BROTHERHOOD OF ANIMA OF VILLAFÁFILA

Continuing with the list of the brotherhoods of Villafáfila, there is treatment of the Brotherhood of the Ánimas that is still active in the parish.

Founded since ancient times in the parish church of San Juan.

Two books of the same are preserved (Diocesan Archive of Zamora. Parish Section , parish 113.3 books 9 and 10) , the images correspond to book 9 pages. : 1st and 17r,  and to the book 10 pp. : 14r, 16r, 25v, and one without leaf.

The first dates back to 1672. In the provisions of the council written at the end of the 16th century or the beginning of the 17th, it is noted:

“On the first Sunday after the saints, the brotherhood of the souls does in San Juan offiçio defuntos for the souls in purgatory as the capes of the year are made that act as a town hall and the mayordomo of the brotherhood pays five hundred mrs... and the procession the council does it” ,

so it possibly existed previously without a rule.

The first butler was Antonio Caballero.

The rule of the brotherhood was presented for approval to the bishop of Astorga in 1672:

“In the town of Villafáfila on the sixteenth day of the month of July, six hundred and seventy-two years, before the Honorable Mr. Don Matías de Moratinos Santos, my lord, Bishop of Astorga and elect of Segovia, of the Council of His Mg, walking in general visit of this bishopric, the ordinances and constitutions of the brotherhood of the Ánias have been presented, above and retro written, sitting in the parish of San Juan and this said town, and seen by its Illma. He said that he approved them and approved them in accordance with what is referred to in them, without prejudice to ordinary law, and for their validation he interposed and interposed his authority and judicial order and thus tested and sent and signed, in the said town, day and month sayings that I give fee.

Matthias, bishop of Astorga.

Before me Geronimo Maquirian, snº” .

I make the transcription from a reliable copy of 1750 years before the scribe Enrique García Horduña, because the first pages of the old book are damaged. From them we know the main characteristics of the brotherhood:

Its purpose is to pray for the souls in purgatory and particularly for those of the brothers who died. To be a brother, it was enough to request it and pay four maravedís each week.

The function is held on the first Monday after All Souls' Day, with vespers, mass and procession. That day the charges of the brotherhood were elected, which were a mayordomo and four officers called "cuatros", in addition to a collector from each neighborhood.

The mayordomo had to order a mass to be said for the souls every Monday and one for each deceased brother.

The obligation to attend the funerals of the brothers and to take half of the wax of the brotherhood to light in the trades, and in case of death the mayordomo would take all the wax. If someone wanted all the wax to be taken, he had to pay for the losses.

And a charitable practice with those who fell into poverty, two brothers would be named to ask for the town for their remedy.

 Rule

“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are three different persons and one true God, to the glory and honor of Our Lady of the Conception and of Mr. Saint Joseph, her husband, may he give us help for principle and in order to found the brotherhood of the Blessed Souls of Purgatory, located in the parish of Mr. San Juan de Villafáfila, whom all the brothers receive through our lawyers, and for their increase we are obliged to comply with the underwritten chapters that are the following:

-First of all, we order that on the eve and day of the souls, all the brothers are obliged to go to the parish church of San Juan in this town to attend the vespers and mass on the first Monday after the commemoration of the Dead, worth a quarter waxy.

-Itten we order that anyone who wants to enter this brotherhood pay four mrs each week and it is our will that on the day of the festivity of the Blessed Souls mayordomo and four be named, and one person from each neighborhood to collect the happiness entry alms and that he gives it to the butler.

-Ytten we order that every Monday they say a mass prayed for the blessed souls.

-Ytten we order that if any brother dies we are obliged to attend his burial and offices, being notified by a lawyer, appointed by the brotherhood, and that the wax that the brotherhood has we are obliged to give it for the burial only to the brother who had All those who have the brotherhood have been butlers, and half of the others who have not been butlers, and the other half will be paid alms according to what is spent.

-Ytten we order that if any brother falls ill and is in need, the steward has the obligation to appoint two brothers so that they ask throughout the town for his help.

-Ytten we order that the mayordomo who is of a brotherhood in each one year forever will never be in charge of ordering a mass to be said for each brother who dies the day closest to his death. And for this let the butler pay if a quarteron of zera did not do it”.

In 1674 some additional chapters were written that together and jointly the brotherhoods made:

-“First of all, the fourth chapter that talks about the burial of siblings must be repealed and it is mandated that they be equal without any exception.

-Yten it should be added for the good administration of this brotherhood that within each year the brotherhoods must pay the amount agreed upon, and not paying it having been asked by the steward and fours, they kick him out of the brotherhood.

-Ytt that if any person wants to enter as a brother, the butler cannot admit it by himself, penalty of half a pound of wax, but with the assistance of the four, so that together they bean if it suits and if not that they fire him properly.

-Ytt that said steward and four get together and bean if in the brotherhoods that there is, there is someone who due to his defects and bad habits is worthy of kicking him out of the brotherhood, they kick him out, and likewise if someone wants to leave giving sufficient reason, leave said brotherhood.

-Ytt if any neighbor of this town or foreigner asks for the brotherhood or zera for his burial, he is given, paying what the mayor and four seem to think should be given.

-Ytt that if a poor man dies, all the brothers have to assist him with the wax that the mayor and four see fit, because it is a pious work.

-Ytt that if the steward or quatros know that some brothers are enemies, they call them and admonish them to be friends and they can put half a pound of wax on them. And by not doing it, the one who reuses it is kicked out of the brotherhood.

-Ytt that if any brother was in danger of death, speaking, the butler sends two brothers to watch over him and if he does not do so, they take each one a quarteron of wax, and later on the disobedience consults with the four and they throw him out of the brotherhood

-Ytten that no brother can be steward for more than a year and the accounts are taken every year.

-Ytten that no brother can be steward without having been four of the brotherhood.

-Ytten that in order to be steward and other officials they meet in the house of the priest who is from San Juan so that the appointment is arranged " .

A small conflict soon arose with the clergy members of the town's ecclesiastical chapter, who pretended to be ex officio members of the brotherhood for making the procession, as was the case in others in the town.

In the visit of March 1675, Don José Ussúa y Amaya, magisterial canon, synodal judge and inspector of the bishopric, since the see was vacant, left a command:

“That the steward take great care in ordering the masses of this brotherhood to be said and that he keep it well repaired and send the constitutions arranged in it, and that all those who enter said brotherhood take great care in paying and that they observe with great decency the brotherhood and that the stewardesses take the account in the presence of the priest, a pity that if they do not do so, they will be considered null and void and that every year the bills are taken from the stewardesses, and that they go with the amounts to the what happened

And since he was informed that the capitulants of this town pretend to be brotherhoods without paying the stipend like the others for saying that they have to make the procession of the souls around the church, as he says they have it customary in the other brotherhoods, he ordered your mercy that the chapter members be paid for the procession, if the brotherhood did it, for the fair price that according to others is 500 mrs, but if they want to be brotherhoods they have to pay the entrance as do the others who enter the happiness brotherhood".

The brothers had to attend the meetings and appeals of the brotherhood, being called by a bell that the caller of the same had to bring, under the penalty of a quarteron of wax each time they were absent.

The brotherhood was mixed, but the management positions were always men.

In 1678 the brothers:

They paid 4 reales a year, that year they collected 944 reales, so the number of members would be 236.

And 100 reals the one who entered at the time of his death to take advantage of the benefits of suffrage of the brotherhood.

In 1681:

“In consideration of the reduction of the currency, it was a lot for the brothers to pay 4 reales each year, they are reduced to two reales” .

Those years the king had decreed a currency deflation that affected the price of articles and wages.

In 1682 a black banner was bought for the processions and functions of the brotherhood.

The rods that were carried in procession where it is crowned with the following figure are preserved.

That year the bishop orders that 200 reals be delivered to the church of San Juan for being poor and in need of some repairs. The brotherhood, which then had funds, determined that 600 reals be delivered.

In 1702 there are 315 brothers, among them 13 clerics.

In 1742 there were 701 brothers, distributed according to the parishioners of the parishes:

Saint Peter 221.

Santa Maria 191.

San Salvador 126.

Saint John 109.

Saint Martin 54.

In 1804 the brothers were:

Saint Martin with Saint John 260.

San Salvador, 289.

Saint Peter 342, 

Santa Maria 278.

Knoll 90.

Each year the outgoing mayordomo had to account for income and expenses. The income was the fees of the brothers, alms, and sometimes they rented the braces for various functions. The expenses were used in the masses, buying wax, expenses of the preacher, 18 reales (it went up over the years) that they gave to the boy who rang the bell, and to pay the sacristan who stringed up the whole night of the function.

 The mayordomos who, after rendering the accounts, did not deliver the amount of the scopes were declared excommunicated. Thus in 1683 to Domingo Díaz, who had not paid within the indicated term:

“he is declared and declared excommunicated by the public, putting it on tablets and making it known to the priest of Santa María, where he is a parishioner and to the other priests of this town so that they can have it as a stem and publish it in their churches” .  

They ask that the censorship be postponed until he can collect from his debtors to pay the brotherhood. It is suspended for 15 days.

The assets of delinquent mayordomos were also seized, as in the case of Don José Ossorio Yebra in 1688, even making the embargo prevail over another decreed from the Royal Chancery.

With the reduction of the annual fee in 1693 they had to make a cut of 2 reales per brother to be able to buy the wax because there was none.

The lack of funds is repeated and so in 1737 commands:

“That the alms that used to be used to ask for the one who played the shearing of said brotherhood be asked every Sunday, and that the alms that are taken out every Sunday be sold in the church where the function of the town hall is served.”

In the list of expenses of the brotherhoods of the province of Zamora of 1770, 900 are spent on masses and the function and 130 on meals and other expenses.

1770 reference is made to the brotherhood of the Brotherhood of Souls in the referral file of the Viscount of Valoria, intendant of Zamora, to the Count of Aranda of the state of the congregations, brotherhoods and brotherhoods that exist in the towns of his jurisdiction, Villafáfila ( Zamora) (sheet VIII et seq.).

That same year, the mayordomo and four members of the brotherhood met at the house of the priest in San Juan, with the priest and some residents of Otero de Sariegos, who requested the extension of the brotherhood to that town. They agree that the residents of Otero can enjoy the votes and the wax of the brotherhood under certain conditions: appoint a collector of the neckline among the Otero brothers, but without the right to choose a mayordomo, the transport of the wax, and in his case the cloth and the coffin, for the burials of Otero, would be in charge of the heirs of the deceased. In the event of the coincidence of two deceased on the same day, Otero's funeral would be after Villafáfila's. Attendance at vespers and mass would be voluntary.

San Juan Church suppressed in 1775, it becomes dependent on the church of San Martín, its headquarters passed to that of S. Martín. Demolished before 1807, even in 1814 parts remained.

The painting of the souls, which is still preserved in Santa María, was made in 1767 and surely also the catafalque, since the altar and painting are mentioned as a unit, and in the aforementioned agreement with the town of Otero it is already mentioned “ the coffin” referring without a doubt to the catafalque. When it was transferred from San Juan it was placed next to the back doors of San Martín.

The effects of the brotherhood in 1794 were a black banner, an old book and a current account book with a copy of the rule. The custom of ringing the souls on their feast day was maintained from dusk until dawn, and in 1775 the bishop ordered that the bell only be rung until 10 p.m.

The rules were modified in 1844 because of certain conflicts that had arisen in the observation and interpretation of the old ones.

“In the town of Villafáfila, on the first day of the month of November of the year 1844, the undersigned members of the Benditas Ánimas, having all been summoned, either personally, or by edicts posted on the doors of the churches, in order to deal with several disputes that originated in this and other years to give wax to the brothers who stop paying the neckline for some years, as well as about other quite notable faults in compliance with the rule and that must be repaired, they agreed, prior reading of the rule, that the chapters of the aforementioned rule given by our elders be complied with, only with the following modification:

1º in the first chapter in which the fine of one quarter of wax is imposed on the brother who does not attend vespers and mass on the day of the function, the fine is lifted, leaving it to the conscience of each one to attend, trusting that All those who can will attend to ask God for the souls of their brothers so that others do the same for them, bearing in mind those divine words, with the measure you measure, it will be measured to you.

2º In the second article they believed that instead of four mrs each week that the entry rule establishes, it should be reduced and they reduced it to four reales at the time of sitting in the book of the brotherhood and then continue paying one real of annual decolletage as of wont well

 To this article they added what is said in the second of the additions to the rule, namely: that if any brother did not pay the cleavage in a year, he would be excluded, but bearing in mind that one year is not enough, they lengthen it to three years, so that if in three years he stops paying, he is for the same reason excluded from the brotherhoods and to re-enter he needs to request the brotherhood again and pay the entrance fee.

It is also the will of the board to implement the following... and ten, of addictions: that if someone wants to enter as a brother, they are not admitted only by the mayordomos and four, and yes, they all intervene with the parish priest or vicar to put it in the book.

3º As the third and sixth articles of the rule say that every Monday a mass is said for the deceased brothers and another for each one as soon as possible after their death, they agreed that two hundred reais be delivered to the parish priest or vicar every year as usual so that the rights of the function are collected, which will be those of a regular burial, and the remainder is used in masses for the deceased brothers.

4º They agreed that the fourth article of the rule be reduced to the following: when a brother dies, one of each house is obliged to attend his funeral while in town, being notified by the caller, and the one who does not attend will pay a quarter of wax for the brotherhood, more so that it is not too burdensome, the town is distributed by neighborhoods and the obligation remains for those of the neighborhood where the corpse is. The division is by parishes, so that everyone in a parish has to attend when there is a burial in it, taking care to be present to the mayordomo who will be at the door of the corpse with the list of the brothers.

5º That the addition to the fourth article regarding the wax of the burials be fulfilled and that all the brothers be equal.

6º If the wax is requested by someone who is not a member of the brotherhood, it is the will of the board to give it to him weighing it before and when he returns it, adding the losses and also one real for each ax he carries.

7º The 24 axes that the brotherhood currently has will continue, which will be renewed when they are very worn, without being allowed to increase the number.

8º The mayordomos will take private accounts to the four and all together will give the general ones to the house of the parish priest or vicar without passing eight days after the function, and after that they will be narrowed down by the judge.

9º If there is any money left over after making the expenses according to the last accounts, it will remain in deposit in the hands of the mayordomos until they meet to take out a banner and increase the cloth of the tomb, and once this is purchased, it will be used in votes for the brothers. Deceased.

10º The mayordomos and the four will meet at the house of the first-named butler to elect another butler and four, sending a signed ballot to the house of the parish priest or vicar stating the appointment and if they do not agree, they will all go to the priest's house so that he can decide , all this the day of the function before mass.

11º Every year, on the Sunday closest to the taking of accounts, the summary signed by the parish priest or vicar and the outgoing mayordomos will be placed at the door of San Martín.

12º Every year on All Saints' Day, a copy of the second article of this agreement, signed by the parish priest or vicar, will be placed at the door of San Martín.

13º They agreed to follow the custom regarding the priests having them as brothers with only the assistance without paying neckline or paying the rights to those who attend with a pinch, but five reales are paid to each one of those who dress in dalmatics.

14º They agreed that all those who are currently brothers will be considered as such, without further input but with the obligation to comply with this agreement and those who are to be mayordomos have to sign it and if they do not do so, others will be appointed, with which the meeting was concluded signed by those who knew” .

The brotherhood continued to function without major changes until today, except for minor changes in its rules.

Thus, on November 15, 1891, meeting in the church of San Martín, a considerable number of brothers agreed:

“Firstly: When there is a death in any of the four parishes, thirty axes will light up for the day of the burial and fifteen if it has two offices and if it has one, all thirty will light up.

Second: henceforth no brother will be admitted without first having paid a peseta for admission, if he is over 50 years old he will not be admitted.

Third: the registrations will be in the possession of the parish priest from the moment the fours make the payment.

Fourth: that the appointment of four will be by seniority and with the consent of the parish priest

And to record it, they signed it in Villafáfila on November 15, 1891” .

In solemn burials the catafalque of the brotherhood was used, which dates back to the 18th century, and was rented by those who were not brotherhoods.

Older people still remember the function of the Ánimas in the church of San Martín, when the catafalque was placed, adorned all around with small lamps in glasses colored by the anilines that were added to the water.

It is a pity that it is not preserved, which was adorned with images and legends alluding to purgatory, similar I suppose to others existing in  some towns .

Church of San Martín, suppressed in 1896, becomes an annex of Santa María del Moral.

After the disappearance of the church of San Martín in 1953, the Brotherhood now has and depends on the church of Santa María del Moral until today.

Author:

Elias Rodriguez Rodriguez:

Brotherhood of Animas de Villafáfila.

historiadevillafafila.blogspot.com http://historiasdevillafafila.blogspot.com/2016/09/cofradia-de-las-animas.html

Manuel de la Granja Alonso and Camilo Pérez Bragado:

Villafáfila: History and current situation of a Castilian-Leonese town and its parish churches, p . 416 .

Photography:

Emiliano Perez Mencia:

https://epmencia.blogspot.com/2013/11/catafalco-de-abraveses-de-tera-la.html

https://epmencia.blogspot.com/2013/11/catafalco-de-rionegro-del-puente-las.html

Elijah Rodriguez Rodriguez.

Jose Luis Dominguez.

Transcription and montage:

Jose Luis Dominguez.

All text, photographs, transcription and montage, the rights belong to their authors, any type of use is prohibited without authorization.