Beguines were Christian laywomen in the cities of northern Europe who, beginning in the Middle Ages, led lives of religious devotion without joining an approved religious order. The movement appeared among so-called holy women in Liège toward the end of the 12th century; the term Beguine was in use by the 1230s and the communities spread through the Low Countries, Germany, and northern France.
Most Beguines lived in beguinages—shared houses or neighborhoods—practiced chastity and charity, and often worked as nurses, teachers, or craftswomen. Unlike nuns, they took no permanent monastic vows, could keep property, and were free to leave or marry. Encyclopaedia Britannica summarizes this history in its overview of the Beguines (britannica.com/topic/Beguines).