BEG 



BELFKY. 



UK'!, also pronounced BEY, i* Turkish word which signifies 

 " prince, lonl, ur cliief," will in the Ottoman empire U rather vaguely 

 uttxl a* a title of governor* and other high officer* of the state. It u 

 al> frequently subjoined to proper names, to distinguish person* of 

 high rank generally. 



BEGGAR, [PAUMRIUI AND POOR-LAWS.] 



KEGl.EUBKG, a compound word, which properly signifies "chief 

 of chief*," and the title of the governor-general* of the provinces. 

 They stood next in rank to the vizir, and hail under their jun 

 many mtjati, or districts, with their begs, agas, Ac. One of tin -ir 

 external distinctions wa* that the sultan of Constantinople always 

 bestowed on them three ensigns, named in Turkish Itujh, which <-..n 

 ai*ted of staves trimmed with the tail of a horse : inferior officer* of 

 the crown were honoured by only one or two of these insignia. About 

 the middle of tin- 17tli century the Turkuh empire comprised twenty- 

 two btylerbtyliet, or provinces governed by beglerbegs ; these were sub- 

 sequently reduced to three, Kouuielia, Anatolia, and Damascus, and 

 are now discontinued. The governors of the various provinces are 

 pashas of two tail* only. (Ubicini, ' Luttres sur la Turquic.') 



BKGUINS, in ecclesiastical history, certain tertiaries or half-monks, 

 who followed the fAi'n/ rule of St. Franci*. They were called in Italy, 

 BUochi and Bocaaoti ; in France, Begums; and in Germany, }' 

 or Beghards ; and are mentioned in ecclesiastical history of the middle 

 age a* early a* the llth century. The accounts however which both 

 ancient and modern writers generally give of these famous names ore 

 so uncertain and so different from each other, that the history of the 

 Beghards and Beguins U involved in greater perplexity than any other 

 part of the ecclesiastical history of that period. Moeheiiu is minute 

 upon the true origin of these denominations, both of which he con- 

 siders to have been derived from the German beijym, or beggerm (now 

 written btycArt*), to seek with importunity, by joining which to the 

 syllable kard, which is the termination of many German words, we 

 have the word begiithard, applicable to a person who asks any thing 

 with great ardour, and from which the English word l,i,/>,ur is mani- 

 festly derived. These observations, on the origin and signification of 

 the woftls in question, serve as a clue to the difficulties in which 

 the history of the Beghards and Beguina has been involved; and, as 

 Mosheim justly observes, will enable the reader to account for the 

 prodigious multitudes of Beghards and Beguins which sprung up in 

 Europe in the 13th century; and will show him how it happened 

 that these denominations were given to above thirty sects or orders, 

 which differed widely from each other in their opinions, their discipline, 

 and manner of living. The Bizochi or Beguins, if we except their 

 sordid habit and certain observances or maxima, which they followed 

 in consequence of the injunctions of St. Francis, lived after the manner 

 of other men, and were therefore considered in no other light than as 

 seculars and laymen. (See the ' Acta Inquisit. Tholosaiuc,' published 

 by l,imborch, pp. 307, 329, 382, 3S9, Ac. ; and Jordan's ' Chronicon, 1 

 published by Muratori, ' Antiquit. Ital. Medii . K\ i.' toiu. iv. p. 1020.) 



\Ve must not, however, says Mosheim, confound these Beguius and 

 Beguines, who derive their origin from an austere branch of the Fran- 

 ciscan order, with the Beguines of the Netherlands, ami afterwards of 

 Germany, who crept out of their obscurity in the 1 3th century, and 

 multiplied prodigiously in a very short time. Their origin was of 

 earlier date than this century, but it was only now that they acquired 

 a name and made a noise in the world. Their primitive ustablislmn nt 

 was undoubtedly the effect of virtuous dispositions and upright inten- 

 tions. A certain number of pious women, both virgins and widows, in 

 order to maintain their integrity, and preserve their principles from 

 the contagion of a corrupt age, formed themselves into societies, each 

 of which had a fixed place of residence, and was under tin in.-p. -.-lion 

 and government of a female head. Here they divided their time 

 between exercises of devotion and works of industry, reserving to 

 themselves the liberty of entering into the state of matrimony, and 

 quitting the convent whenever they thought proper. And as all those 

 """"K the female sex who made extraordinary professions of piety and 

 devotion were distinguished by the title of lic,uintt, that is, persona 

 who were uncommonly assiduous in prayer, that title was given to 

 the women of whom we are now speaking. Tl,.- t.i -t society of this 

 kind that we read of was formed at Nivelle in I'.rabant, in the year 

 1226, or, as other historians say, in 1207, and wan followed by HO many 

 institutions of a like nature in France, Germany. Holland, ant! Flanders, 

 that toward* the middle of the 13th century there was scarcely .-, city 

 of any note that had not it* bnjuinayr, or vineyard, an it was soniel lines 

 called in conformity to the style of the 'Song of ! these 



female societies were not governed by the same laws; but in the 

 greatest part of them, the hour* that were not devoted to pi..;. .1, 

 nitditation, or other religious exercises, were , ii,|.!o\.-,| in weaving, 



embroidering, and other manual labour* of various kinds. Tin | i, 



sick, and disabled Beguines were i<upi>oi t pious liberality of 



such opulent persons as were friends to the ord. i . 



In the 14th century the societies of the Beguines had becnm- 

 numerous in Germany ; but as they adopted some of the my - 

 and extravagant opinions of the " Mystic brethren and sisters of the 

 free Spirit," we find in the German records of this century a frequent 

 distinction of them into those of the right and :ippivi d cl.i.--< and thorn 

 of the sublime or free spirit, the former of whom adhered to the public 

 religion, while the latter were corrupted by the opinion* of the mystics. 



The BegMiues now shared in the persecution which fell :ip..n tl 

 tics, Tli.- i l.m, ntina, as it is called, or constitution of the council of 

 Vienna, A.II. nil. agninst the Beguines, or those female socii -tit -s wlio 

 lived together in fixed habitations, under a common rule of pi.. 

 pline and virtuous industry, gave rise to a persecution of th. -. people 

 which lasted till the Reformation by Luther, and i nun d the c.iu-c l.th 

 of the Beguine* and Beghards in many place* ; for though the pop.-, in 

 his last constitution, had permitted p:-.i- W.M.. 



state of celibacy, with or without taking the vow. and refused a tole- 

 ration only to such of them as were corrupted with the ..pinion* of the 

 Brethren l.f tl,,- in . Spiiit. yet tin- vast numb, i li the 



Beguiuea and Beghards had, partly among the mechanics, es] > 

 the weavers, and partly among the priests and monks, took a handle 

 from the Cli niciitina to molest the Beguines in their houses, to seise 

 and destroy their goods, to offer them many other in-uh.-. and to 

 involve tin- Begharda in the like persecution. pope John XXII. 

 1 the Beguines s>nu>- lief under those oppressions, in the year 

 1324, by a special constitution, in which he gave a favoi; 

 cation of the ( 'lenu ntina. and ordered that the goods, chat! 

 tious, and societies of the innocent Beguines should U- pre-.-n.il from 

 every kind of violence and insult, which exampl* 

 moderation was afterwards followed by other po|K-.-. On the other 

 liand, the Beguines, in hopes of disappointing more effectually the 

 malicious attempts of their 



third nde of St. Francis and of the Augustines. Yet all 

 measures hi their favour could not prevent the lo.-s Irotli of their 

 reputation and substance, for from this time they w.-re oj .pressed in 

 > vend provinces by the magistrates, the clergy, and the monl, 

 had cast a greedy eye upon their treasures, and eager 



to divide the spoil (See Mosheim's ' Eccles. 11 



17o-'. vol. iii., pp. 228, 229, 230, 281,337, 379.) M.sh.im int.-nd.-d a 

 separate work upon the Beghards and Beguines, v. hi.-h n. . 

 though he states himself, in his history, that it was then ah. 

 The most copious writer on the long persecution of the Begun 

 Christian us Wurstisen, or Urtisius, in his C'lu . mi.-, >n liasiliense,' written 

 in German, lili. iv., cap. ix., p. 201, fol., Basil, 1580. 



There is a little work of great rarity, entitled I.ettre de M. 1'Abbc 

 S * * h Mile, dc G *, Beguine d'Anvers, sur 1'Origine et le Progres 

 de son Institut.,' 12mo, Par., 1731 , from which we learn that Beg (linages, 

 as they were called then, existed in more than forty towns ,f the 

 Netherlands and the adjacent countries on the Khiiie. It contali. 

 two representations of a Beguine, one in the dress worn in the 

 of her hou.-c or convent, and the other in her walking habit. Com- 

 munities of Beguines still subsist in Holland. Belgium, and Gcimany. 

 Each house is governed by a prioress, who alone .an permit <-. 

 any of the sisters to go forth. A novitiate of three years is rt<, 



novices are admitted into the order, alter which i 

 the habit and take the vow. which oonajatl only of a p. 

 while they continue in the order, which however they aie at lil.. 

 leave when they think proper. The occupation of the Be;, 

 education of young females and attendance on the sick. l.th in th.-ir 

 private residences and in the public ho.-pit;d-. Their principal 

 ii-hment is now at Ghent, and numbers tiou inmates, the total number 

 in Belgium being estimate*! at 6000. Their dreas is bl.uk. with white- 

 veils : "but that of the novices is varied, and those who have just 

 the veil wear chaplcts round their heads. 



I'.KIIKAlPlNi;. ! I'M AI-ITATIO.N.] 



Hl-:ilKM(lTH. [HuTuniTAMi s, ix NAT. HIST. Div.] 



I1K1T is an Arabic word, which prop.-i ! I t.-nt or but. but 



U likewise employed to denote any cdilice or aUide of men. It , 

 found :u- a component ]irt of prop, r names in the geography : 

 countries that have become subject to the Arabs : li, . the 



sacred edifice ,' or ' Uieedilice of the .-.met uary,' a designation frequently 

 given to the temple of Mce.-.i ; /'"'' "/ Muloadaiu,' the sauc-i 

 Jerusalem; lt,ii nl I'ul, -i/i. ' the abode of the jurist,' a town in Yemen, 

 Ac. Tin- Hebrew word, corresponding to the Arabic l!,il.\~ ll,ih, 

 which we tind employed in a manner pel f.-ctly analogous in the ( >ld 

 Testament: in the name /.''/',/, /,. ,,t (in Ai.ibic II, it Ln/im, ,,r I 



I. nli in], ' the house of bread ; ' Hill: Tn :! ,ii-M,ili, ' the h 



Armenia. The same word, Itilli. is in Syriae : till m .\t.n-i\oly 



used aa a OOmponenl p.u! of ;'.-..::iaphie.il names. In Arabian | 



: eh. 



lil'.I.Kl '. or II. \ I. A I '. :.' wold, which .-igiiitiesatown.il 



Hint r\, and i- met "illi a- a e..|np..n.-nt |irt. of iii.my 

 |iro|-r names in Oriental geography, for example, in !' 

 which )iroperly is /'((/" ; i"- ' e.mntiy ..i palm trees.' 



p.r.i.i- 1 !^ . li, ,' pai i oi i . hur i, ' iwi roi tajapl m whi.-h tl. 



.in- bung. Th. t. mi i.- applied not only to that ]ait of the t,.er. but 



on which the Ix-lls are sii|K-nded. Kclfn 

 bablv derived fi-o:,. 



comJKPIIIld Ol ord. and/.. |-ace. (Illi 



'Glow.') The old l-'i.-n.h woid 'Diet.' by 



al.-o the i 



i;ffri. which latter Word 1H n 

 . h writers - tui-e. l-]li 



',\it'AXii.i:|. which, with tin- terms <// 



,tt-rs of the mid. 1 

 something. AccorxUng to sonic, the name Mfnilat was appl; 



