for their needs. The understanding of women's motivations for joining the beguinages has changed dramatically in recent decades. The development of these communities is clearly linked to a preponderance of women in urban centers in the Middle Ages, but while earlier scholars like the Belgian historian Henri Pirenne believed that this "surplus" of women was caused by men dying in war, that theory has been debunked. Since the groundbreaking work of John Hajnal, who demonstrated that, for much of Europe, marriage occurred later in life and at a lower frequency than had previously been believed, historians have established that single women moved to the newly developed cities because those cities offered them work opportunities. has shown how the smaller beguinages as well as the court beguinages answered such women's social and economic needs, in addition to offering them a religious life coupled with personal independence, which was a difficult thing to have for a woman. In Belgium Aarschot Anderlecht Antwerp Bruges‡ Brussels Dendermonde‡ Diest‡ Diksmuide Ghent: Old Saint-Elisabeth New Saint-Elisabeth in Sint-Amandsberg‡ Our-Lady Ter Hooyen‡ Hasselt Herentals Hoogstraten‡ Lier‡ Leuven: Large‡ Small Mechelen: Large‡ Small Kortrijk‡ Oudenaarde Sint-Truiden‡ Turnhout‡ Tongeren‡ ‡ marks the thirteen "Flemish Béguinages" listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites in 1998. Other beguinages Begijnhof, Amsterdam, Netherlands Bagijnhof Delft, Netherlands Begijnhof, Utrecht, Netherlands Breda, Netherlands Leeuwarden, Netherlands Haarlem, Netherlands Sittard, Netherlands Béguinage de la rue Quentin-Barré, et al., Saint-Quentin, France Béguinage de Saint Vaast, Cambrai, France Béguinage, Valenciennes Béguinage, Paris, France See also Beguines and Beghards Frauenfrage, specifically associated with a medieval demographic period, in relation to women References Sources Further reading External links Belgium's beguinages offered refuge for women CNN World Heritage Sites in Belgium Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century Catholicism in Belgium