genre: non-fiction, history
As I've been learning more about Belgium, more than once I have heard of the "beguines." In fact, in the lovely newly released book Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards, the main character becomes intimate with one of these communities of religious women who manage to stay out from under the thumb of the clergy. This book is a non-fiction look at this fascinating medieval European women's movement and the individuals who stand out for their piety, their resourcefulness and the spiritual guidance that they provided to the men and women in their circle.
It is so hard to wrap my head around how long ago this happened. These women were preaching and owning property and illustrating their own books in the 13th and 14th centuries! I haven't known much about the mystics either until the past year and I saw several familiar faces among these pages. I am so glad that their wills and their teachings survived until this time so that we could learn more about them and what they valued. It's not a quick read, unfortunately, it is mostly just straight history with a lot of Christian theology interspersed, but if you're interested in the subject, this is very straightforward and does share a lot of information. I finished the book feeling both angry for what they were up against but honestly proud of all the things they managed to do.
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