Klöster im Hochmittelalter

232 I Thomas Coomans

area of 1566 square meters (54m x 29m), divided by two rows of ten columns
into a central vessel flanked by two low aisles. This rectangular plan is so sim-
ple that it could be that of a barn or a hospital ward; nevertheless, a huge win-
dow of the chevet with Rayonnant tracery illuminates the choir and immedi-
ately identifies the building as a church (Fig. 14). The church was built in two
main phases: first, from 1305 on, the seven eastern bays; later, in 1421-1444,
three bays were added to the west.68 Brick vaults were erected in the seven-
teenth century and the interior was re-furnished in the Baroque style of the
Counter-Reformation. Above the vaults, however, the original wooden struc-
ture of the roof is still preserved and reveals that the original space was much
higher. This simple structure was similar to that of the already mentioned nave
of the Dominicans in Leuven, which also could be dated to the first decades of
the fourteenth century.
Five other churches of Beguinages in the diocese of Liege constitute a ho-
mogenous group of small and 'poor' churches for women with simple struc-
tures, no decoration, timber vaulting, and no tower. The oldest church of the
Beguine movement is St Christopher's in Liege, built in the years 1240-1250.69
St Catherine's church in Tongeren was built from 1263d to 1281d, and side cha-
pels were added to the first bay of the nave in 1291-1305d, forming a pseudo-
transept. The nave of St Catherine's church in Diest dates from the years 1284-
1304d, while the transept and the choir were built between 1321d and 1345d.
The church of St Agnes in Sint-Truiden has a complex building history, with a
choir from 1290-1310d and a nave in two parts from 1320-1360d and 1507-
1517d.7° The ruins of the Our Lady church of the Beguinage in Tienen also has
a choir from the early fourteenth century. In short, the churches of the Be-
guines adopted a very simple layout, timber vaulting and eschewed architec-
tural decoration. All are aisled basilicas, with a flat chevet (Liege, Tongeren,
Landschappen 4/4 (1985), pp. 6-28; Raymond M. Lemaire, Le formation du style gothique
brabangon. Premiere partie: les eglises de l'ancien quartier de Louvain, Antwerp 1949,
pp. 54-64.
68 The date 1305 is mentioned on a dedication stone: anno:d[omi]ni:m°cccv°:hec:/
ecclesia:incepit. The dates 1421-1444 are from archives of the construction works. Tree-
ring dating was not successful.
69 Thomas Coomans, Saint-Christophe a Liege: la plus ancienne eglise du mouvement begui-
nal, in: Bulletin monumental 164 (2006), pp. 359-376. Available online at: https://www.per-
see.fr/doc/bulmo_0007-473x_2006_num_164_4_1383 (last accessed on 13.07.2019).
70 Thomas Coomans, De complexe bouwgeschiedenis van de begijnhofkerk, in: In zuiverheid
leven. Het Sint-Agnesbegijnhof van Sint-Truiden: het hof, de kerk, de muurschilderingen, ed.
by Thomas CooMANs/Anna Bergmans (Relicta monografieen 2), Brussels 2008, pp. 155-
209. Available online at: https://oar.onroerenderfgoed.be/publicaties/RELM/2ZRELM002-
001.pdf (last accessed on 04.05.2020).