Béguinage
Encyclopedia
A béguinage or begijnhof (Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

) is a collection of small buildings used by Beguines. These were various lay sisterhoods of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, founded in the 13th century in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....

, comprising religious women who sought to serve God without retiring from the world.

Description

A béguinage comprises a courtyard surrounded by small dwellings. It is often encircled by a wall and secluded from the town proper by one or two gates. Poor and elderly beguines were housed here by benefactors.

The first béguinages were set up in the 12th century in what has subsequently become the French speaking
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....

 part of Belgium (Liège). Béguinages are to be found in an area roughly corresponding with present-day Northern and North-Eastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, Western and North-Western Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

The beguines were a religious movement of women. Their success, according to the Belgian historian Henri Pirenne
Henri Pirenne
Henri Pirenne was a Belgian historian. A medievalist of Walloon descent, he wrote a multivolume history of Belgium in French and became a national hero....

, was due to a surplus of women occasioned by violence, war, military and semi-military operations, which took the lives of many men. Great numbers of women had no option but to unite and collectively secure the aid of rich benefactors.

Similarly, nuns' convents in the 12th century enjoyed substantial initial success. Stricter rules within Cistercian and other abbeys, however, caused many women to seek less strict surroundings. Moreover, these abbeys' initial success necessitated the refusal of a great many applications for admission. As an additional obstacle, in several cases a certain degree of prosperity was required as a condition for admission to a regular nunnery.

Town orders, such as the Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...

, which did not make this requirement, were more successful for that very reason.

Béguinages in Belgium

  • Antwerp
  • Bruges
    Bruges
    Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....

  • Dendermonde
    Dendermonde
    Dendermonde is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the city of Dendermonde proper and the towns of Appels, Baasrode, Grembergen, Mespelare, Oudegem, Schoonaarde, and Sint-Gillis-bij-Dendermonde...

  • Diest
    Diest
    Diest is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Situated in the northeast of the Hageland region, Diest neighbours the provinces of Antwerp to its North, and Limburg to the East and is situated around 60km from Brussels. The municipality comprises the city of...

  • Diksmuide
    Diksmuide
    Diksmuide is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Diksmuide proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, Nieuwkapelle, Oostkerke, Oudekapelle, Pervijze, Sint-Jacobs-Kapelle,...

  • Ghent
    Ghent
    Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...

     (3: Old Saint-Elisabeth
    Holy Corner (Ghent Béguinage)
    The Belgian city of Ghent has three béguinages: the "Old Saint Elisabeth", known in English as the Holy Corner, the new Saint Elisabeth béguinage in the Ghent suburb of Sint-Amandsberg and Our Lady Ter Hoyen in the Lange Violettenstraat...

    , New Saint-Elisabeth in Sint-Amandsberg and Our-Lady Ter Hooyen
    Our-Lady Ter Hooyen
    The small beguinage O.L.V. Ter Hooyen is situated in southern area of Ghent. This beguinage was built on the ‘Groene Hooie’, between the ‘Hooipoort’ and the ‘Vijfwindgatenpoort’. That is how this little beguinage got its name....

    )
  • Hasselt
    Hasselt
    Hasselt is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital of the Flemish province of Limburg...

  • Herentals
    Herentals
    Herentals is a city and municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Herentals proper and the towns of Morkhoven and Noorderwijk. On January 1, 2006 Herentals had a total population of 26,071...

  • Hoogstraten
    Hoogstraten
    Hoogstraten is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Hoogstraten proper and the towns of Meer, Meerle, Meersel-Dreef, Minderhout and Wortel,...

  • Lier
    Lier, Belgium
    Lier is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Lier proper and the village of Koningshooikt. On January 1, 2010 Lier had a total population of 33,930. The total area is 49.70 km² which gives a population density of 669 inhabitants per...

  • Leuven
    Leuven
    Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

     (2: Large
    Grand Béguinage, Leuven
    The Grand Béguinage of Leuven is a well preserved and completely restored historical quarter containing a dozen of streets in the south of downtown Leuven. About 3 hectares in size, with some 300 apartments in almost 100 houses, it is one of the largest still existing beguinages in the Low...

     and Small)
  • Mechelen
    Mechelen
    Mechelen Footnote: Mechelen became known in English as 'Mechlin' from which the adjective 'Mechlinian' is derived...

     (2: Large and Small)
  • Kortrijk
    Kortrijk
    Kortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...

  • Sint-Truiden
    Sint-Truiden
    Sint-Truiden is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, near the towns of Hasselt and Tongeren. The municipality includes the old communes of Aalst, Brustem, Duras, Engelmanshoven, Gelinden, Gorsem, Groot-Gelmen, Halmaal, Kerkom-bij-Sint-Truiden,...

  • Turnhout
  • Tongeren


The Flemish Béguinages have been a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

 since 1998

Other Béguinages

  • Begijnhof, Amsterdam
    Begijnhof, Amsterdam
    The Begijnhof is one of the oldest inner courts in the city of Amsterdam. A group of historic buildings, mostly private dwellings, centre on it. As the name suggests, it was originally a Béguinage...

    , Netherlands
  • Breda
    Breda
    Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...

    , Netherlands
  • Béguinage de Saint Vaast, Cambrai
    Cambrai
    Cambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included...

    , France
  • Béguinage, Valenciennes
  • Elm Hill Houses, Norwich
    Norwich
    Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...

    , England

External links

  • Belgium's beguinages offered refuge for women CNN
    CNN
    Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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