| Description |
202 pages ; 22 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-199) and index. |
| Summary |
The beguines began to form in various parts of Europe over eight hundred years ago, around the year 1200. Beguines were laywomen, not nuns, and thus did not take solemn vows and did not live in monasteries. The beguines were a phenomenal movement that swept across Europe yet they were never a religious order or a formalized movement. But there were common elements that rendered these women distinctive and familiar, including their common way of life, their unusual business acumen, and their commitment to the poor and marginalized. These women were essentially self defined, in opposition to the many attempts to control and define them. |
| Contents |
Who were the Beguines? -- Beguines across Europe -- The Beguines -- Beguine ministries -- Beguine spirituality -- Beguine compassion -- Beguines as preachers and performers -- Literary Beguines -- Were Beguines heretics? |
| Biography |
Sister Laura Swan, O.S.B, has for many years studied and written about the history of women's spirituality and the monastic life. She is the associate editor of Magistra: a Journal of Women's Spirituality in History and adjunct professor of religious studies at Saint Martin's University in Lacey, Washington. A member and former prioress of St. Placid Priory, a community of Benedictine women in the Pacific Northwest, her books include The Forgotten Desert Mothers and Engaging Benedict. |
| Subject |
Beguines -- Europe.
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Beguines -- Spiritual life.
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Spiritual life -- Christianity.
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Women -- History -- Middle Ages, 500-1500.
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| ISBN |
9781933346977 |
|
1933346973 |
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