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
editThe 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
- the old Flemish word "beghen" meaning "to pray".
- 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).
- it could be a corruption of "Albigensian", a reference to mendicancy.
- 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).
- the characteristic grey colour of the beguine habit.[a]
Development
editWhat 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
editHowever the sisterhood (and its companion brotherhood, the Beghards) tended towards the mysticism of the Cathars[b], 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 [1]: 471
Similar exaggerations on the part of the Fraticelli led to their condemnation by John XXII in 1317 [1]: 484 . 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[1]: 501 |
These were inherently Quietist and as such deemed dangerously heretical.[c][d][e]
Physical structure
editMost 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.[f] Most remain well-preserved, and can be found in the following towns and cities:
Location | Founded | Notes |
---|---|---|
Aalst | 13th century | |
Aarschot | ||
Antwerp/Anvers | 1245 | |
Audenarde/Oudenaarde | 1207 | |
Borgloon | ||
Bruges | 1234 | |
Brussels | 1245 | |
Courtrai/Kortrijk | 1238 | The beguinage is open for visitors. |
Dendermonde | 1288 | |
Diest | ||
Diksmuide | 1288 | |
Ghent | 1234 | |
Hasselt | 1245 | |
Herentals | 1266 | |
Hoogstraten | 1380 | 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 | |
Louvain/Leuven | 1234 | |
Mechelen/Malines | 1207 | |
Sint Truiden | 1258 | |
Tienen/Tirlemont | ||
Tongeren | 1239 | |
Turnhout | 13th Century |
Notes
edit- ^ The dance of the same name from the French West Indies, popularised by Cole Porter and Artie Shaw, seemingly has no connection. However there is a colour connotation in that its name does derive from the Creole word for white woman.
- ^ See also Cathars' web pages (in French)
- ^ Further reference can be made to New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967)[2]
- ^ See also Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)
- ^ Explanation of religious beliefs is not equivalent to supporting them.
- ^ Although principally located within Flemish parts of Belgium, communities were established elsewhere, such as Amsterdam, Brussels and even Norwich.
References
edit- ^ a b c
Denzinger, Heinrich Joseph Dominicus (1908) [1854]. Bannwart, Clemens (ed.). Enchiridion Symbolorum et Definitionum (in Latin) (10th ed.). University of Freiburg.
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An international work of reference on the teaching, history, organization, and activities of the Catholic Church, and on all institutions, religions, philosophies, and scientific and cultural developments affecting the Catholic Church from its beginning to the present. Vols. 1–14: A–Z. v. 15: Index.
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