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Grand Béguinage. GHENT. 6. Route. U7?
is a Romanesque relief from the portal of the abbey (12th cent.?), with
representations of the wonder-working relics of St. Bavon; Romanesque
s; Gothic keystones, capitals, and painted statuettes (14-45th cent.);
remains of a Romanesque font (42th cent.); tomb of John of Cleves and his
wife (d. 1500).
On the N. side of the abbey is the Church of St. Macarius (Pl.
EB, 4), erected in 1882, with an antique carved wooden pulpit.
We may now take the electric tramway (No. 5; p.54) from the
neighbouring Boulevard du Chateau (Pl. E, 4) to the Chaussée
@ Anvers (Antwerpsche Steenweg) in the suburb of St. To berg,
or Mont St. Amand, alighting at the Oostakker Straat, about 3 min.
beyond the Eecloo and Waesland Stations (p. 53). The narrow street
leads to the right to the (4 min.) —
*Grand Béguinage de Ste. Elisabeth (Begynhof van Sint Elisa-
beth; beyond Pl. B, 3,4; comp. p. 75). The Béguinage, founded in
4942 and forced to remove from its original position (p. 68) in
{874 by street-improvements, owes its present site to the influence
of the Duc d’ Arenberg, who entrusted the rebuilding to the architect
A. Verhaegens.
The name is most probably derived from Lambert le Begue (d. 1187),
t of | Li who is said to have eee Le first BEI nage: ae
of charity, atheat siakies a vow binding iiient
seldom happens that any of their number avail
themselves of their liberty to return to the world. These institutions have
passed almost scath through the storms of centuries. Joseph II. spared
them when he dissolved the other religious houses, and they remained un-
molested also during the French Revolution, their aim having steadfastly
been the ‘support of the needy and the care of the sick.’ There are at
present about twenty Béguinages in Belgium, with fully 1500 members,
about 1000 of whom are in Ghent. With the exception of those at Amsterdam
and Breda, th establishments are now confined to Belgium, though at
one time they were common throughout the districts of the lower Rhine.
The members of the Béguinages are unmarried women of unblemish-
ed character, and pay a yearly board of at least 110 fr., besides an en-
trance-fee of about 500 fr. for the dwelling and the maintenance of the
church. Two years of novitiate must be undergone before they can be
elected as sisters. The Mother Superior, called the Groot Juffrouw or
Grande Dame, is appointed by the bishop. The Sisters first live together
in convents under control of a Dame Supériewe, where they work together
at lace-making, etc. After haying been members for six years, however,
they have the option of retiring to one of the separate dwellings, which
contain rooms for two to four occupants. In many cases the Béguines
have the society of other women who are not members of the order, whose
board forms a smal] addition to their funds.
The Sis must attend divine worship twice or thrice a day, the
first service being at 5a.m., and the last at Vespers, the hour of which
varies according as it becomes too dark for the fine work of the nuns.
The latter service, known as ‘lof or ‘salut des Béguines’, presents a very
picturesque and impressive scene, when the blue robes and white linen
headgear of the Sisters are dimly illuminated by the evening light and a
few lamps. The youngest novices wear a wreath round their heads. The
black Flemish robes (failles) are worn out-of-doors only.
__ ‘The Béguinage forms a little town of itself, inhabited by about
(00 members, and enclosed by walls and moats, with streets,
squares, gates, 18 convents, and a church, the last forming the |
