medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Many thanks, Jo Ann.
my own less-than-meagre knowledge of them is based on a few words in a lecture
35+ years ago by my original medieval history prof, Dayton Phillips, who (as
you surely know) wrote his dissertation on The Beguines of Medieval Strasbourg
in the '30s.
he showed great restraint, i've always thought later, in only giving them a
passing mention, considering the depth of his interest.
something about their being a solution to the problem of what to do with an
excess of unmarried/unmariable women, especially in the towns....
best from here,
christopher
Jo Ann McNamara <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Certainly, we first hear of the Beguines in the north where they drew the
sympathetic attention of several church officials, particularly the future
cardinal Jacques de Vitry. Their origins are lost in the mists. They pop up
in sources all over the place and, of course, there are women unattached to
specific orders going by a variety of names in nearly every corner of Europe.
Dulcelina, or Douceline de Digne was the sister of Hugh de Digne, another
famous preacher. She claimed to have become aware of the beguine movement
through a dream/vision in which she saw them and then asked to emulate their
habit and way of life in the south. Unfortunately for the women involved, the
movement did not find the sympathetic protectors there that it found in the
north and was eventually attacked by the persecuting fervor of the early 14th
century.
Jo Ann McNamara
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