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Mechelen's beguines at work: 44 images of the daily activities of beguines in the Grand Beguinage of Mechelen. I just really love this 17th-c. panel and I thought I'd make a little thread with my favourite details. From garden fences to books! 1/6
Each activity comes with a caption that underlines its spiritual benefits. Not even putting up fencing in the garden is meaningless: "Sister, when we beat the stakes into the earth / think about what Jesus' hands and feet received." 2/6
And neither is crafting. There's always more to yarn! "Sister, when we tie the drive band onto the wheel / think about how Jesus was hung on the cross." And: "Sister, like we prepare the wool for cloth / let us be prepared for death when we pass." 3/6
And in order for me to like this painting even more, there are also books: "Sister, let us write and read / so it may benefit our soul". This 16th-century manuscript ( @UniLeiden, BPL48E) originates in the Mechelen Beguinage and describes how a beguine should spiritually grow. 4/6
And it's also a book that made me look at these #nuntastic beguines for a considerable part of this evening: "This book belongs to Ioanna Maria Santeles at the Grand Beguinage in Mechelen." #herbook #inreadershands 5/6
Ioanna Santeles' book is a 1543 edition of the Fasciculus Mirre, containing meditations on Christ's life. This copy is at Ghent UL (Acc. 24 388). I love to be able to visualise - at least an idealised version of - Santeles' daily activities, including reading :) 6/6
