Confraternities and their contribution to the fabric of society have become invisible history for us today. Although their activities began in the Renaissance and continued until the end of the Enlightenment, confraternities have not yet found a place in the standard histories of the period, or even in the histories of religion or of the Church.

With The Boys of the Archangel Raphael, Konrad Eisenbichler brings to light the daily life and history of one such organization from its founding in 1411 to its final suppression in 1785. While focusing on the Compagnia dell'Arcangelo Raffaello, the first confraternity to be established in Florence, the author also discusses other, similar organizations. By constantly comparing developments across several confraternities, the book provides us with insight into the entire phenomenon of premodern lay religious associations for youths.

The study is firmly grounded on archival and contemporary documents, and covers a variety of fields of interest: social history, church history, the history of childhood, and the history of art, literature, and music. The Boys of the Archangel Raphael will be the authoritative work on youth confraternities for years to come.

Konrad Eisenbichler, Curator at the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies at Victoria University, has been studying Cecchi’s theatre for several years. His research has twice taken him to Italy, once in 1976 under the auspices of the Renaissance Society of America and once in 1980 on a Buchanan Scholarship from the University of Toronto. There he was able to consult manuscripts of Cecchi’s unpublished plays and search Florentine archives for biographical information into this retiring dramatist’s life. Mr. Eisenbichler’s translation, the first for any of Cecchi’s plays, is thus supported by a thorough critical apparatus, while retaining the lively and jovial style of Cecchi’s original.

Konrad Eisenbichler's profile page

• Winner, Howard R. Marraro Prize of the American Catholic Historical Association