Begijnhof Chapel (Amsterdam) - The Church of The Beguines

The Church of The Beguines

As early as 1397 the Beguines had a small chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. On 17 October 1419, after the enlargement of the Beguinage, Matthias, titular Bishop of Biduane (a small town on the Adriatic), in his capacity as vicar-general of Frederic III, Bishop of Utrecht, solemnly consecrated a new chapel. This chapel, with its own burial ground, was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the apostle Matthew. The church was badly damaged during the two great fires of 23 April 1421 and 25 May 1452. After its restoration, it was re-dedicated. The Beguines themselves paid for the rebuilding and restoration. When a Beguine died, she was buried in the church, as was common at the time. There was, however, one special, well-known exception: Mistress Cornelia Arens. In her lifetime, the church had turned from a Catholic to a Protestant place of worship, and so she refused to be buried in it, asking to be placed in the ‘wide church path near the gutter’. Despite her wish, when she died on 14 October 1654, she was at first buried in the church and only on 2 May 1655 was she reburied against the church wall outside. Later on, because of work on this wall, her grave was moved to the edge of the bleaching field. Every year on 2 May, her grave is still adorned with flowers.