#beguines

[perennial-wave]

poetic images and names for God from medieval beguine writings

from “The Wisdom of the Beguines” by Laura Swan

[medievalistsnet]

Work, Prayer and Service: The Beguines of Medieval Paris

A detailed look at the beguines of medieval Paris, examining their origins, royal support, daily life, and the debates their unconventional religious vocation sparked.

Read here

[suwihesp]

The Beguines were a unique religious movement of women that emerged in the 12th century in Europe, particularly in the Low Countries (modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands, and parts of France and Germany). They formed semi-monastic communities but did not take permanent vows like nuns, allowing them to maintain personal freedom.

Beguines dedicated themselves to a life of prayer, charity, and manual labor, supporting themselves through weaving, teaching, and caring for the sick. Some were highly educated, engaging in theological writing, poetry, and mystical experiences. Notable Beguines include Mechthild of Magdeburg, Hadewijch of Antwerp, Sibille de Gages.

The most famous one was Marguerite Porete, the author of “The Mirror of Simple Souls”, a mystical text that led to her execution for heresy in 1310.

"Theologians and other clerks, You won't understand this book, -- However bright your wits -- If you do not meet it humbly, And in this way, Love and Faith Make you surmount Reason, for They are the protectors of Reason's house." ~

Marguerite Porete

Their movement provided women with a rare opportunity for spiritual independence and intellectual engagement in a time when options for women were limited. However, due to their unorthodox status outside official church structures, they faced suspicion and persecution, especially in the later Middle Ages.

The last known Beguine community ceased in 2013, marking the symbolic end of this extraordinary movement.

[thatsonemorbidcorvid]

“In Venice, (beguines) Adriana Contarini and Helena Priuli brought together a group of financially independent women and established a safe home for young girls who had been sold into prostitution. Contarini and Priuli established legal documents of protection and wrote a rule for their house, known as Le Constituzioni et Regole della Casa delle Cittelle di Venetia. In a letter, Adriana Contarini wrote: "We have succeeded in sheltering thirty little girls, all snatched from the power of the devil; we see the degradation of these girl-children who, at the age of twelve or thirteen or even younger, have been sold by their own mothers; they come from all social ranks, from the nobility, the middle class, the workers. Our times are so disastrous, that no words can express the wretchedness of some of the cases.””

- The Wisdom of the Beguines, Laura Swan

[asphodel--garden]

born to be a beguine, living in a walled-in community of laywomen creating art and literature, forced to work a 9 to 5

[gnosisandtheosis]

I didn't post about it last week but I've been thinking about it since then.

It's amazing to think that 715 years to the day since she was burned at the stake, a church on the other side of the planet from where she lived, in a land that no European in her lifetime knew existed, celebrated mass on the feast day of Saint Marguerite Porete.

I am God, says Love, for Love is God and God is Love, and this Soul is God by the condition of Love. I am God by divine nature and this Soul is God by the condition of Love. Thus this precious beloved of mine is taught and guided by me, without herself, for she is transformed into me, and such a perfect one, says Love, takes my nourishment.

[heritagebrowser]

Normally closed for the public, but exceptionally opened for the public during Open Monuments day organised in September. Location; house of the mistress of the beguinage of O.L.V.- ter Hoyen, a Unesco world heritage site in Ghent, Belgium. In this post some shots of the interior and the facade of this 17th century building that was renovated during the 18th century, hence the facade. This building awaits restauration,which initially was planned in 2010 but got delayed. The surprising art collection i post in next post.

The beguinage ter Hoye was founded in 1234 by Joanna of Constantinople, the countess of Flanders, after the large beguinage. The wall of the south and west sides of the beguinage was completed in 1281. Towards the end of the 14th century under Margaret of Flanders, the beguinage acquired parochial rights.

From around 1600, the wooden houses were systematically replaced by stone houses. The most important buildings of the beguinage, including the church, date from the 17th century. The beguinage developed into a place of pilgrimage for Saint Godelieve, for which the Saint Godelieve Chapel was built in 1638 (renovated in 1723 and 1750). The infirmary was built in 1655 (majorly renovated in 1782). The Holy Sepulcher Chapel dates from 1662.

[margaretesteffin]

VII, 16:

For a long time a person desired more than all gifts and suffering that God release her soul with a holy end. And our Lord said: "Wait for me."

The person said: "Dear Lord, I cannot control my longing; I would so dearly like to be with you."

Our Lord said: "I longed for you before the beginning of the world. I long for you and you long for me. Where two burning desires meet, there love is perfect."

Mechthild of Magdeburg tr. Frank Tobin, The Flowing Light of the Godhead (Classics of Western Spirituality)