Beghines

Beghines were female members of the beguine movement, lay religious communities that emerged in the 12th century in the Low Countries (present-day Belgium and the Netherlands) and later spread to northern Italy. They lived in semi-monastic communities known as beguinages, which provided housing, chapels, and mutual support but did not require formal vows or cloistered life. Beghines pursued a devout life focused on prayer, service to the poor, and charitable work, while continuing to manage their own property and income.

In daily life they engaged in crafts and services such as lace making, textile work, nursing, teaching, and care of the sick, often supported by the beguinage’s endowment and by donations. They could join the community at various stages; many were widows, spinsters, or women who chose not to marry. Beguinages were organized with shared governance, usually under the guidance of spiritual advisers, and they maintained a church or chapel for communal worship.

The beguine movement flourished from the 13th through the 16th centuries, with major centers in Bruges, Ghent, Amsterdam, and other towns, and also spread into parts of northern Italy. The movement declined from the 16th century onward under pressure from church authorities and secular rulers; beguinages were dissolved or integrated into convents or secular institutions during the Counter-Reformation and later centuries.

Today, Beghines are studied as an important example of women’s religious life in medieval Europe, illustrating alternatives to formal monastic vows and contributing to social care networks of their time. Some beguinages survive as historic sites, providing insight into medieval urban life.