Thread by @MikeStuchbery_

Here's a short thread on an aspect of the medieval world that I never think gets enough love - the Beguines.

I would say that they were women ahead of their time, but really, no - they were women FOR their time.

Monasteries and nunneries have existed for over a millennium, guided by strict rules and sanctioned by the Papacy.

By the high middle ages, they were really storehouse for the 'extra' sons & daughters of nobility - grown large on bequests and land revenues.

In the 12th century, however, something interesting started to happen. Lower-born women in the Netherlands, Belgium & Germany began to head to large cities to work in cloth.

Some of these women made the choice to live a quiet religious life together - the Beguines.

Now, I have to be clear here - Beguines were NOT nuns.

They didn't belong to any order. They took no real vows and could leave whenever they wanted. Most importantly, they dealt with the outside world - they didn't ignore it.

Each community, or 'Beguinage' was different.

In time, Beguines, in little communities, became centres of learning, art, music and trade.

They translated bits of the Bible into the vernacular, wrote poetry and perfected the healing arts.

Of course, women organising & expressing themselves HAD to be sinful, and the Church did start clamping down.

They were condemned by the Church at various councils. Some, like the frenchwoman Marguerite Porete, were burned at the stake for heresy.

However, in the 14th and 15th centuries, specially-built buildings for Beguinages sprung up in many different places - I've visited those still standing in Amsterdam, Stuttgart and Norwich.

By adopting veils and habits, opening hospitals for the sick and their own commercial ventures, Beguines managed to avoid further persecution and flourished, even without explicit Church sanction.

They took control of their destiny.

The Beguines managed to weather the Protestant Reformation and survive right through to the present day.

The last of the Flemish Beguines, Marcella Pattyn, died just a few years ago.

There are still attempts to establish new Beguinages.

I have a huge amount of respect for these determined and resolved women who established their own communes in a violent chaotic world and ministered to their communities.

I feel like there are so many stories there to be discovered and interpreted for our own world.

If you're interested in learning more about the Beguines, I recommend 'The Wisdom of the Beguines' by Laura Swain. I really think you'll be glad you did. FIN. amazon.co.uk/dp/162919008X/…