Liège, Palais Provincial03, statues de Lambert le Bègue et Hugues de Pierrepont

Lambert le Bègue, also called Lambert li Bègues, (English: ''Lambert the Stutterer'') was a priest and reformer, who lived in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, in the middle of the 12th century.

Life

Whether he was named "le Bègue" (the "Stammerer"), because of some speech problem is not known. The son of poor people, he was ordained priest sometime before 1164, and was first in charge of a church affiliated with the cathedral in Liège, probably St. Martin-en-Île. He refused to pay an increase in the annual tribute to the collegiate chapter of St. Pauls' and was reassigned to the smaller chapel of St. Christopher on the outskirts of the city. At the diocesan synod of 1166 he spoke out against the abuses of the clergy, protesting against

simony Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to imp ...

, the ordination of sons of priests, and certain customs in the administration of the Sacrament of

Baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

and the celebration of Mass. He ascribed greater importance to the devout mind and practical love of one's neighbor than to means of grace and sacraments. He founded in Liège the hospital of St. Christopher. In time he gathered about him a popular following, for whom he translated into the

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

(French) the Life of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

, the ''Life of St Agnes'', the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...

, and the

Epistles of St. Paul The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extan ...

, with commentaries; these translations unfortunately have not been preserved. The foundation of such groups reflected the general flowering of the religious life among the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...

in the towns of northern Europe during the late Middle Ages. The communities of beguines also served as refuges for women left widowed or unmarried by the participation of large numbers of men in the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

. The members frequently lived in individual apartments in a large, separately enclosed section of town called the beguinage. They renounced their goods and lived a semi-conventual life, but took no vows and followed none of the approved monastic rules. They dressed in distinctive costumes and spent their days in prayer, education, care of the sick, and work such as weaving. But he also had adversaries, especially among the clergy, and it was to refute them that he wrote a defense of his theories, entitled "''Antigraphum Petri''". His writings reveal him a man very learned for his time. They abound with quotations, not only from the Bible, but also from the Fathers of the Church, such as St. Gregory, St. Augustine and St. Bernard, and even from profane authors like

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

and

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

. Accused of

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

, he was condemned and imprisoned notwithstanding his appeal to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

. He escaped and went over to the

antipope Callistus III Callixtus III (also Calixtus III or Callistus III; died between 1180 and 1184) was an antipope from September 1168 until his resignation in August 1178. He was the third antipope elected in opposition to Pope Alexander III during the latter's stru ...

, who had been recognized by Raoul of Zahringen, Prince-Bishop (i.e. bishop and secular ruler) of

. He wrote to the Pope several letters in justification of his doctrines and conduct, but the result of these endeavors is not known. In all probability he returned to Liège where he died in 1177. Walter Simons points out that the belief that he founded the beguines did not arise until the mid-thirteenth century, and discounts it as beguines did not begin to appear in Liège until sometime after his death.

Commemoration

The Rue Lambert-le-Bègue is situated in the old district of the beguines in Liège.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert Le Begue 1177 deaths 12th-century Roman Catholic priests Beguines and Beghards Year of birth unknown Prince-Bishopric of Liège clergy