Admiring independent women of centuries past

The beguines were lay religious women who lived in community without taking vows or retiring from the world.

For over 750 years in Northwestern Europe there were communities of women who engaged in charitable works as part of a Christian vocation but were not bound by permanent vows. They were economically independent and established their own homes within walled communities that came to be known as beguinages. The beguinage movement goes back at least to the 13th century.

Interior of a beguine's home in Begijnhof Museum in Breda, The Netherlands.

Recently in the Dutch city of Breda I visited a museum that tells the story of the beguines. The Begijnhof Museum is situated in the beguinage that was active in the city from 1267 and on the present site from 1535. Breda's last beguine died in 1990. Today these homes are still made available to unmarried women.

The beguinage in Breda is still a green oasis.

Two years ago in Belgium I visited the Beguinage of Our Lady at Hoyen in the city of Ghent. It is one of 13 Flemish beguinages that were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1998 to acknowledge the religious and social movement and its associated architectural development. This beguinage is undergoing renovation and is still inhabited although no beguines remain. It offers a serene retreat from the nearby city centre.

Beguinage of Our Lady at Hoyen in the city of Ghent was established in 1235.

Ghent beguinage is built around its Baroque church.

The beguines were spinsters or widows committed to chastity as well as charity but free to leave and marry if they so chose. They were sometimes persecuted for no apparent reason other than their independence from the male dominated social order.

Restoration work at Ghent beguinage.

Door to one home in Ghent beguinage.

As I was leaving the Breda beguinage I photographed an angel door knocker and suddenly a voice spoke from above - in Dutch. When I looked up and apologized for not knowing the language, the speaker, a white haired lady apparently a couple of decades my senior, switched to English. She asked why I had taken the picture and when I said the door knocker was beautiful she asked if I believed in angels. Not wanting to offend her, I gave a rather non committal answer then complimented the garden and said I had found the museum interesting. We chatted a bit and as I bade her farewell the lady said "Please believe in angels - they are all around you." She certainly looked like she could be one.

Angel door knocker in Breda beguinage sparked a conversation.

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