Space to work, imagine and dream – Mary O’Donnell on Leuven’s Groot Begijnhof

The moment I stepped into Leuven’s Groot Begijnhof, I thought of Bertrand Russell’s remark that “The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.” I explored cobbled 13th-century streets in the company of Hedwig Schwall, director of the Leuven Centre for Irish Studies, and writer Jaki McCarraig.

Both Jaki and I were in residence in the Irish College to write, and to absorb the essence of this Franciscan-founded college, its contemporary multi- and interdisciplinary Irish Studies Centre, and the ambience of the capital of the Brabant.

Speaking of cooperation, some women have always dreamed of a place in which to live peacefully and independently. This is precisely what the Begijnhof was designed for.

Imagine yourself as a single woman in post-Crusade Europe, or as a widow who wishes for safety, autonomy and continued religious practice.

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What did the world offer? Choices were limited.

You could remain single, alone, and prey to all manner of unwanted attention, or even coercion. Admittedly there was marriage, or remarriage, followed by childbearing, domestic life and the unpaid care of others.

But for women who eschewed this and wished to support themselves, the beguinage offered a viable alternative, in which for better or worse men played no role. Importantly, such women could pursue religious practice without the obligation of donning a habit and walking the cloister.

The Beguine movement began in the 13th century, and today the béguinages consist of 13 sites in the Flanders region. The women within each beguinage could work. They could also take decisions about where they went, and how they ran their own affairs. The Groot Begijnhof in Leuven had four Mistresses who oversaw everyday life, and were present to counsel on matters to do with obedience and chastity, though not poverty.

Life and human nature being what it is, I suspect the occasional male did get through the gates and that his brief presence brought the requisite joys, but by and large this was intended to be a celibate community. And although this isn’t mentioned, it was surely also the perfect community for discreet same-sex relationships.

Each beguinage had its own bakery, brewery, nursing home and church. The women provided for their livelihood from money often earned from teaching, caring for the sick, and craftwork such as sewing, embroidery, and spinning. It was a modest existence, but a contented one. While the wealthier beguines lived in their own homes, having bought the land on which to build, poorer women lived in convents or communal houses while adhering to community ideals.

The buildings in Leuven are set within a separate, walled area through which run cobbled streets. It’s like a city within a city that tells a tale of temperate female cohabitation.

When I was there, the intersecting and quietly coursing river Dijle was overhung with still lush autumn trees tinged Titian, ochre, crimson. These river waters were once used for washing laundry, an important source of income.

The walls also enclosed sufficient space for a farm, a vineyard, orchards and kitchen gardens.

Today’s Groot Begijnhof is occupied by students, international scholars and visiting profs. The dwellings are spacious, utterly beautiful in the Flemish style, with some free-standing houses, and bricked and gabled terraces.

There aren’t many places in life where one comprehends why and how the idea of communal female living might work. Nor are there many places which reveal such pared-back beauty in typical Flemish style – pointed red brickwork, tall, many-paned windows, doors with curved stone architraves. I caught glimpses from within – classical pale green walls, a sense of simplicity and purpose within and without.

Give humans appropriate spaces in which to live, and it’s possible to work, imagine, dream and resolve so many challenges.

In physical safety, with a place to lay the head down at night, the women of this urban architectural gem in Leuven gained a foothold on the management of their own affairs which they might otherwise never have enjoyed. Not only that, they were free to explore their own relationship with God, in whom they believed, without having to enter a convent.

It was surely a golden time in a golden age.