A beguinage, from the French term béguinage, is an architectural complex which was created to house beguines: lay religious women who lived in community without taking vows or retiring from the world.
View of the Beguinage in KortrijkA beguine, inhabitant of a beguinage. Excerpt from a manuscript of the beguinage of Sint-Aubertus in Ghent. Made ca. 1840.[1]
Originally the beguine institution was the convent, an association of beguines living together or in close proximity of each other under the guidance of a single superior, called a mistress or prioress. Although they were not usually referred to as "convents", in these houses dwelt a small number of women together: the houses small, informal, and often poor communities that emerged across Europe after the twelfth century. In most cases, beguines who lived in a convent agreed to obey certain regulations during their stay and contributed to a collective fund.[2]
In the first decades of the thirteenth century much larger and more stable types of community emerged in the region of the Low Countries: large court beguinages were formed which consisted of several houses for beguines built around a central chapel or church where their religious activities took place; these often included functional buildings such as a brewery, a bakery, a hospital, some farm buildings. Several of these beguinages are now listed by UNESCO as World Heritage sites. Around the mid-thirteenth century, the French king Louis IX founded a beguinage in Paris, which was modeled on the court beguinages of the Low Countries.[3]
The Oxford English Dictionary, citing Du Cange, gives the origin of the word "beguine" in the name of Lambert le Bègue, "Lambert the Stammerer", an early supporter of the movement who died around 1180.
While a small beguinage usually constituted just one house where women lived together, a Low Countries court beguinage typically comprised one or more courtyards surrounded by houses, and also included a church, an infirmary complex, and a number of communal houses or 'convents'. From the twelfth through eighteenth centuries, every city and large town in the Low Countries had at least one court beguinage: the communities dwindled and came to an end, over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They were encircled by walls and separated from the town proper by several gates, closed at night, but through which during the day the beguines could come and go as they pleased. Beguines came from a wide range of social classes, though truly poor women were admitted only if they had a wealthy benefactor who pledged to provide for their needs.
The understanding of women's motivations for joining the beguinages has changed dramatically in recent decades. The development of these communities is clearly linked to a preponderance of women in urban centers in the Middle Ages, but while earlier scholars like the Belgian historian Henri Pirenne believed that this "surplus" of women was caused by men dying in war, that theory has been debunked. Since the groundbreaking work of John Hajnal, who demonstrated that, for much of Europe, marriage occurred later in life and at a lower frequency than had previously been believed, historians have established that single women moved to the newly developed cities because those cities offered them work opportunities. Simons (2001) has shown how the smaller beguinages as well as the court beguinages answered such women's social and economic needs, in addition to offering them a religious life coupled with personal independence, which was a difficult thing to have for a woman.
^ "Beguinage of the Grey Beguines of Leeuwarden". Institute for Collective Action.
^ "Begijnhof, Haarlem, The Netherlands". Institutions for Collective Action. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
^"Case study: Begijnhof, Sittard, The Netherlands". Institutions for Collective Action.
^. Michelin Travel. Michelin. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
Sourcesedit
Miller, Tanya Stabler (2014). Beguines of Medieval Paris: Gender, Patronage, and Spiritual Authority. Pennsylvania UP. ISBN978-0812246070.
Simons, Walter (2001). Cities of Ladies: Beguine Communities in the Medieval Low Countries, 1200–1565. Pennsylvania UP. ISBN978-0812236040.
"World Heritage List | Flemish Béguinages". UNESCO. 1998.
Further readingedit
Swan, Laura (2014). The Wisdom of the Beguines: the Forgotten Story of a Medieval Women's Movement. BlueBridge. ISBN978-1933346977.
van Eck, Xander (2000). "Between Restraint and Excess: The Decoration of the Church of the Great Beguinage at Mechelen in the Seventeenth Century". Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art. 28 (3): 129–162. doi:10.2307/3780941. JSTOR 3780941.
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A beguinage from the French term beguinage is an architectural complex which was created to house beguines lay religious women who lived in community without taking vows or retiring from the world View of the Beguinage in KortrijkA beguine inhabitant of a beguinage Excerpt from a manuscript of the beguinage of Sint Aubertus in Ghent Made ca 1840 1 Originally the beguine institution was the convent an association of beguines living together or in close proximity of each other under the guidance of a single superior called a mistress or prioress Although they were not usually referred to as convents in these houses dwelt a small number of women together the houses small informal and often poor communities that emerged across Europe after the twelfth century In most cases beguines who lived in a convent agreed to obey certain regulations during their stay and contributed to a collective fund 2 In the first decades of the thirteenth century much larger and more stable types of community emerged in the region of the Low Countries large court beguinages were formed which consisted of several houses for beguines built around a central chapel or church where their religious activities took place these often included functional buildings such as a brewery a bakery a hospital some farm buildings Several of these beguinages are now listed by UNESCO as World Heritage sites Around the mid thirteenth century the French king Louis IX founded a beguinage in Paris which was modeled on the court beguinages of the Low Countries 3 Contents 1 Etymology 2 Description 3 In Belgium 4 Other beguinages 5 See also 6 References 7 Sources 8 Further reading 9 External linksEtymology editThe Oxford English Dictionary citing Du Cange gives the origin of the word beguine in the name of Lambert le Begue Lambert the Stammerer an early supporter of the movement who died around 1180 Description edit nbsp View of the Groot Begijnhof in LeuvenWhile a small beguinage usually constituted just one house where women lived together a Low Countries court beguinage typically comprised one or more courtyards surrounded by houses and also included a church an infirmary complex and a number of communal houses or convents From the twelfth through eighteenth centuries every city and large town in the Low Countries had at least one court beguinage the communities dwindled and came to an end over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries They were encircled by walls and separated from the town proper by several gates closed at night but through which during the day the beguines could come and go as they pleased Beguines came from a wide range of social classes though truly poor women were admitted only if they had a wealthy benefactor who pledged to provide for their needs nbsp Beguinage at Sint Truiden with its chapel leftThe understanding of women s motivations for joining the beguinages has changed dramatically in recent decades The development of these communities is clearly linked to a preponderance of women in urban centers in the Middle Ages but while earlier scholars like the Belgian historian Henri Pirenne believed that this surplus of women was caused by men dying in war that theory has been debunked Since the groundbreaking work of John Hajnal who demonstrated that for much of Europe marriage occurred later in life and at a lower frequency than had previously been believed historians have established that single women moved to the newly developed cities because those cities offered them work opportunities Simons 2001 has shown how the smaller beguinages as well as the court beguinages answered such women s social and economic needs in addition to offering them a religious life coupled with personal independence which was a difficult thing to have for a woman In Belgium editFlemish BeguinagesUNESCO World Heritage Site nbsp Our Lady Ter Hooyen Small Beguinage of GhentLocationFlanders BelgiumIncludesBeguinage of Hoogstraten Beguinage of Lier Large Beguinage of Mechelen Beguinage of Turnhout Beguinage of Sint Truiden Beguinage of Tongeren Beguinage of Dendermonde Small Beguinage of Ghent Beguinage of Sint Amandsberg Ghent Beguinage of Diest Large Beguinage of Leuven Beguinage of Bruges Beguinage of KortrijkCriteriaCultural ii iii iv Reference855Inscription1998 22nd Session Area59 95 ha 148 1 acres Coordinates51 1 51 5 N 4 28 25 5 E 51 030972 N 4 473750 E 51 030972 4 473750 nbsp nbsp Location of Flemish Beguinages World Heritage Site in EuropeAarschot Anderlecht Antwerp Bruges Brussels Dendermonde Diest Diksmuide Ghent Old Saint Elisabeth New Saint Elisabeth in Sint Amandsberg Our Lady Ter Hooyen Hasselt Herentals Hoogstraten Lier Leuven Large Small Mechelen Large Small Kortrijk Oudenaarde Sint Truiden Turnhout Tongeren marks the thirteen Flemish Beguinages listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites in 1998 4 Other beguinages editBegijnhof Amsterdam Netherlands Bagijnhof Delft Netherlands Begijnhof Utrecht Netherlands Breda Netherlands Leeuwarden Netherlands 5 Haarlem Netherlands 6 Sittard Netherlands 7 Beguinage de la rue Quentin Barre et al Saint Quentin France 8 Beguinage de Saint Vaast Cambrai France Beguinage Valenciennes Beguinage Paris FranceSee also editBeguines and Beghards Frauenfrage specifically associated with a medieval demographic period in relation to womenReferences edit Het begijnhof Sint Aubertus Poortacker te Gent lib ugent be Retrieved 2020 08 28 Simons 2001 Miller 2014 UNESCO 1998 Beguinage of the Grey Beguines of Leeuwarden Institute for Collective Action Begijnhof Haarlem The Netherlands Institutions for Collective Action Retrieved 8 January 2016 Case study Begijnhof Sittard The Netherlands Institutions for Collective Action Beguinages in Saint Quentin Michelin Travel Michelin Archived from the original on January 11 2016 Retrieved January 8 2016 Sources editMiller Tanya Stabler 2014 Beguines of Medieval Paris Gender Patronage and Spiritual Authority Pennsylvania UP ISBN 978 0812246070 Simons Walter 2001 Cities of Ladies Beguine Communities in the Medieval Low Countries 1200 1565 Pennsylvania UP ISBN 978 0812236040 World Heritage List Flemish Beguinages UNESCO 1998 Further reading editSwan Laura 2014 The Wisdom of the Beguines the Forgotten Story of a Medieval Women s Movement BlueBridge ISBN 978 1933346977 van Eck Xander 2000 Between Restraint and Excess The Decoration of the Church of the Great Beguinage at Mechelen in the Seventeenth Century Simiolus Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art 28 3 129 162 doi 10 2307 3780941 JSTOR 3780941 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beguinage Belgium s beguinages offered refuge for women CNN Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Beguinage amp oldid 1183654138 In Belgium, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
