Fonte de Pietade: Blood Devotion and Blood Consumption in the Laudari ‘Illuminati’ and ‘Frondini’

The following article analyses episodes of blood devo­tion in two fourteenth-century laudari written by the members of the confraternity of the Disciplinati di Santo Stefano in Assisi, oth­erwise known as the ‘Frondini’ and ‘Illuminati’ laudari. Through the analysis of a selection of laude celebrating Good Friday and Corpus Domini, this article explores how the holy blood of Christ is adored, poured, and metaphorically “consumed” in the narratives adopted by the flagellant confraternity. In doing so, the article also highlights the relationship with other cultural trends active in medieval Italy, in particular hagiographical episodes of bloodshed and blood con­sumption, and the iconographical tradition of the crocifissi dolorosi.