Statues, Icons and Begijns

I love Mechelen (nowadays in the Flemish speaking part of Belgium): it has such a friendly atmosphere. I didn't go there in search of statues, but as you'll see, I certainly found some. So I was fascinated to find that the statue of the Virgin and Child in Kingston Deverill church is cited as being Flemish, 14th century and probably from Mechelen cathedral.
St Rombouts

On the right is St Rombouts church in Mechelen. The cathedral (whence, it is suggested, came the Kingston Deverill Statue) is "the Basilica of Our Lady of Hanswijk", there was a church on that site from the 10th century. That building was demolished in 1578 and the present domed baroque church was designed in the 17th century.

O L Vrouw van Mirakeln

 
The Basilica houses the famous statue of the Virgin Mary that is carried in the 'Hanswijk' procession, a major focus of life in Mechelen. There are many other images, however: my personal favourite is this 16th century icon of 'Our Lady of Miracles', which is surrounded by the traditional Flemish plaques giving thanks for favours granted.


old madonna new madonna


 
It's clear that the style of the statue at Kingston Deverill matches that of other Flemish Madonnas - these are easy to find since many of the old town-houses feature a statue and a light on a prominent corner. Lest anyone should think that the tradition is dying, they're to be found on new apartments as well.


Mechelen has two Begijnhofs (Beguinages in French). The smaller is now enclosed by other buildings in the same style as the ones that make it almost impossible to photograph the basilica (as you probably noticed). However, it is possible to get some idea of the atmosphere which must once have imbued the Grote Begijnhof, by walking round the four surrounding streets: the 'Jezuspoort', the 'Hoviusstraat', 'Fonteinstraat', 'Conventstraat' and 'Acht Zalighedenstraat'. The modern-day nuns living in some of the surviving Belgian Begijnhofs are the inheritors of a long tradition of Christian Mysticism.

Brugge Begijnhof (c) Brugge T I C

Sadly, to get the true feeling of peace which once filled these places, it's necessary to travel to Brugge (Brugges), which boasts one of the largest preserved Begijnhofs. This is the interior courtyard, which is surrounded by the small houses, now inhabited by Benedictine nuns who took over the Begijnhof in 1937. At Dendermonde, the local community is gradually restoring nother Begijnhof, which had fallen into disrepair.

Mechelen also boasts a Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, another reminder of the churches of the Deverills. The one in Mechelen is a baroque Jesuit church dating from 1669. It contains a collection of paintings and a magnificent pulpit. Two of the pulpits in the Deverill churches came from Flanders: that which remains, at Kingston Deverill, is probably a pale shadow of the other, which appears to have been more like the one at St Peter and St Paul.