Who Were the Beghards?

After the successful spread in the Low Countries of the simplified Christian lifestyle of laywomen called Beguines, a similar trend appeared for laymen. Groups like these did not take any formal vows or join monasteries. Rather, they chose to live simply and do good works, often in communities. One of the laymen groups was called the Beghards.

Beghards were often older, working men who were not wealthy to begin with, or who found themselves in a situation in life where they might have difficulty supporting themselves. They owned no property and agreed that the money in the community would be kept together for community needs. Members shared a living space. (The illustration is of a former beguinage in a borough of Stuttgart.) They chose leaders to guide them.

The origin of the terms "Beguine" and "Beghard" are unknown. They likely have nothing to do with begging, and are supposed to come from the Flemish beghen, "to pray."

Synods in 1259, in 1261, and in 1282 produced laws limiting their growth. They were condemned strongly by the Council of Vienne in 1312, but Pope John XXII overrode the Council. What was so bad about Beguines and Beghards? Because they were not educated as clergy, their practices and beliefs could develop into ideas opposed to official doctrine. Also, formal religious groups that took vows were offended by the idea that a random group could attain "religious status" without committing themselves by taking vows. In fact, Beghards and Beguines could leave their community at any time.

Beguines and Beghards started to wane before the Middle Ages were over, but some communities lingered; there were still 34 communities in 1734 in Flanders. Pope Gregory XVI referred to them in a 1832 encyclical. The world's "last Beguine" died in 2013.

The Council of Vienne tackled church reform, and attacked another religious group, which I'll tell you about next time.

Marie of Oignies

The Beguines were a 12th century movement in which ordinary Christian women decided to live a more simple and pious life, rather than formally join a monastery or abbey or the priesthood. The Cardinal Jacques de Vitry was intrigued by this group, and wrote a biography of one of them, to whom he was her confessor. His fascination with her life and belief in her piety motivated him to try to persuade the pope to formally approve their movement.

That woman was Marie of Oignies. She was born to a wealthy Belgian family in 1176. While still young, she saw the contrast between the fine clothes provided by her parents and the New Testament comments against excess, in 1 Timothy 2:9, for example:

Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,

Her parents were not happy with her attitude, but she chose solitude and prayer over playing with other children. She was attracted to the life of the Cistercians she saw. When she was married at the age of 14, the independence from her parents allowed her to make more choices of her own concerning how she conducted her life. She started to mortify herself with denying herself sleep, sleeping on wooden planks, and wearing a tight rope around her waist.

She convinced her husband, Jean de Neville, to take a vow of chastity so that she could preserve her body as God's handmaiden. She claimed to have a vision in which promised her spiritual compensation for a childless marriage. She also convinced him to do good works along with her, and they began to care for lepers.

Their example caused others to live near them and start conducting their lives according to rules established by St. Francis. Jacques de Vitry came in 1208 to investigate the growing reputation of her community. His hagiography of her tells us that she was constantly praying, no matter what she was engaged in.

Miracles were attributed to her. She offered a hair from her head to an ill man, who was cured. She predicted de Vitry would receive a summons to cross the sea, which happened. While traveling with companions, a severe storm approached. Marie prayed to John the Evangelist, and the storm raged around them but they remained dry.

As another sign of her holiness, she claimed she could detect whether a Host was consecrated, and she claimed the unconsecrated Host made her ill. She swore to only consume consecrated Hosts. When she died, her body was found to be severely emaciated.

She died on 23 June 1213, and is venerated in the Catholic Church as protection for women in labor.

The Beguines were a female movement. Was there a corresponding male movement? There was, and tomorrow we'll talk about the Beghards.

Hair and Religion, Part 3

I wrote two parts about this topic previously (Part 1 and Part 2), but the research for yesterday's post on just plain hair led me to believe it is time for a follow-up, especially since it will include some of the people we have previously discussed.

Hair (as opposed to flesh) did not decay, and on the occasion when a saint was exhumed for the sake of retrieving relics (or simply proving sainthood by the belief that incorruptibility of the corpse was a divine sign) finding a good head of hair was proof and a relief. Locks of hair counted as relics.* The earliest reference to this was in the 4th century, when an early martyr named Nazarius was disinterred and discovered to have a full head of hair. 

The first Christian king of Norway, Olaf Tryggvason, was a cruel man to those who would not accept forced conversion, but a year after he died he was exhumed and found to have hair and nails that had continued growing "as much as when he had been alive." (Presumably, this means twice as long as when he died.)** His beard and hair were trimmed and put into a fire to see if they were suitable as relics. When the hair did not burn, the presiding bishop declared Olaf a saint.

Hildegarde of Bingen was a cloistered nun who was recognized in her life as very wise and holy. A single hair of hers was preserved in a silk container the altar at her abbey. A fire that swept through the church left her relic unharmed. This hair had other powers: when a woman who was possessed by a demon had the hair brought before her, the demon fled.

Jacques de Vitry wrote a biography of a Beguine, Marie d'Oignies. During her life, a man whose illness could not be diagnised after seeing many doctors was cured by the touch of Marie's hair.

The illustration is of the Talisman of Charlemagne, an amulet carried by him that supposedly carried a hair of the Virgin Mary.

Jacques de Vitry left behind several writings, but only the one biography. What was it about Marie d'Oignies that made her a special interest? He was fascinated by the "holy power" of the Beguines, and Marie was a singular member. We'll take a look at what made her special next time.

*Teeth and fingernails were also desirable, since they could be taken without desecrating the body; in later centuries, of course, the entire skeleton became fair game.

**And you know that hair and nails do not continue to grow after death: the skin shrinks and pulls back, revealing more hair/nail from under the surface.

John van Ruysbroeck

John van Ruysbroeck was one of the foremost of the Flemish mystics, and even earned the titles "Admirable Doctor" and "Divine Doctor." He was born in 1293 at Ruysbroeck near Brussels to a very devout mother who stressed his religious upbringing. He did not seem very close to his mother emotionally, however, since the story goes that age 11 he ran away from home to join his uncle who was a priest at St. Gudule's in Brussels.

That uncle, Fr. John Hinckaert, arranged for his nephew's education with the intent for him to join the priesthood. Join the priesthood he did, in 1317, at St. Gudule's. (His mother tracked him down in Brussels and joined a beguinage; she died shortly before his ordination.)

His uncle, and therefore by influence van Ruysbroeck himself, practiced an apostolic austerity that was becoming popular among lay people such as the Beguines. The groups that followed this lifestyle often developed their own tenets that clashed with the preferences of the Church. van Ruysbroeck wrote pamphlets against some of these "heresies," especially to counter the writings of a particular Brussels woman in the Brethren of the Free Spirit named Bloemardinne. van Ruysbroeck was not opposed to these groups and their desire to live a more simple and saintly life—he followed that urge himself—but he did not want those doing so to stray from orthodoxy.

His own desire for a less worldly life led him away from the Cathedral of St. Gudule. (Partly he seems repulsed by how his own writings against Bloemardinne kicked off a persecution of her.) He, his uncle, and his uncle's close friend, a fellow canon named Francis van Coudenberg, left the Cathedral to form a hermitage in 1343, in Groenendael. The Groenendael hermitage became very popular, and drew so many followers that the three had to organize it into a regular congregation, of which it became the motherhouse.

van Ruysbroeck did most of his writing during this period, including twelve books, all in Middle Dutch. One of them, The Twelve Beguines [link], discusses "different notions of the Love of Jesus" in a conversation between 12 Beguines. This book, so complimentary to the Beguines, as well as his reputation as a mystic, explains why he was at one time considered to be the author of A Mirror for Simple Souls, when its true author, Marguerite Porete, was temporarily unknown.

He passed away on 2 December 1381, leaving behind a massive reputation for holiness and wisdom. He was honored as a saint and his relics preserved, although they were lost during the French Revolution. He was beatified on 1 December 1908, although the pressure to have him canonized has abated. The illustration above is a common image for him: writing alone in the woods while caught up in mystical ecstasy.

And now for something completely different, to combat my own ignorance. While writing the opening sentence of this post, I found myself questioning the word "Flemish" and realizing that I did not have a firm grasp on its meaning. What does/did it mean to be Flemish? Does it refer to a language, a people, a place? I know very well there is no "Flemland." What did the Middle Ages consider to be Flemish? Let's find out together, tomorrow.

Marguerite Porete

One of the more notable Beguines was the French mystic Marguerite Porete. We know little about her life except what was recorded in her trial for heresy, for which she was burned at the stake in Paris on 1 June 1310. She also left behind a manuscript, Le Mirouer des simples âmes, which was the reason for her condemnation. The title, as well as the work itself, is Old French, and translates "The Mirror of Simple Souls." That was one problem with it: Latin was the only approved language for religious literature.

Her subject was the transformation of the soul through agape (Christian love, as distinct from physical or emotional love). Using poetry and prose, she outlined seven stages of the soul on its path to Union with God. 

The more important issue with the book was that it expressed ideas similar to those of the Brethren of the Free Spirit, a loose movement in the Low Countries between the 13th and 15th centuries. Some of those ideas were that Christ, the church, and the sacraments were not necessary for salvation, because the soul could be perfected on its own by connecting to God's love. In fact, the perfection of the soul meant that the soul and God were one.

Her book was copied and spread among Beguines and others. Authorities rounded up all the copies they could find, burned them, and then imprisoned Marguerite. She spent a year and a half imprisoned, speaking to no one. Finally, a trial was held, during which she refused to renounce the ideas expressed in the Mirror, or to promise to never express them again.

Her refusal led to her burning at the stake on 1 June 1310. Although it remained popular after the trial, and was widely circulated, Le Mirouer des simples âmes was known to modern times only through the record of her trial. In 1911, a purchase of old manuscripts by the British Library from a private collector turned up an English translation made in the 15th century. Three other manuscripts were eventually found, one in Latin. Various translations have been published since then.

There was a time when the copies circulated after her death were wrongly attributed to another author, John van Ruysbroeck. What made him a likely candidate for this mistake? We will meet him tomorrow.

The Beguines End

Although the Beguines were great role models for how to live a Christian life, all was not rosy. By the end of the 13th century, most regions in the Low Countries had at least one beguinage, a community of Beguines, and some had more. They would often support themselves by working in the wool industry. They also performed good works in the community.

Their Christian attitude did not always exist in their neighbors, or in the Church. Although Cardinal Jacques de Vitry supported them, and the Bishop of Lièges even created a rule for them, some communities cast an unkind eye upon the Beguines because of their ambiguous social status: they lived "in the world, but were not of it."

Beguines became viewed as ostentatious in their lifestyle, as hypocritical because they did not commit to a religious Rule, and even as obnoxiously superior to cloistered religious: the founder of the Sorbonne, Robert de Sorbon, pointed out that they were far more devoted to God than monks, since they pursued the religious life without vows and without being removed from the temptations of the world. This realization could annoy small-minded laity and clergy alike.

There is also the chance that the Church resented a large religious group over which they had no formal control. One well-known Beguine, Marguerite Porete, was burned at the stake on 1 June 1310 because of a book she wrote that was considered heretical. A year later, the Council of Vienne discussed the nature of the human soul. Because the Beguines believed the human soul could be perfected by proper Christian behavior in this world, the Council condemned them as heretics. This same Council condemned the Knights Templar, removing the pope's support from them at the instigation of the French king.

There are Beguines (or Beguine-ish) groups today: the Company of St. Ursula, and recent groups in Vancouver, America, and Germany. The Church also allows "Consecrated Diocesan Hermits," but they must take their formal vows in front of a bishop; then they can live on their own.

But let's go back to Marguerite Porete and find out what she and her book were about more specifically. See you next time.

The Beguines Begin

Christianity inspired many different approaches to life: some became canons regular (parish priests), some joined monasteries or convents, some became mendicants (wandering monks/preachers), some chose to be hermits, and some decided to simplify their lives in a way that they deemed more "Christ-like."

In the early 1100s, some women in the Low Countries (where the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg are now) began devoting themselves to a simplified life of prayer and charitable work. They did not take formal vows of poverty or obedience as nuns would—though they embraced chastity—and there was no compulsion to remain in their chosen lifestyle, if for some reason they decided to change.

The trend among women grew, however, until in the following century it was apparent that this was a movement that stood out among towns and villages. Many women would move to be near each other, forming communities for mutual support. Local clergy would point to them as exemplars of Christian behavior. Jacques de Vitry even appealed to the pope to recognize them formally.

These groups never gained formal recognition by the pope, but local churches encouraged the behavior, even help establish the communities, called beguinages after the name Beguine. (The origin of "Beguine" is unknown; a theory that it came from a priest named Lambert le Bègue, "Lambert the Stammerer" seems unlikely.) Some of these communities were huge: The Beguinage of Paris had 400 women, one in Ghent had thousands of members.

Eventually the Beguines fell out of favor, especially after the Council of Vienne; why that happened will be the subject for tomorrow.

Jacques de Vitry

It seems unfair that I mention Jacques de Vitry here and here and here, and don't really tell much more than he was a cardinal. He was actually an important figure in his lifetime, a historian of the Crusades and a theologian.

Born at Vitry-sur-Seine (hence the surname) near Paris about 1160, he studied at the recently founded University of Paris. After an encounter with Marie d'Oignies, a female mystic, he was convinced to become a canon regular (a priest in the church, as opposed to a monk), so he went to Paris to be ordained and then served at the Priory of Saint-Nicolas d'Oignies. He strongly preached for the Albigensian Crusade.

On the other hand, he was fascinated by the Beguines, a lay Christian group that operated outside the structure of the Church, and asked Honorius to recognize them as a legitimate group.

His reputation was such that in 1214 he was chosen bishop of St. John of Acre, in the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. From that experience he wrote the Historia Orientalis, in which he recorded the progress of the Fifth Crusade, as well as a history of the Crusades, for Pope Honorius III. He never finished the work. Besides leaving many sermons, he also wrote about the immoral life of the students at the University of Paris. 

In 1229, Pope Gregory IX made de Vitry a cardinal. A little later he died (1 May 1240) while still in Jerusalem. His body was returned to Oignies. His remains were held in a reliquary. In 2015, a research project determined that the remains in the reliquary likely were, in fact, de Vitry's. Forensic work on the skull and DNA evidence contributed to a digital reconstruction of his head and face.

The Beguines were only mentioned here briefly, and deserve more attention. They will come next.

Mechthild of Magdeburg

And God said to the soul:
I desired you before the world began.
I desire you now
As you desire me.
And where the desires of two come together
There love is perfected.
—Mechthild of Magdeburg*

Mechthild (Matilda) of Magdeburg has been mentioned a couple times this week as an exemplar of mysticism whose story was translated and shared by Henry of Nördlingen with other mystics.

She was born about 1210 in Saxony. At the age of 12, the Holy Spirit made her acquaintance and visited her daily. Her interactions with the Holy Spirit prompted her to leave home about 1230 and go to Magdeburg to join the Beguines, a group of lay Christians who lived in semi-monastic communities and vowed not to marry.

Her visions and revelations continued, and she was convinced by her confessor, Henry of Halle, to record them. She wrote a book which God wanted her to call Fliessende lieht miner gottheit in allu die herzen die da lebent and valscheit ["Light of my divinity, flowing into all hearts that live without guile"], but is now known as 

 Das fliessende Licht der Gottheit ["The Flowing Light of Godhead"], which became an inspiration for other mystics in the decades to follow. Her writing is interspersed with the occasional poem, such as the one above.

Some of her ideas were enlightening for the Middle Ages trying to understand the afterlife:

She divides hell into three parts; the lowest and most horrible is filled with condemned Christians, the middle with Jews, and the highest with Pagans. Hell, purgatory and heaven are situated one immediately above the other. The lowest portion of purgatory is filled with devils, who torment the souls in the most horrible manner, while the highest portion of purgatory is identical with the lowest portion of heaven. Many a soul in the lowest Purgatory does not know whether it will ever be saved. [Catholic Encyclopedia]

Some have suggested that her vision of the three helped to inspire Dante's Divine Comedy. In Canto XXVIII of Purgatorio, there is a Matilda gathering flowers. This figure is usually identified as Matilda (1046-1114), a Grancontessa of Tuscany, who supported several popes, but a "Matilda" who lived much closer to Dante and was known for her religious visions might be a better identification.

In 1270, she joined the Cistercian nuns at Helfta, and was respected by all. Some think she lived until the 1290s, but there are no definitive records of her after 1282.

*From Teachings of the Christian Mystics, edited Andrew Harvey