Beghard
/ˈbɛɡɑːrd/noun
A member of a medieval lay religious brotherhood, especially in the Low Countries and Germany.
Did you know?Beghards were often treated with suspicion because some were linked in church records to unorthodox mysticism and the radical spiritual movements of the Middle Ages.
Etymological Timeline
13th Century
Middle Dutch
beggaert
“A member of a lay religious brotherhood or pious association”
13th Century
Middle French
begard
“A religious layman, especially one associated with semi-monastic devotion”
13th-14th Century
Medieval Latin
begardus
“A Beghard; a member of a lay brotherhood”
Late Middle English
English
beghard
“A member of a mendicant or quasi-monastic lay brotherhood”
Modern English
English
beghard
“A member of a medieval lay religious brotherhood”