The Low Countries, which encompass The Netherlands,
Belgium, Luxemburg and parts of adjoining Germany and France, are well-known
for a peculiar medieval type of segregated communal living in an urban context:
the Buiganage. Such a Buiganage was occupied by Beguines or Beghards. These
Beguines and Beghards were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Northern
Europe, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic
communities but did not take formal religious vows. Most were set up to
accommodate unmarried or widowed women. The Beguines weren't locked into a
life-long contract, they were free to leave at any time. Beguines were part of
a larger spiritual revival movement of the thirteenth century that stressed
imitation of Christ's life through voluntary poverty, care of the poor and
sick, and religious devotion.
Often described as an answer to a surplus of women
after war, the Buiganage was actually a means for unmarried women entering the
city to gain work opportunities and personal independence coupled with a
religious and social life. Recent historical studies have shown that the newly
established cities of the latter half of the medieval period attracted not only
young men but also unmarried young women. Also the age at which a marriage was
entered into rose parallel to the success of these new cities and towns.
Beguines came from a wide range of social classes, though
truly poor women were only admitted if they had a wealthy benefactor who
pledged to provide for their needs. 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 which were closed at night. During the day the beguines could
come and go as they pleased. Some larger Beguinages included workshops, a
laundrette and such as a means of
gaining income from work.
Before the close of the Middle Ages, Beghard
communities were in decline. Their numbers diminished with the waning of the
textile trade that most were dependant on for their living. The highest number
of such medieval foundations in Flanders and Wallonia was 94, but in 1734 they
had been reduced to just 34 and in 1856 to 20.
Beguines were much more commonplace. From the twelfth
century through the eighteenth, every city and large town in the Low Countries
had at least one court Beguinage. Later, over the course of the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, the communities dwindled and came to an end. Their demise
started with the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Viewed as a
"catholic institution" the Beguines were suspected of papal
inclinations and Beguinages were forcibly closed and replaced by protestant
"Fundaties" (Foundations) for women. These "Foundations"
typically consisted of a large block containing rooms for the women as opposed
to the small cottages provided to residents in a Buiganage. The Protestant
Reformation ultimately resulted in the breakup of the Low Countries into the Republic
of the United Provinces in the north and the Burgundy Lands (later the Spanish Netherlands
and after that the Austrian Netherlands) in the south. Now these provinces more
or less correspond to the countries of Belgium and Luxemburg.
There are three types of Courts Beguinage: 1] Street
type, 2] Square type and 3] Mixed or Urban type. The Urban type always started
off as one of the other types and gradually expanded into what was in effect a
gated social community. This gate (g) was always a feature of a Beguinage, not
only to provide safety but also to emphasise their special status exempt from
the laws of the city. The statute of a Beguinage was comparable to a church
freedom. As a religious (inspired) community each Beguinage had a chapel of small
church (c). A bleaching field (b) was also a common feature. Some Beguinages
had a large building with rooms for young women, orphans etcetera known as
novice house (n). Most Beguinages, however were comprised entirely of
(terraced) cottages.
A few Beguinages persisted well into the 20th century,
mainly in the Spanish Netherlands (what is now Belgium). The last traditional
Beguine Marcella Pattyn died on April 14 2013 in Kortrijk at the age of 92. Most
traditional Beguinages died out between 1920 and 1970. In Belgium 22 Beguinages
remain: Aarschot, Antwerp, Bruges (Ten Wijngaerde = The Vineyard), Dendermonde,
Diest, Diksmijden, Ghent (Old Saint Elisabeth, New Saint Elisabeth and Our Dear
Lady in the Hay), Hasselt, Herentals, Hoogstraten, Lier, Leuven (Greater and
Lesser Beguinage), Mechelen (again Greater and Lesser Beguinage), Kortrijk,
Sint Truiden, Turnhout and Tongeren. Thirteen of these have been listed UNESCO
World Heritage since 1998. Other surviving Beguinages can be found in:
Amsterdam, Breda, Cambrai, Harlem, Leeuwarden, Paris, Sittard, St. Quentin,
Utrecht and Valenciennes. In other cities the former Beguinage only lives on in
name as a designation for a street or square.
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