The collection begins with the statement: “After the State and the Church, the most well organized membership system of medieval and early modern Europe was the confraternity” (1). To those unfamiliar with the confraternity and its roles in early modern Europe, this claim may be surprising and seem to call for explanation and evidence. This Companion edited by Konrad Eisenbichler provides ample support for the statement as it surveys many instances of this religious, primarily Catholic, social phenomenon.

In the introductory essay, Eisenbichler presents his goal as providing an overview of current scholarship on confraternities and suggesting areas for further and developing research. This effort comes out of a growing field of study and investigation that during the last thirty years examined late medieval and early modern religious organizations, focusing primarily on laypersons and their activities. The text presents a comprehensive approach to the field and includes studies of confraternities in Ireland, Spain, Poland, Italy, France, and the Low Countries, but also extends to parts of Central and South America. This allows the reader to view confraternities “in a more global context” (8). Accordingly, its twenty chapters are divided into five parts: “Birth and Development” (of confraternities), “Devotion and Prayer” (as practiced), “The Good Works” (performed), “Confraternities in the Transcultural World” (presenting them in their diversity), and “Arts and Letters” (as created among the members but often presented to the wider community). Jewish and Orthodox variants are woven into the tapestry as well.

Some of the contributions center on specific sites and others have a wider focus. Alyssa Abraham considers the form and function of art in the confraternities of Modena, and William Levin studies the art and space associated with the Misericordia in Florence as reflecting its work of caring for homeless and orphaned children. Taking a broader approach, Gervase Rosser considers the developments in ethics during this period and how it influenced and shaped the good works practiced by several confraternities; Christopher Black examines the relationship between different confraternities and the Inquisition. Aspects of Anna Esposito's chapter explore how Roman confraternities responded to cultural diversity by creating national groups formed by expatriates who wanted the comforts of linguistic identity and cultural familiarity. Roman confraternities also assisted their members in the process of adjusting to a foreign environment and even provided mutual assistance among members and welcomed new expatriates into the group. Esposito's material brings out the complex functions that any confraternity must perform and the various needs that it attempted to satisfy.

Several authors discuss confraternities’ charitable efforts, such as the creation of hospitals, hospices, and orphanages; establishing dowries for women; comforting the condemned before execution; attending funerals of their members and providing for survivors; and the distribution of poor relief. The rules of such confraternities mandated these works, and their members were selected to see that the deeds were performed in an effective manner. These activities would later become the basis for many social services from local and regional governments. The collection's examples suggest the vast charitable impact of confraternities as their members, out of religious devotion, cared for neighbors. One additional group and function not included was the Oratory of Divine Love in Rome from 1517, the focus of which was caring for the victims of the new disease, syphilis. This led to a network of hospitals in Italy, whose patients had contracted the disease while remaining in the shadows due to the stigma associated with the malady.

A brief review cannot do full justice to such a rich collection about the growing field of confraternity studies as approached from so many perspectives. Even with this rich tapestry, almost every chapter ends by suggesting areas for further research. As Eisenbichler concludes his introduction: “a lot has been accomplished, but there still is much to be done” (18).