Il mio buono compare: choosing godparents and the uses of baptismal kinship in renaissance Florence. From: Journal of Social History | Date: December 22, 1995| Author: Haas, Louis | COPYRIGHT 1995 Journal of Social History. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Using information from the ricordanze, the diary-like account books of the Florentine merchant-elite, this article examines how and why Florentines used the social relationships generated by baptism, that is godparenthood and co-parenthood. This baptismal kinship structured a network of special friends of godchildren, parents and coparents. The sexual taboos, religious requirements, and mutual responsibilities associated with baptismal kinship set the boundaries for how baptismal kin should a...