In the second place, they were actuated by a sense of love for Jesus Christ, and a desire of uniting themselves to him in his sufferings. The intention we speak of, is particularly recommended in the Statutes of different religious Orders; and the Brothers are exhorted in them, ‘when they inflict discipline upon themselves, to call to their mind Jesus Christ, their most amiable Lord, fastened to the column, and to endeavour to experience a few of those excessive pains he was made to endure.’ This notion of religious persons, which proceeds from an unbounded sense of gratitude towards their Divine Saviour, from a wish of repaying in any manner the immense service he had conferred upon them in saving them from destruction, and of at least sharing his sufferings, since they cannot alleviate them, has certainly something interesting in its principle.
But the most universal use, by far, that has been made of flagellatory disciplines among Christians, in these parts of the world, has been to atone for past sins. And indeed it is no wonder that a practice of so convenient a kind, which enabled every one, by means of an operation of the duration and severity of which he was the sole judge, to pay, as he thought, an adequate price for every offence he might have committed, and silence a troublesome conscience whenever he pleased, should so easily gain ground, and meet with so much favour, not only from the vulgar, but also from great Men, and even Kings; to whom we may no doubt add their Ministers.
Among the superstitious notions that may be hurtful to Society, it is difficult to imagine one of a worse tendency than that here mentioned, the immediate consequence of which is to render useless all the distinctions implanted in the human mind between evil and good, and, by making offenders easy with themselves, to take off the only punishment that is left for the greater number of crimes. When notions like these were adopted by Kings, with respect to whom human laws are silent, the consequences were pernicious in the extreme; practices of this sort became as dangerous to the peace and happiness of their subjects, as they would have been conducive to them, if the disciplines we speak of, instead of being inflicted upon such high Offenders, every time they were conscious they deserved them, by the hands of Confessors aiming at Bishopricks, or under fear of dungeons, had been dealt them to the full satisfaction of a Jury composed of impartial persons, and nowise afraid to speak their minds.
These notions of the usefulness of self-flagellations, were carried to a most extravagant pitch by a Sect formed of those itinerant Disciplinants, accounts of whom have been above given. Proud of the cruel disciplines they inflicted upon themselves, they looked upon them as being of far greater merit than the practice of any Christian virtue; and they at last formed among themselves a particular Sect of Heretics, who were called Flagellants. The title of History of the Flagellants, which the Abbé Boileau has given to his Work, might seem to indicate that he intended to write an History of that Sect, and of those public processions of Disciplinants which have succeeded it: yet, he only mentions that Sect and those Processions in his usual loose manner, in his ninth Chapter, without even distinguishing the one from the other. The proper title of his book (and of this, which is imitated from it) should be, The History of religious Flagellations among different Nations, and especially among Christians.
Among the different tenets of the Hereticks we speak of, were the following. They pretended that the blood they shed, during their flagellations, was mixed with that of Jesus Christ;—that self-flagellations made confession useless;—that they were more meritorious than martyrdom, for they were voluntary, which martyrdom was not;—that baptism by water was of no use, as every true Christian must be baptized in his own blood;—that flagellation could atone for all past and future offences, and supplied the want of all other good works. To these tenets, and to several others of the same sort, they added Stories of different kinds; such as that of the abovementioned letter brought from Heaven by an Angel, to order self-flagellations; they gave out that a certain Brother of their Sect, who lived at Erford in Thuringe, was Elias; and that another, whose name was Conrad Smith, was Enoch, &c. &c.
As the principles maintained by these Hereticks, were destructive of most of the essential tenets received by the Church, this reason, together with the cruelties they practised upon themselves, and in general their fanaticism, which really was of a despicable kind, caused Pope Clement IV. to issue a Bull against them, in the year 1350; and several Princes expressly prohibited that Sect, in the places under their dominion.
From those Hereticks, must therefore be distinguished the common Fraternities of Disciplinants, which continue in these days to be established in several Countries. These Fraternities are composed of good orthodox Christians, who do not in any degree pretend that their disciplines supersede the necessity of Baptism or Confession, or of any other Sacrament; who tell no stories about Elias, or Enoch; who dutifully subscribe to all the tenets, without exception, recommended by the Church, and above all pay implicit obedience to the authority of the Heads of it. They are Associations of much the same kind with common Clubs, or if you please, like Lodges of Freemasons: they have a stock of effects and furniture belonging to the Fraternity, such as banners, crucifixes, ornaments for altars, and so on; and each contributes a certain small sum annually, for keeping the above effects in repair, and defraying the expences of paying the music, feeing Priests, and others of a like kind: they have, besides, peculiar Statutes, not unlike the Articles of a common Club.
The principal engagement of these Fraternities is to discipline themselves in times of great Solemnities; such as the Sundays in the Advent, the Sundays before Palm-Sunday, on Maunday Thursday, and certain days during the Carnival. On these days they walk about Towns in regular processions. They carry along with them banners, painted with the appropriated colour of the Brotherhood: the Brothers are equipped in a peculiar kind of dress for the occasion, all wearing, besides, masks over their faces. With this apparatus they visit different Churches, exhibiting an appearance which, when seen from some distance, is not unlike that of the trading Companies, in London, on a Lord Mayor’s Day; and their banners, together with the other ornaments they display, cut a figure not very short of the paraphernalia of the City.
In the principal Church whence they set off, and perhaps also in those which they visit, they hear a short sermon from a Priest, on the Passion of our Saviour; and as soon as the Priest has said the words, “let us mend and grow better” (emendemus in melius) the disciplines begin with the singing of the Miserere, and are continued in the streets, as they walk in procession. By one Article of their Statutes, it is ordered that no Brother shall put a Man to discipline himself in his stead. Plenty of Indulgences are granted to those who discharge their duty on those occasions. And moreover, Bishops are ordered to inspect, in their respective Dioceses, the Fraternities there established, and examine their Statutes, in order to strike out such articles as may contain seeds of Heresy.