# Beguinage > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Beguinage > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Beguinage.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beguinage > Source revision: 1346877794 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Religious community, common in the Low Countries View of the St. Elizabeth Beguinage in [Kortrijk](/source/Kortrijk) A **beguinage**, from the [French](/source/French_language) term ***béguinage***, is an architectural complex which was created to house [beguines](/source/Beguine): lay religious women who lived in community without taking vows or retiring from the world. Originally, the beguine institution was the [convent](/source/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 12th century. In most cases, beguines who lived in a convent agreed to obey certain regulations during their stay and contributed to a collective fund.[1] In the first decades of the 13th century, much larger and more stable types of community emerged in the [Low Countries](/source/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, and some farm buildings. Several of these beguinages are now listed by [UNESCO](/source/UNESCO) as [World Heritage](/source/World_Heritage_Site) sites. Around the mid-13th century, the French king [Louis IX](/source/Louis_IX) founded a beguinage in Paris, which was modeled on the court beguinages of the Low Countries.[2] ## Etymology A [beguine](/source/Beguines_and_Beghards), inhabitant of a beguinage. Excerpt from a manuscript of the beguinage of Sint-Aubertus in [Ghent](/source/Ghent). Made c. 1840.[3] The term "Beguine" ([Latin](/source/Latin_language): *beguinas*; [Dutch](/source/Dutch_language): *begijn*) is of uncertain origin and may have been pejorative.[4] Scholars no longer credit the theory expounded in the [*Encyclopædia Britannica* Eleventh Edition](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition) (1911) that the name derived from [Lambert le Bègue](/source/Lambert_le_B%C3%A8gue), a priest of [Liège](/source/Li%C3%A8ge).[5] Other theories, such as derivation from the name of St. [Begga](/source/Begga) and from the purported, reconstructed [Old Saxon](/source/Old_Saxon) word **beggen*, "to beg" or "to pray", have also been discredited.[6] The origin of the movement's name continues to be uncertain, as are the dates for the beginning of the movement itself.[1][7] ## History and description Further information: [Beguines and Beghards](/source/Beguines_and_Beghards) The beguinages began as part of a broader 12th–13th century religious movement in the [Low Countries](/source/Low_Countries) and the [Rhineland](/source/Rhineland). They emerged in response to a female demographic surplus, the financial inability of many women of modest origins to join traditional religious institutions or marry, and the rise of alternative religious vocations in a context of [apostolic](/source/Apostolic_poverty) and [mystical](/source/Mystical) renewal. This climate promoted [evangelical](/source/Evangelism) values such as the *[vita apostolica](/source/Society_of_apostolic_life)*, poverty, humility, and [itinerancy](/source/Itinerancy), giving rise to new religious movements, including the [Franciscan](/source/Franciscans), [Dominican](/source/Dominican_Order), and beguinal movements.[8] The smaller and court beguinages answered such women's social and economic needs, offering them a religious life coupled with personal independence, which was difficult for women of the time to achieve.[1] 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'. 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. Between the 12th and 18th centuries, every city and large town in the Low Countries had at least one court beguinage. In the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages), tensions arose between certain beguinages and ecclesiastical authorities over autonomy. The 15th–16th centuries brought further institutional changes. Following the spiritual crisis of the [late Middle Ages](/source/Late_Middle_Ages) and the [Wars of Religion](/source/European_wars_of_religion), the clergy increasingly supervised religious life, and beguinages became a testing ground for [Counter-Reformation](/source/Counter-Reformation) practices. Regulations and statutes were reinforced, dress codes and household organisation more strictly governed, and religious and spiritual life closely monitored.[8] In the 17th–18th centuries, large urban beguinages flourished, whereas smaller, mostly rural communities were transformed into [hospices](/source/Hospice) for poor and elderly women.[8] The communities dwindled and came to an end over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. ## In Belgium Flemish Béguinages UNESCO World Heritage Site Princely Beguinage Ten Wijngaerde, Bruges Interactive map of Flemish Béguinages Location Flanders, Belgium Includes Beguinage 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 Kortrijk Criteria Cultural: (ii)(iii)(iv) Reference 855 Inscription 1998 (22nd Session) Area 59.95 ha (148.1 acres) Coordinates 51°1′51.5″N 4°28′25.5″E / 51.030972°N 4.473750°E / 51.030972; 4.473750 Beguinage Location of Flemish Béguinages World Heritage Site in Belgium - [Aarschot](/source/Aarschot) - [Anderlecht](/source/Beguinage_of_Anderlecht) - [Antwerp](/source/Antwerp) - [Bruges](/source/Princely_Beguinage_Ten_Wijngaerde%2C_Bruges)‡ - [Brussels](/source/Great_Beguinage%2C_Brussels) - [Dendermonde](/source/Dendermonde)‡ - [Diest](/source/Diest)‡ - [Diksmuide](/source/Diksmuide) - [Ghent](/source/Ghent): - [Old St. Elizabeth](/source/Great_St._Elizabeth_Beguinage%2C_Ghent) - [New St. Elizabeth in Sint-Amandsberg](/source/Great_Beguinage%2C_Sint-Amandsberg)‡ - [Our-Lady Ter Hooyen](/source/Our-Lady_Ter_Hooyen)‡ - [Hasselt](/source/Hasselt) - [Herentals](/source/Herentals) - [Hoogstraten](/source/Hoogstraten)‡ - [Lier](/source/Lier%2C_Belgium)‡ - [Leuven](/source/Leuven): - [Large](/source/Great_Beguinage%2C_Leuven)‡ - Small - [Mechelen](/source/Mechelen): - Large‡ - Small - [Kortrijk](/source/Kortrijk)‡ - [Oudenaarde](/source/Oudenaarde) - [Sint-Truiden](/source/Sint-Truiden)‡ - [Turnhout](/source/Turnhout)‡ - [Tongeren](/source/Tongeren)‡ ‡ marks the thirteen "[Flemish](/source/Flanders) Béguinages" listed by [UNESCO](/source/UNESCO) as [World Heritage Sites](/source/World_Heritage_Site) in 1998.[9] - View of the [Great Beguinage](/source/Great_Beguinage%2C_Leuven) in [Leuven](/source/Leuven) - Beguinage in [Sint-Truiden](/source/Sint-Truiden) with its chapel (left) - [Our-Lady Ter Hooyen](/source/Our-Lady_Ter_Hooyen), Small Beguinage of [Ghent](/source/Ghent) ## Other beguinages - [Begijnhof, Amsterdam](/source/Begijnhof%2C_Amsterdam), Netherlands - Bagijnhof [Delft](/source/Delft), Netherlands - [Begijnhof, Utrecht](/source/Begijnhof%2C_Utrecht), Netherlands - [Breda](/source/Breda), Netherlands - [Leeuwarden](/source/Leeuwarden), Netherlands[10] - [Haarlem](/source/Haarlem), Netherlands[11] - [Sittard](/source/Sittard), Netherlands[12] - Béguinage de la rue Quentin-Barré, et al., [Saint-Quentin](/source/Saint-Quentin%2C_Aisne), France[13] - Béguinage de Saint Vaast, [Cambrai](/source/Cambrai), France - Béguinage, Valenciennes - Béguinage, [Paris](/source/Paris), France ## See also - [Beguines and Beghards](/source/Beguines_and_Beghards) - [Frauenfrage](/source/Frauenfrage), specifically associated with a medieval demographic period, in relation to women ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESimons2001_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESimons2001_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESimons2001_1-2) [Simons 2001](#CITEREFSimons2001). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMiller2014_2-0)** [Miller 2014](#CITEREFMiller2014). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Het begijnhof Sint Aubertus (Poortacker) te Gent"](https://lib.ugent.be/viewer/archive.ugent.be:B06F870C-8F5A-11E3-8041-11B8D43445F2#?c=&m=&s=&cv=8&xywh=-1659,-295,10929,6102). *lib.ugent.be*. Retrieved 2020-08-28. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Böhringer, Letha (2014). Kolpacoff Deane, Jennifer; van Engen, Hildo (eds.). *Labels and Libels: Naming Beguines in Northern Medieval Europe*. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-2503551357](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-2503551357). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Smith, Rachel J. D. (2019). *Excessive Saints: Gender, Narrative, and Theological Invention in Thomas of Cantimpré's Mystical Hagiographies*. New York: Columbia UP. p. 39. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780231188609](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780231188609). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Phillips, Walter Alison (1911). ["Beguines"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Beguines). In [Chisholm, Hugh](/source/Hugh_Chisholm) (ed.). *[Encyclopædia Britannica](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition)*. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 652. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Walker Bynum, Caroline](/source/Caroline_Walker_Bynum) (1988). [*Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women*](https://books.google.com/books?id=9DUgmJGxZyEC). University of California Press. p. 17. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-520-90878-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-520-90878-9). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Charruadas_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Charruadas_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Charruadas_8-2) Charruadas, Paulo; Sosnowska, Philippe; Hoffsummer, Patrick; Doutrelepont, Hugues; Gerrienne, Philippe (2013). ["Petit béguinage et architecture vernaculaire"](https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/247201/1/RBA-2013_Sosnowska_Charruadas_béguinage.pdf) (PDF). *Revue belge d'Archéologie et Histoire de l'Art*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEUNESCO1998_9-0)** [UNESCO 1998](#CITEREFUNESCO1998). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Beguinage of the Grey Beguines of Leeuwarden"](http://www.collective-action.info/_CAS_BEG_NET_BeguinageGreyBeguinesLeeuwarden). Institute for Collective Action. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Begijnhof, Haarlem, The Netherlands"](http://www.collective-action.info/_CAS_BEG_NET_BegijnhofHaarlem). Institutions for Collective Action. Retrieved 8 January 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Case study: Begijnhof, Sittard, The Netherlands"](http://www.collective-action.info/_CAS_BEG_NET_BegijnhofSittard). Institutions for Collective Action. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Beguinages in Saint Quentin"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160111000409/http://travel.michelin.com/web/destination/France-Northern_France_and_the_Paris_Region-Saint_Quentin/tourist_site-Beguinage_de_la_rue_Quentin_Barre). *Michelin Travel*. Michelin. Archived from [the original](http://travel.michelin.com/web/destination/France-Northern_France_and_the_Paris_Region-Saint_Quentin/tourist_site-Beguinage_de_la_rue_Quentin_Barre) on January 11, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016. ## Sources - Miller, Tanya Stabler (2014). *Beguines of Medieval Paris: Gender, Patronage, and Spiritual Authority*. Pennsylvania UP. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0812246070](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0812246070). - Simons, Walter (2001). *Cities of Ladies: Beguine Communities in the Medieval Low Countries, 1200–1565*. Pennsylvania UP. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0812236040](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0812236040). - ["World Heritage List | Flemish Béguinages"](http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/855). *[UNESCO](/source/UNESCO)*. 1998. ## Further reading - Swan, Laura (2014). *The Wisdom of the Beguines: the Forgotten Story of a Medieval Women's Movement*. BlueBridge. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1933346977](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/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](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/3780941](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F3780941). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [3780941](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3780941). ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Béguinage](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9guinage). - [Belgium's beguinages offered refuge for women](http://www.white-rooms.be/where-to-eat-well-in-bruges) [CNN](/source/CNN) v t e World Heritage Sites in Belgium Architectural Work of Le Corbusier1 Belfries of Belgium and France2 Flemish Béguinages Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and their Environs Colonies of Benevolence3 Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front)4 Great Spa Towns of Europe5 Historic Centre of Bruges La Grand-Place, Brussels Major Mining Sites of Wallonia Major town houses of the architect Victor Horta Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe6 Stoclet House Flag of Belgium 1 Listing shared with six other countries, which includes Belgium's Maison Guiette; 2 Listing shared with France; 3 Listing shared with the Netherlands, which includes Belgium's Wortel; 4 Listing shared with France 5 Listing shared with seven other countries, which includes Belgium's Spa; 6 Listing shared with seventeen other countries, which includes Belgium's Sonian Forest. Authority control databases International GND FAST National United States France BnF data Israel Other IdRef Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Beguinage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beguinage) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beguinage?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.