Page 167 - Upland Families, Elites and Communities

Catholic Confraternities, Kinship and Social Discipline

the Rosary. The same phenomenon can be observed in other family groups
whose sexual discipline was also not a model of Catholic morality.
In fact, in Bovernier sexual indiscipline was even more widespread than
in Liddes or in other communities of the region, which becomes manifest
in exceptionally high rates of illegitimacy. This relative tolerance did not
spare the confraternities, which were confronted not only with couples
who had had sexual intercourse before their wedding, but also with sev-
eral cases of illegitimacy or even adultery among their members.
Between 1769 and 1799 we observe at least ten parents of illegitimate
children among the members of local confraternities, including current or
earlier members. The devotional associations adopted a very tolerant local
sexual culture and could not build a steady defence wall against the change
in sexual mores and attitudes. To be sure, most of these confrères and con-
soeurs were probably simple formal members who did not play any essen-
tial role in the life of the confraternities. But in some cases the authors
of sexual misconduct were local notables, such as the already mentioned
Joseph Bourgeois, who remained a member of two different confraterni-
ties.

The Officers and the Devotional Milieu: A Stricter
Sexual Discipline?
The outcome could be different if, instead of considering all formally regis-
tered members, we focus on the officers and assignees of the brotherhoods,
who were the most active and visible members, and their entourage. As I
suggested above, it is essential to consider very different groups and envi-
ronments within the peasant society, characterized by very different val-
ues, identities and attitudes.
Studying the valleys of Ticino, for example, Alessandro Ratti has ob-
served the existence of devout milieus, close to the parish clergy, whose
behaviour differs markedly from that of other groups of the same com-
munities: theyare notonlymembers of the brotherhoods but arecounted
among their founders (or among their descendants), assume responsibili-
ties, found masses, finance churches and oratories, etc. (Ratti 2024).
They were thus clearly distinguished from other milieus – peasants or
elite – who were more or less indifferent to religion or even hostile to the
local clergy. In the communities of Valais we note similar differences: they
became visible in particular in the nineteenth century, with the emergence
of devout and relatively militant circles opposed to the progress of radical-
ism and anticlericalism. They differed quite clearly from other circles and

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