for repressing the allurements of vice, and substitute, on the other hand, bitter experiences for the delights of the flesh, which of these can more aptly be called penance than scourging, in which a sinner presents himself naked before his judge, and like a thief caught in the act, chastises his offending flesh by scourging? To this we may add, that we read of some saints, who after their sin were carried away in a dream to the tribunal and underwent this punishment. Therefore, can we believe that God will refuse to accept this kind of penance freely offered by those devoted to him, when he required it of those who were unwilling ?" 192 Now this type of discipline was by no means recently invented by modern ingenuity, but stems rather from the authority of Sacred Scripture. For we know that our Lord and Savior was scourged by the governor's troops, that the blesses apostles were beaten in the council by order of the chief priests, and we read of many saintly martyrs who were fearfully whipped with rods and lashes. Paul, too, boasted that three times he was beaten with rods, and that five times he received forty strokes less one. So that is the way it was. 193 Discipline arrived to the secular world at the end of the Middle Ages. The Black Death, which affected Europe from 1346 to 1353, was the origin for several flagellant groups. People began to practise public discipline in order to purge their sins. A person could become part of these groups during 33 days and a half, remembering the life of Jesus. They had to flagellate themselves twice a day and could not maintain sexual relations. They could only eat what other people gave them. Flagellants wore a white cape with a big red cross. Their heads were also covered with a hood and a hat decorated with another red cross. They traversed different towns and practised discipline in squares. When they had finished, they waited for someone who could offer them bed and some food. Some groups were accompanied by priests, but other ones rejected their presence, escaping from Church control. This began to be a serious problem, and flagellant groups were considered as sects. In France, flagellants were prohibited from 1350. In Germany and the Netherlands these groups reappeared around 1400. In Spain flagellants were introduced by Saint Vincent Ferrer at the beginning of the 15 th century. Jean Gerson, Chancellor of the University of Paris, advised Saint Vincent that these practices had been prohibited during the previous century due to different discussions about their adaptation to Christian doctrine. This movement then disappeared, but came back at the end of the 15 th century by the hand of confraternities, which retook these practices in their penitential processions 194 .
In order to know how these processions were, we can use the rule of one of the most important Spanish confraternities in this period: the Brotherhood of the True Cross from Seville, established during the 15 th century. This rule was written in 1538 195 . The procession is described as follows: "At the beginning of the Holy Week, on Palm Sunday, members of the brotherhood got together in order to pay the fee, which was necessary to take part in the procession. They also asked for other members' forgiveness if they had any problem between them. The procession took place on Maundy Thursday. It began at ten o'clock and finished at midnight. All members should confess their sins and receive communion before its beginning. They had to wear a long tunic and their faces were covered. There were two types of members: those who carried candles ("brothers of light") and those who flagellated themselves ("brothers of blood"). At the end of the entourage, a priest carried a little crucifix. The procession used to visit four or five near churches or convents, including the Cathedral. When all members arrived to the brotherhood's chapel, they washed and healed their wounds. All processions were very similar, as we can see in other works" 196 . Other brotherhoods were dedicated to the Virgin and their processions were closed by some members which carried a statue of Mary, as we can see in the rule of the Brotherhood of the Loneliness of Mary from Seville, written in 1555-1557 197 . 382 Women could become part of these confraternities, as we have seen, but they usually did not participate in processions 198 . Some rules, such as those of the Brotherhood of the True Cross in Granada, stipulated that they could flagellate themselves at home if they wanted to participate in this practice 199 .
The Council of Trent was responsible for an important evolution on Spanish brotherhoods. As a response to Protestant theories, the Catholic world strengthened three elements which were decisive for this change: penance as a sacrament but also as a public practice; the importance of religious statues; and the control of laic associations by catholic hierarchy 200 . A few years after the Council, brotherhoods began to acquire impressive statues to represent Jesus and His Mother. These artistic representations reached their high point during the Baroque era and brotherhoods adopted a more opulent appearance which have not abandoned until our days.

Some important confraternities
We want to finish our chapter studying some important brotherhoods in Andalusia during this period: the Brotherhoods of the Precious Blood from Seville and Málaga. We have chosen these towns given that they were the most important ones in the two biggest kingdoms in Medieval and Early Modern Andalusia: the Kingdom of Seville and the Kingdom of Granada (in this case, together with the capital).
During the 15 th and 16 th centuries Seville had until three different Brotherhoods of the Precious Blood, which were studied by professors Sánchez Herrero and Pérez Gónzález 201 . One of them resided in Triana, a quarter beyond the river and nowadays is part of the Brotherhood of Saint Benedict, whose procession takes place on Holy Tuesday and is very popular in Seville 202 .
The second one appears in notarial documentation from 1492 to 1501. It was also dedicated to the Inmaculate Conception and resided in its own hospital near to Saint Andrew parish. The principal feast was celebrated in Saint Francis monastery. The confraternity had different properties: several houses, lands and two vineyards.
The last one can be studied through its own rule 203 , which dates from 1581 and resided in Saint Francis of Paola convent. Its members practised public discipline on 384 With respect to charity works, there were also three main activities: the celebration of funerals, taking care of ill people and giving money to poor people, specially prisoners. The confraternity celebrated funerals and masses for the souls of deceased people, members or not. If they were members they could be buried in the brotherhood chapel.
As we have mentioned before, this confraternity is one of the most important ones in Málaga. Nowadays its procession takes place on Holy Wednesday. Its members carry two processional thrones with the holy images: the Christ of the Precious Blood and Our Lady of Consolation and Tears 208 .

Conclusion
There is no doubt that confraternities were the institutions which developed the greatest and most intense charitable activities in Andalusia in the 15 th and early 16 th centuries. Brothers or people who had enough money to pay its services were attended by brotherhoods in the transition to eternal glory. They requested their services before living the earthly life, in the funeral processions and in religious ceremonies to shorten the time in the Purgatory. This is how they established it in their last wills and confraternities were the guarantor of their salvation to avoid the eternal punishment. In these last wills there is a positive aspect of death as there are no references to hell or purgatory. But there is full confidence in the transition to eternal life and in this process brotherhoods were agents of special importance.
As we have seen, the practice of public torturing, as a form of spiritual martyrdom, gave rise to penitential brotherhoods in Spain at the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the 16 th century. This birth was also linked to important devotions such as the Precious Blood and the True Cross, which were born during medieval centuries. We have underlined the first one, considering that blood is perhaps the most characteristic element of martyrdom and corporal suffering. The devotion to the Blood of Christ was rapidly connected to other important idea: Jesus was a martyr who died and suffered because of people's sins. People therefore can imitate Jesus.
Martyrdom is not only a way of dying but also an offering to the divinity. In our case, people who joined a confraternity and took part in penitential processions offered their own suffering to God the Father imitating His Son's Passion. This imitation consisted in public flagellation in order to shed blood as Christ did. Their main purpose was to purge their sins.
Confraternities were born at the end of the Middle Ages and began to practice public discipline during the 16 th century, following the example of flagellant groups that arose in Central Europe after the Black Death and arrived to Spain 208. Llordén, Andrés and Souvirón, Sebastián. Historia documental de las cofradías y hermandades de Pasión de la ciudad de Málaga. Málaga: El Archivista, 1969: 557-585. 385 with Saint Vincent Ferrer at the beginning of the 15 th century. During this period, these brotherhoods were very simple associations and their main activities were discipline and charity. They were mainly composed of artisans and workers from the secondary sector of the economy. Women could join them but they usually did not have a leading role. Processions took place during the Holy Week, normally on Holy Thursday and they were also very simple: some members flagellated themselves in order to shed blood and the rest of them carried candles in their hands. Sometimes they also carried a little cross or an image of the Virgin. There were neither flowers nor music 209 .
After the Council of Trent (1545-1563), confraternities evolved and changed their manners, adopting a less austere nature which has endured until our days. Nowadays these associations are a very important part of the Catholic Church. In Spain, and specially in Andalusia, confraternities act as generators of collective identity and they are a very powerful engine for local economy due to their importance to some sectors as tourism or art 210 .
There are still many questions to be answered about the brotherhoods of the late Middle Ages. The further study of the documentation will allow us to give answers to them. New research will make possible to know more about these institutions whose importance in the lives of people who lived at the end of the Middle Ages remains out of any debate.