User:Unbuttered Parsnip/sandbox/beguines

The beguines originally formed as a self-help groups of women who gathered together for mutual protection and comfort. Because of the demands of the crusades, many men were absent from their households for extended periods of time, leaving behind vulnerable women who were effectively or really widows.

These women were open to be preyed on by the men remaining. For that reason they gathered together in the security of walled and gated communities.

Onomastics

The origin of the word "Beguine" is like most things medieval, a matter more of conjecture than fact, and originally it was a pejorative term because of its heretical undertones. Favoured derivations include

1. the old Flemish word "beghen" meaning "to pray".
2. one of the prime movers was a liègeois priest called Lambert le Bègue, who died c. 1180, but there again, maybe his name too was derived from "beghen"; (but it more likely indicates that he was either a heretic or a stammerer, although being a stammerer is unlikely for a popular preacher).
3. it could be a corruption of "Albigensian", a reference to mendicancy.
4. a reference to St. Begga (actually this idea is pretty well debunked — although she has been the patroness of the communities since the 14th century, in fact this "derivation" was invented during the 17th century regeneration of the order).
5. the characteristic grey colour of the beguine habit.

Development

What might be called "proto–Beguines" were organised — both founded and funded by Lambert le Bègue — initially as shelters for widows and orphans of Crusaders. One answer to the socio‑economic problem of widows and unmarried women, from the early 13th century effectively single women were able to live together, well cared for, in secular communities. They were not "nuns", since they took no vows, and were able to leave the beguinage any time they chose, although during their stay they were expected to observe chastity. They did not renounce worldly goods, although their life in the community emphasised manual work, either caritative (education & nursing) or industrial (lace‑making & all stages of cloth manufacture).

Religiosity

However the sisterhood (and its companion brotherhood, the Beghards) tended towards the mysticism of the Cathars, and as such found itself the target of the Inquisition. At the time of establishment, the teachings of Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–c. 1327) were prevalent, popular and influential especially in Northern France and the Low Countries, although he himself was subsequently investigated and condemned for heresy, because he departed too far from the Scholastic method and form of his teacher, St Thomas Aquinas. Another important influence was that of the prophetess St Hildegard (1098–1179).

The heretical tendencies of the Beghards and Beguines necessitated disciplinary measures, sometimes severe, on the part of ecclesiastical authority. Various restrictions were placed upon them by the Synod of Fritzlar (1259), of Mainz (1261), and of Eichstätt (1282); and they were forbidden as "having no approbation" by the Synod of Béziers (1299). They were condemned by the Council of Vienne (1312), but this sentence was mitigated by John XXII (1321), who permitted the Beguines to resume their mode of life, as they had mended their ways.

Among the errors of the Beguines and Beghards condemned by the Council of Vienne are the propositions:

 • that man in the present life can attain such a degree of perfection as to become utterly impeccable;

 • that the "perfect" have no need to fast or pray, but may freely grant the body whatsoever it craves;

 • that they are not subject to any human authority nor bound by the precepts of the Church

Similar exaggerations on the part of the Fraticelli led to their condemnation by John XXII in 1317 . The same pope in 1329 proscribed among the errors of Meister Eckhart the assertions that

Prop	(10)	we are totally transformed into God just as in the sacrament the bread is changed into the Body of Christ;
	(14	since God wills that I should have sinned I do not wish that I had not sinned;
	(18)	we should bring forth the fruit, not of external actions, which do not make us good, but of internal actions which are wrought by the Father abiding within us

These were inherently Quietist and as such deemed dangerously heretical.

Physical structure

Most of the beguinages were suppressed during the religious troubles of the fifteen–hundreds — the Iconoclasm — or during the stormy years which closed the eighteenth century, but a few communities of active beguines still exist in various parts of Belgium. Most remain well-preserved, and can be found in the following towns and cities:

Location	Founded	Notes
Aalst	13th century	Aalst begijnhof church Most of the campus was demolished in the 1950s to make way for social housing. Only the church, a chapel and two original houses remain.
Aarschot		Beguinage at Aarschot
Antwerp/Anvers	1245	Antwerpen beguinage (c. 1544) It was founded in 1544 when the old convent from 1245, which was outside the city walls, was abandoned for safety. The convent was originally the square type, but later there was an alley built. The original church was destroyed in 1799, the present St. Catherine's Church was built in 1827, probably under the direction of Pierre Bruno Bourla
Audenarde/Oudenaarde	1207	Oudenaarde Begijnhof Rich beguines lived in their own homes, while poor beguines lived together in larger communal houses.
Borgloon
Bruges	1234	Bruges Beguinage
Brussels	1245	Brussels beguinage Almost nothing remains of the beguine campus, apart from its parochial church, which is rather run down. It serves as a refuge for les sans-papiers.
Courtrai/Kortrijk	1238	Begijnhof museum Kortrijk (1649) The beguinage has been destroyed several times: the current houses date from mid-17th century. The last traditional beguine in Belgium, perhaps the world, resided here. The beguinage is open for visitors.
Dendermonde	1288	17th century cottages of Dendermonde beguinage beside 1928 church
Diest		Beguinage at Diest; gateway by Reubens A very well preserved beguinage, it still provided refuge to true beguines until as late as 1926. The gateway is by Rubens.
Diksmuide	1288	Beguinage at Diksmuide. Totally rebuilt after WWI The entire town was flattened during the First World War, but was subsequently rebuilt. So the beguinage you can see today is a modern replica.
Ghent	1234	"Groothuis" and "Infirmerie" of the former Sint-Elisabethbegijnhof There are three beguinages in Ghent
Hasselt	1245	Beguinage at Hasselt Originally situated outside the city walls, the first beguinage was destroyed during the Iconoclasm. It was re-established within the city walls in 1571, but moved again at the end of the 17th century.
Herentals	1266	View of beguinage through gateway One of the oldest beguinages of the ancient Duchy of Brabant, it was founded in 1266 and is situated opposite the old Hospital. During the Eighty Years' War it was demolished; then rebuilt in 1590 on Burchtstraat. The campus consists of a single street, along which a park is situated, containing a convent church. Only a few houses have been restored.
Hoogstraten	1380	Hoogstraten beguinage In the 16th century, it was swept by fire several times, including on Maundy Thursday 1506 when the whole complex was destroyed as well as the church. In 1534 the campus was enclosed within a stone wall. In the early 17th century, there were only two nuns. This number rose to 160 by the end of the 17th century. In 1972 the last beguine left the beguinage. However in 1992 some Hoogstarten residents started its restoration, and since 1997 the beguinage is again fully occupied.
Lier/Lierre	1258	Beguinage at Lier This very large "town within a town" is prettily preserved. However most of it dates from 16th–17th century development rather than the original 13th century. It now appears to be secular, apart from the convent.
Louvain/Leuven	1234	Old beguinage at Louvain There are two beguinages in this city. The larger is still laid out as before, although there is no trace of original development, apart, maybe, from some of the back walls along the river Dijl. It was extended by the Spanish. The smaller beguinage is in a poor state of repair – several of the houses were boarded up (July 1999) but there are signs of imminent restoration.
Mechelen/Malines	1207	Jesus gate of Mechelen Grand beguinage The first campus established in 1207 (now known as klein begijnhof) attracted so many would-be entrants that a much larger campus (8 ha, 20 acres) was established outside the city in 1276. At its peak around 1550 there were more than 1500 residents.
Sint Truiden	1258	Beguinage at Sint-Truiden The campus itself still exists, along with some ancillary buildings such as the farm. The houses themselves have more or less disappeared, although there are a few from the 17th and early 18th centuries. There are several new houses, and it is entirely secular, even including a bar. The church contains some important early wall‑paintings, and is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Tienen/Tirlemont		Remains of beguinage at Tienen Only the façade and partial floor of the chapel of the beguinage remain.
Tongeren	1239	Beguinage at Tongeren Originally outside the city, when the city added defensive walls in 1257 the beguinage moved inside them, but isolated itself from the city by its own walls.
Turnhout	13th Century	Beguinage at Turnhout