Beghards

Charles Buck Theological Dictionary

Or BEGUARDS, a sect that arose in Germany in the thirteenth century, and took St. Begghe for their patroness. They employed themselves in making linen cloth, each supporting himself by his labour, and were united only by the bonds of charity without having any particular rule; but when pope Nicholas IV. had confirmed that the third order of St. Francis in 1289, they embraced it the year following.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

A religious order that arose in Belgium in the 13th century, connected with the Beguins, a mystic and socialistic sect.