Beguines, Tertiaries and Third Order of Saint Francis in Majorca

Abstract

Beguinism was one of the most interesting religious movements in History. Men and women from Western Europe lived their own religiosity outside the usual channels of the Church.

In order to avoid accusations and persecutions, many of these communities joined the Third Rule of Saint Francis and were affiliated to Franciscan tertiaries. This article begins theorizing succinctly about the concept of beguine, and next studies the beguine movement in the island of Majorca, highlighting the links between these communities and the Third Order of Saint Francis. The long chronology analysed permits to determine a general line on the evolution of beguinism and to observe its expressions in the religious congregations appeared since the nineteenth century.