Walter Simons
Author of Cities of Ladies: Beguine Communities in the Medieval Low Countries, 1200-1565
About the Author
Walter Simons is Associate Professor of History at Dartmouth College
Works by Walter Simons
Cities of Ladies: Beguine Communities in the Medieval Low Countries, 1200-1565 (2001) 46 copies, 1 review
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Simons, Walter
- Gender
- male
- Short biography
- Growing up in Bruges, one of the most beautiful medieval cities in Europe, Walter Simons never had any doubt in his mind that he wanted to be a medievalist. He was trained as a historian in Belgium and at the Center for Medieval Studies in Poitiers, France, before receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Ghent, Bruges' arch-rival from the Middle Ages. A very medieval academic peregrination brought him from his native Flanders to the United States, which he finds not very medieval but all the more fascinating. He has just finished a book about lay women and religion in the medieval Low Countries and is now working on a cultural history of weaving in medieval Europe.
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~history/fac... - Places of residence
- Bruges, Ghent, Belgium
- Associated Place (for map)
- Ghent, Belgium
Members
Reviews
Cities of Ladies: Beguine Communities in the Medieval Low Countries, 1200-1565 (The Middle Ages Series) by Walter Simons
This is a really excellent work which pulls together the most recent scholarship on the beguines and dispels several long held historiographical myths about them. The beguines were members of lay religious communities which emerged in what is now Belgium in the early 13th century and flourished through the fourteenth century, characterised by their semi-monasticism, lack of formal vows, and desire to support themselves by their labours. Simons doesn't focus on the writings of the mystics show more which the movement produced, but rather looks at the beguines as a lay, female, urban movement. Readable and well-organised, Cities of Ladies manages to be both an introduction to the topic and a scholarly reference work (no easy feat to manage). Really, really interesting if you want to learn more about the only medieval religious movement created by and for women. show less
Lists
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 3
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 55
- Popularity
- #295,339
- Rating
- 4.3
- Reviews
- 1
- ISBNs
- 10
- Languages
- 1