The Beguines of Medieval Paris: Gender, Patronage, and Spiritual Authority

by Tanya Stabler Miller

In the thirteenth century, Paris was the largest city in Western Europe, the royal capital of France, and the seat of one of Europe's most important universities. In this vibrant and cosmopolitan city, the beguines, women who wished to devote their lives to Christian ideals without taking formal vows, enjoyed a level of patronage and esteem that was uncommon among like communities elsewhere. Some Parisian beguines owned shops and played a vital role in the city's textile industry and economy. French royals and nobles financially supported the beguinages, and university clerics looked to the beguines for inspiration in their pedagogical endeavors. The Beguines of Medieval Paris examines these religious communities and their direct participation in the city's commercial, intellectual, and religious life. Drawing on an array of sources, including sermons, religious literature, tax rolls, and royal account books, Tanya Stabler Miller contextualizes the history of Parisian beguines within a spectrum of lay religious activity and theological controversy. She examines the impact of women on the construction of medieval clerical identity, the valuation of women's voices and activities, and the surprising ways in which local networks and legal structures permitted women to continue to identify as beguines long after a church council prohibited the beguine status. Based on intensive archival research, The Beguines of Medieval Paris makes an original contribution to the history of female religiosity and labor, university politics and intellectual debates, royal piety, and the central place of Paris in the commerce and culture of medieval Europe.

Genres: History, Medieval, France, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 20, 2014

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kryssa Jacynth]

I think I would have enjoyed this more if I wasn't forced to read it for school. The book's information is very solid, and it's not a hard read at all; but with all nonfiction studies based on a topic with only a small amount of primary documents extant, it becomes repetitive. The author uses the same cases and the same people to prove her points, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does make the book a little repetitive and therefore boring. All in all, I did learn a lot about the Beguines of Paris, a group of lay religious women. I don't think its a particularly life-changing aspect of early Christianity but it is interesting to see the debate from another viewpoint. I just wished the author would have paid a little more attention to how the women's financial and social background influenced the power, respect, and spiritual authority they had.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome work of scholarship by Miller. Awesome research about something that I had very little knowledge of before reading. Eminently important for modern debates about the role of women in the church even though Miller mostly sidesteps that issue. Most of the book is made up of dissecting different parts of life in the Beguinage but the final chapter gives the take aways and helps with broadening the view of women and religious leadership in the Middle Ages. Love it.

Even if you want to push back on modern trends, just as a historical work this deserves to be read by anyone interested in religion in the Middle Ages.

[Journey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well researched and interesting. Answered a question for me as to how the Beguines of the 12-1300's held power and position in Paris, held and conveyed property and became a thriving community for a certain period of time. I did not realize they were almost autonomous during this period. Pretty amazing, actually. Also, interesting information about their involvement in the silk trade.

[Jeff Hoffmeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not know of the Beguines (embarrassingly) until reading David James Duncan’s magisterial Sun House earlier this year. The Beguines were Christian women in Europe in the Middle Ages. They were mystics, writers, social workers, entrepreneurs, and, in some cases, martyrs. Wonderfully, I completed reading this book while in Paris (reason for travel - the Taylor Swift concert, somewhat incongruously). I was able to, dragging my family, find some of the sites mentioned in this book. LIke the early church desert fathers and mothers, the Beguines shouldered the weight of carrying the theology and essence of the faith during a time of great ecclesial upheaval. This book is historical writing at its best: meticulous, careful, and narratively compelling.

[Ella]

Not rating as I can absolutely see myself citing this. It’s an essential complement to the work of Sean L. Field on Marguerite Porete and on Capetian holy women and to Walter Simons’ Cities of Ladies, as well as a useful resource for anyone interested in the interaction between religion and commerce in women’s lives and on the Parisian streets.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fascinating group of women practicing a religious habit without the authority of the Church. Unfortunately the writing wasn’t as interesting as the group. Horribly boring, endlessly repeats itself, and I’m not quite sure what points were even being made. Whole book is summed up in the final paragraph.