Quartiere Pianello

History of the Companions of San Pietro    

In the 1300’s disciplined flagellants, with  penitential fervour, formed widespread movements in Tuscany. In Montalcino one such movement was the Companions of the Church of San Pietro. The Companions accumulated a huge patrimony which guaranteed their aid and charity to the poor, derived mainly from landed property possessions both outside and inside the walls of Montalcino. This was the fruit of a broad grasp the Companions had on various strata of society within the village of Montalcino.

The Companions, with religious and penitent aims and objectives, took in many “brothers” and developed an exacting internal structure for their society. This was a secular movement of lay brothers quite separate from the church. They were not priests nor ecclesiastically trained within the church. With considerable expansion of their property derived not only from the wills of deceased brothers, but also outside benefactors, they formed a body of disciplined flagellants with a strong spirit of charity and devotion.

Moral responsibility and the exercise of power to condemn a brother who did not respect the rules lay with the Prior who was elected by the brothers and not nominated by ecclesiastical authority – another clear sign of the completely lay character of the Companions. The Prior admonished, corrected, punished and if necessary, expelled a Companion. He took care of the observance of the rules, presided over meetings, ruled on discipline, processions and every other aspect of the brotherhood.

An Administrator collected subscriptions, quotas, offerings, and the money derived from pecuniary punishments levelled upon the brothers by the Prior. He was like a banker and had to audit the accounts which, if they did not balance, meant that he suffered a series of fines, and if he couldn’t pay, he was “disciplined” or flagellated for as long as it took to recite 25 Holy Father’s and 25 Ave Maria’s.

A Magistrate had custody of the material goods of the Companions, including their cloaks, cords, chalices, cloths and he collected their offerings for candles and during mass. These went to serve exclusively to pay the priests who officiated in the church. He was also the custodian of books and he had to transcribe many wills and testaments and keep lists of inventories of all the possessions of the Companions.

Other Companions were responsible for distributing alms which were the fruit of legacies and they had full liberty with the wise use and distribution of the alms of the Companions. Losses were punished with pecuniary fines, with the obligation to self discipline and flagellate in every church in Montalcino.

To become a Companion, the person, after proposing certain information, had to be judged to be of good morals and principles, had to pay a tax, offer a pound weight of candle, was obliged to go to confession and communion, buy his own vestments which comprised a cape or hooded cloak which was of humble sack cloth with a tear or rip down the back for the practice of flagellation, bound at the waist with a rope. Before he was accepted into the Companions, another brother had to go guarantee for him, spiritually and economically, and admittance was subject to a secret vote. The ceremony of investiture was solemn, providing for the practice of flagellation.

There are no signs of the affiliation of women. Although they did not participate in religious practices, it seems that they were present at the spectacular practice of flagellation. Exclusion of women was justified not only because of modesty which prevented them from exposing their backs for flagellation in the presence of others, but women could not participate in public life and as a consequence this custom precluded them from belonging to any association.

Companions came together to recite prayers, for manifestations of cult practices such as flagellation, and in aid and charity work. For the rest of the time they were lay men, living the life of a normal family and professional at work or in business in Montalcino. But temporal obligations were not only religious, for they had to behave always above sinfulness or they would be expelled from the Companions.

They had to be obedient to the Prior and follow all regulations, receive the Holy Sacraments, confess in public once a month, and take Communion at least twice a year. Judging by long lists of brothers expelled from the Companions for absence from Communion or confession, it appears that there were many transgressors.

They were obliged to be present at mass every morning and they had to be in church before the first ring of the bell. They had to recite prayers at various moments of the day and to take part in processions such as on Good Friday.

A deceased brother was dressed in his cloak of the Companions and his brothers recited 100 Our Father’s and 100 Ave Maria’s and flagellated for a month, praying for his soul.

Another obligation was silence. Companions could only speak with permission of the Prior and every brother maintained secrecy so that information about the Companions was not available to people outside the brotherhood.

Companions were prohibited from all games of gambling or dice, prohibited from going to taverns, being a jurist, dancing, from lustfulness, money lending, forming factions, disreputable singing, frequenting places of ill repute and keeping bad company. It was forbidden to swear or blaspheme, tell immoral stories, or to stay out late at night. Hate and causing insult or injury to another were considered grave defects.

Lack of respect for women was a motive for expulsion; any brother who hit, badly treated or betrayed a women could not remain a Companion.

The feeling of brotherhood constitutes one of the facets most important for these lay Christians. Living by the rules of this medieval brotherhood was not restricted to their behaviour in front of a few people around about, but included everyone, even their adversaries.

The Companions came from various layers of society, from notaries to artisans, merchants to farmers, and there were many poor people. There were woolworkers, fabric makers, silk weavers, tailors, shoemakers, leather workers, bricklayers, sword makers, saddlers, doctors, barbers, rope makers, shop owners, writers, teachers and foot soldiers.  In Montalcino there did not exist associations of trades, but many were part of the Companions of San Pietro including the leader of the wool trade, dyers and leather workers. In 1331 there were 33 members, in 1371 there were 63, and in 1449 they numbered 79.

The Companions took possession of farms in the countryside, including vineyards, and in 1353 to 1385 no less than 17 deceased persons willed all their possessions to the Companions. Many people donated everything they possessed to the Companions even while they were still alive. Almost all of their landed possessions were situated at the foot of the hill of Montalcino. Inside the walls they possessed vegetable gardens and houses which were rented out or worked by the Companions. Their possessions included many wine vats, barrels, animals which they bought and sold and they received tribute in things like oil, wine and figs. They cultivated grain, fava beans, chick peas, barley, garlic, linen, oil, white wine, and red wine, Much of this was distributed to the poor or sold to buy candle, or meat for the priests and for alms and charity. Young girls about to be married were given not only money, but also a length of cloth. They continually widened their charity outside the brotherhood, distributing bread made by their mothers or wives, and at other times distributing firewood, or giving donations to the children of the poorest families.

Benefactors left money indicating its destination and in 1365 the Companions paid for restoration of a chapel in the Church of San Francesco and commissioned Bartoli di Fredi to paint the altarpiece. The Companions remained active for centuries without interruption until 1785 when they were suppressed by Decree by the Grand Duke Leopold.

The Companions of San Pietro were mostly lay men, but there were some men of the church admitted, although they were prohibited from holding important responsibility in the organisation. This medieval model of Christian life did not demand that they hide from the world in monasteries, but allowed community life to continue and granted that they could be Companions and brothers in Christ with penitence and reciprocal love, as well as manifestations of flagellation and devotion. Sustaining each other spiritually, morally and temporally and doing good works was to bring eternal life and the love of God.

Translated with kind permission of Maria Cristina Paccagnini.