The Florence Laudario. An Edition of Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Banco Rari 18

Abstract

The CD Rom itself is well presented and easy to use. Pleasing to the eye and published in a professional manner, this digital collection includes an easy-to-use interface as well as onomastic, topical, and toponymic indices. These are particularly useful for they allow the reader to search this vast array of confraternal regulations for a variety of investigative purposes. As an example, the topical index includes the denial of membership to black people, a feature appearing in over a dozen of the confraternities' regulations. The ease with which a scholar can cross reference matters such as this one for a wide collection of these religious associations makes this collection an impressive and valuable research tool.Aside from the introductory remarks already mentioned, the accompanying book includes a short preface and general guideline for the project, a chronological list of the various regulations covered in the collection, and a short analysis of the different types of confraternities appearing in this work. The inclusion of the topical and onomastic indices (without references to corresponding page numbers, unlike those in digital form) might seem somewhat unnecessary. This minor quibble does not detract from the overall value of the work in question. These hereto unpublished confraternal regulations, presented so professionally and efficiently in digital form, will certainly provide scholars with invaluable and easy access to these geographically dispersed regulations. This collection represents a treasure that cannot be ignored by those interested in early modern Spanish confraternities.