Murk-Jansen, Saskia.  _Brides in the Desert:  The Spirituality of the
Beguines._  (Maryknoll, NY:  Orbis Books, 1998).  136 pp.
	Reviewed by Michelle M. Sauer-Bures, mmsauer@unicorn.it.wsu.edu,
Washington State University.


	What is most attractive about this little book is its
accessibility.  Murk-Jansen's writing is clear and easy to read.  She
makes a complicated, and heretofore exclusive, subject, the Beguine
movement, approachable by non-scholars.   This volume will certainly
broaden the audience of theological movements to include all interested
parties. Based on this readability, I recommend the volume to interested
non-scholars.  Specialists will not be put off by the volume, but will
find little compelling and/or new information.  The audience is meant to
be a general one who will glean an introduction to lay ecstatic piety.
The book begins with a brief introduction which is followed by an
historical overview of the development of the Beguine movement.  A
reoccurring problem becomes apparent right away in these sections-because
of the relative briefness of the text as a whole, the reader occasionally
feels as though he/she is begin pulled along at high speed through
mountains of material, including the entire ecclesiastical reform of the
thirteenth century.  Nevertheless, Murk-Jansen does a creditable job of
compressing large amounts of historical materials into a short chapter.  I
would have wished for a more careful tracing of the rise of lay
involvement in the Church, but Murk-Jansen seems more anxious to identify
her chosen subjects as holy women akin to saints, rather than as pioneers
of non-clerical religiosity.
About midway through this introductory section, Murk-Jansen  addresses the
"woman-question," although scholars looking for a full-blown feminist
critique will be disappointed.  The author chooses instead to focus on the
universality of the Beguines' appeal, and transitions from the mention of
feminist scholarship directly to the rise of the Beguine movement itself.
Again, the overview is rapid, and surprisingly, the focus seems to be on
the men surrounding the movement (i.e. Jacques de Vitry, the Dominicans,
and Pope Honorious III) rather than on individual women.  This oversight
is somewhat recompensed in a later chapter that examines four outstanding
Beguines, but by skewing the focus, Murk-Jansen seems to devalue the
contribution of the women themselves.
In perhaps the most interesting chapter of the volume, "The Literary
Context," Murk-Jansen explores the notion of authority and mystical
writing.  Here, finally, the author makes the connection between the
Beguines unique spirituality and their lay status.  Further, Murk-Jansen
explores gender consequences.  How does a religious woman not only make
her voice heard, but get people to listen?  Neither the question nor the
posited answers are "new," (see for instance Elizabeth Alvilda Petroff's
works) but they are clearly outlined and supported with relevant examples.
Finally, Murk-Jansen explores the educational background of the women
involved in the Beguine movement, concluding that they were among the most
well-read people of their day.  This discussion dovetails neatly into a
look at the impact of vernacular theological literature on late medieval
society.
This remarkable chapter is followed by a look at four individual Beguines:
Beatrijs of Nazareth, Mechtild of Megdeburg, Hadewijch, and Marguerite
Porete.  The connection is obviously to highlight the production of
valuable vernacular literature.  It also serves, as I mentioned earlier,
to illustrate the important female figures of the movement.
Unfortunately, these portraits are so brief as to be relatively
unfruitful.  I realize this is due to the scope and purpose of the volume,
and the brevity of the vita is somewhat compensated by the examinations of
corresponding texts.  Each woman's major work is mentioned and described,
although only Beatrijs' Seven Manners of Loving is thoroughly outlined.
The next chapter examines the relationship of the Beguine movement to the
established Church.  While the placement of this section is no doubt meant
to play off the execution of Marguerite Porete for heresy, I cannot help
but feel it would have been better placed after the earlier sections on
development and origins of the movement.  The chapter is very brief, and
attempts to encompass the "feeling" of the entire thirteenth century,
falling short of its goal.  The material here could easily have been
integrated into the earlier discussion of texts and authority.
Finally, Murk-Jansen moves on to the famous issue of Beguine erotic
spirituality.  Here, also, is the imagery from which the book draws its
title.  On a side note, I must admit that I found the title of the work
somewhat puzzling.  Brides in the Desert sounds like a work on the early
desert mothers, or at least on patristic asceticism.  However,
Murk-Jansen's final chapter explains the framework for her chosen title,
focusing not only on erotic/nuptial imagery, but on the various
interpretations of "desert" in Beguine writing. To some of these women,
the desert was the locus of trial and suffering (and as Murk-Jansen points
out, the Beguine movement was known for its focus on suffering as a pietic
experience), while to others, the desert was a goal one reached after
purposeful and "clean" suffering.  To those who are looking for an
explicit exploration of the erotic vein of Beguine writing, this chapter
will prove disappointing; however, this final chapter does a beautiful job
of expressing the overarching theme of mystic literature-mysticism is the
language of the ineffable.  It attempts to describe what cannot be
described, and that is why these women, despite their similar
circumstances and beliefs, sought and asserted different interpretations
of the same image.  This chapter provides an uplifting ending to a book
that is all in all readable, if unscientific and hurried.

Link to Orbis Books