BEGUINES, at the present time the name of the members of certain lay sisterhoods established in the Netherlands and Germany, the enclosed district within which they live being known as a beguinage (Lat. beginagium). The equivalent male communi ties, more usually called Beghards (Lat. baghardi), have long ceased to exist. The origin of the names Beguine and Beghard has been the subject of much controversy ; but it is now universally admitted that both the institution and the name of the Beguines are derived from Lambert le Begue, a priest of Liege, who died about the year 1187.
About the year 117o Lambert, who had devoted his fortune to founding the hospital and church of St. Christopher for the widows and children of crusaders, conceived the idea of establish ing an association of women, who, without taking the monastic vows, should devote themselves to a life of religion. The effect of his preaching was immense, and large numbers of women, many of them left desolate by the loss of their husbands on crusade, came under the influence of a movement which was attended with all the manifestations of what is now called a "revival." About the year 118o Lambert gathered some of these women, who had been ironically styled "Beguines" by his opponents, into a semi-con ventual community, which he established in a quarter of the city belonging to him around his church of St. Christopher. The dis trict was surrounded by a wall within which the Beguines lived in separate small houses, subject to no rule save the obligation of good works, and of chastity so long as they remained members of the community. After Lambert's death the movement rapidly spread, first in the Netherlands and afterwards in France—where it was encouraged by the saintly Louis IX.—Germany, Switzer land and the countries beyond. Women of all classes were ad mitted; and, though there was no rule of poverty, many wealthy women devoted their riches to the common cause. The Beguines did not beg; and, when the endowments of the community were not sufficient, the poorer members had to support themselves by manual work, sick-nursing and the like.
The very looseness of their organization made it inevitable that the Beguine associations should follow very diverse developments. Some of them retained their original character; others fell com pletely under the dominion of the friars, and were ultimately con verted into houses of Dominican, Franciscan or Augustinian tertiaries ; others again fell under the influence of the mystic movements of the 13th century, turned in increasing numbers from work to mendicancy, practised the most cruel self-tortures, and lapsed into extravagant heresies that called down upon them the condemnation of popes and councils. All this tended to lower the reputation of the Beguines. During the 14th century, indeed, numerous new Beguinages were established ; but ladies of rank and wealth ceased to enter them, and they tended to become more and more mere almhouses for poor women. By the 15th century in many cases they had utterly sunk in reputation and at the Reformation the communities were suppressed in Protestant countries. In some Catholic countries they still survive in a reformed condition, but mainly as centres of benevolent work among the poor.
It is uncertain whether the parallel communities of men origi nated also with Lambert le Begue. The first records are of com munities at Louvain in 1220 and at Antwerp in 1228. The history of the male communities is to a certain extent parallel with the female, but they were never so numerous and their degeneration was far more rapid. The earliest Flemish Beghard communities were associations mainly of artisans who earned their living by weaving and the like, and appear to have been in intimate con nection with the craft-gilds; but under the influence of the mendi cant movement of the 13th century these tended to break up, and, though certain of the male beguinages survived or were incorporated as tertiaries in the orders of friars, the name of Beghard became associated with groups of wandering mendicants who made religion a cloak for living on charity; beguigner becom ing in the French language of the time synonymous with "to beg," and begltard with "beggar," a word which, according to the latest authorities, was probably imported into England in the 13th cen tury from this source (see BEGGAR). More serious still, from the point of view of the Church, was the association of these wan dering mendicants with the mystic heresies of the Fraticelli, the Apostolici and the pantheistic Brethren of the Free Spirit. The situation was embittered by the hatred of the secular clergy for the friars, with whom the Beguines were associated.
Matters came to a climax at the council of Vienne in 1311 under Pope Clement V., where the "sect of Beguines and Beghards" were accused of being the main instruments of the spread of heresy, and decrees were passed suppressing their organization and demanding their severe punishment. The decrees were put into execution by Pope John XXII., and a persecution raged in which, though the pope expressly protected the female Beguine corn munities of the Netherlands, there was little discrimination be tween the orthodox and unorthodox Beguines. This led to the utmost confusion, the laity in many cases taking the part of the Beguine communities, and the Church being thus brought into conflict with the secular authorities. In these circumstances the persecution died down; it was, however, again resumed between 1366 and 1378 by Popes Urban V. and Gregory XI., and the Beguines were not formally reinstated until the pontificate of Eugenius IV. (1431-47). The male communities did not survive the 14th century, even in the Netherlands, where they had main tained their original character least impaired.
See Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopddie (3rd ed., 1897) s. "Beginen," by Herman Haupt, where numerous further authorities are cited; Gieseler, Ecclesiastical History (Eng. tr. vol. iii., Edinburgh, Theologischer Jahresbericht, 1902, page 495.