Beguines and Lake Minnewater
In 1488 the people of Bruges,
Belgium executed one of the town administrators belonging to the court of
Maximilian of Austria. Legend says Maximilian
punished Bruges by obliging the population to keep swans on their lakes and
canals for eternity. The swans are a lovely addition to Minnewater. Such
a punishment!
Minnewater is a lake at the southern
end of the city. It wasn’t far; I had a
good walking map so we took off in that direction. En route we had to stop
to enjoy a famous Belgium waffle.
Legend says that the lake
was named after a girl named Minna. In Roman times two lovers were separated
while the young warrior went off to war. Minna promised to wait for him, but
during his long absence her father gave her in marriage to someone else. On the
eve of her marriage Minna desperately ran away and hid in the woods.
When the warrior returned he went
looking for Minna, but when he found her she was exhausted and died in his
arms. He built a dam in the creek near the tower, let the water drain out
and buried Minna in the center. Then he broke the dam and again flooded the
lake. Minna remains in the bottom of her beautiful lake.
We missed the proper turn and
entered the Beguinhof through the far gate. The oldest remaining houses of the close date
to the 15th century. It has been a place of residence for women for
750 years!
“What is a Beguine?” my friend
asked.
I read what our information said: In the 12th and 13th
centuries the crusades and other wars required that men take up arms and were
often gone for long periods of time. Single women were in the majority but had
little control over their lives. Women of some nobility could not marry outside
their class and had little freedom or purpose in life, often with no chance of
a decent livelihood.
There
were women who wanted to do good, help others but were restricted by the rules
of society. About the beginning of the 13th century some of them
with common bonds and ideals grouped together and lived in cabins close to one
another. This community was called a Beguinage.
These women were not nuns, took no vows, could return to city life and
wed if she wished and did not have to give up her property.
If
she were poor, she could neither ask for nor accept alms, but could support
herself by manual labor or teaching the children of the burghers—a citizen of
the town, especially one of middle class. When first joining the community she
lived with the Grand Mistress, but later had her own dwelling. Praying and
mysticism were important aspects, but each Beguinage had its own rules, but no
common ruler. There might be a meeting hall, chapel and assignments of certain
duties.
Beguines were influential in
providing the populace with help and religious understanding that priests and
ministers might not have been able to convey.
The community was surrounded by a
wall, and at night the gate was closed, and men were not allowed inside. The
Grand Dame lived in the largest and most beautiful house. People generally like
the Beguines, but it is a society of the past. Today they are part of the
Catholic Church.
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| The Bruges Close |
From the gate it was only a few
hundred yards to a gorgeous large courtyard filled with blooming daffodils and
narcissus. Paths led one around the courtyard that also had many trees for
shade. Walking toward the inner wall I was struck by all the clean sparkling
windows. I don’t know why that attracted my attention but they just
shone---maybe it was the sunshine.
After awhile we entered the gift
shop and talked to the lady inside who was one of the remaining 15 women living
at this facility.
She told us, “The Countess of
Flanders, daughter of Count Baldwin, who conquered Constantinople, founded this
close in 1245. In 1299 Philip the Beautiful placed the Beguinage under his
rule, thus withdrawing it from magistrate influence. A fire in 1584 destroyed
the chapel, but it was rebuilt in 1609 and later renovated in its present
baroque architecture. In 1937 this became a monastery for Benedictine nuns.”
It was a lovely quiet respite in the
middle of a busy city. I was glad we had found it and learned something about a
culture I never knew existed. There are several beguinages in Belgium, but this
is the only one we had a chance to visit.
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