{"product_id":"the-wisdom-of-the-beguines-by-laura-swan-9781629190082","title":"The Wisdom of the Beguines","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe beguines began to form in various parts of Europe over eight hundred years ago. Beguines were laywomen, not nuns, and they did not live in monasteries. They practised a remarkable way of living independently, and they were never a religious order or a formalised movement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere were common elements that these medieval women shared across Europe, including their visionary spirituality, their unusual business acumen, and their courageous commitment to the poor and sick. Beguines were essentially self-defined, in opposition to the many attempts to control and define them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThey lived by themselves or in communities called beguinages, which could be single homes for just a few women or, as in Brugge, Brussels, and Amsterdam, walled-in rows of houses where hundreds of beguines lived together—a village of women within a medieval town or city.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAmong the beguines were celebrated spiritual writers and mystics, including Mechthild of Magdeburg, Beatrijs of Nazareth, Hadewijch, and Marguerite Porete—who was condemned as a heretic and burned at the stake in Paris in 1310. She was not the only beguine suspected of heresy, and often politics were the driving force behind such charges.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe beguines, across the centuries, have left us a great legacy. They invite us to listen to their voices, to seek out their wisdom, to discover them anew.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Wisdom of the Beguines\u003c\/em\u003e by Laura Swan offers a captivating exploration into this unique sisterhood, unravelling their stories and their enduring impact on society.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46851658711276,"sku":"9781629190082","price":34.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1234103482768.jpg?v=1759114881","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/the-wisdom-of-the-beguines-by-laura-swan-9781629190082","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}