Identifier: spellofflanderso00vose (find matches)
Title: The spell of Flanders; an outline of the history, legends and art of Belgium's famous northern provinces, being the story of a twentieth century pilgrimage in a sixteenth century land just before the outbreak of the great war
Year: 1915 (1910s)
Authors: Vose, Edward Neville
Subjects:
Publisher: Boston, The Page Company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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its size and the perfection of its appointments. The first Beguinage in Ghent was founded by Jeanne of Constantinople in 1233 as a place of refuge for women disciples of the church who in those evil days felt the need of protection, but did not desire to enter the conventual life. Little houses sprang up and the institution proved so popular that a second Beguinage was soon established which came to be called the Petit Beguinage. Protected by the successive Counts, and particularly by the patronage of the Countesses of Flanders, both institutions flourished and expanded steadily. The present Petit Beguinage de Notre Dame dates largely from the seventeenth century, and the Chapel and streets of tiny houses inhabited by the Beguines are most picturesque. It has accommodations for three hundred sisters. The Grand Beguinage de Ste. Elisabeth was confiscated during the French Revolution and the property presented to the almshouses of the city of Ghent. The Committee in charge of the alms houses suffered
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Ghent Governed by Guilds 211 the Beguines to remain undisturbed, however,until 1872 when strained relations resultingfrom this arrangement led to the Beguines giv-ing up their estahlishment, whi<)h was mod-ernized by the authorities and many of its in-teresting features destroyed. The church re-mains, having become a parish church, and therue des Prebendieres retains its original ap-pearance. Meanwhile, the Duke of Arenbergpurchased ground for a new Grande Beguinageat Mont St. Amand, and here a little city ofsmall houses, designed in fifteenth-centuryFlemish style, and a new chapel were erected,the work being completed in 1874. We spent a very charming afternoon visitingthe Grande Beguinage. Passing through thelofty gateway we were greeted by the pleasant-faced BegTiine who receives all visitors and whodirected us how to reach the buildings we werepermitted to see. As at Bruges, the cells werenot shown to visitors. Altogether at St. Amandthere are fourteen ^ convents and eightyhous

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