Beatrice of Nazareth
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Beatrice of Nazareth
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Blessed Beatrix | |
Born |
c. 1200
Tienen , Belgium |
Died | July 29, 1268 |
Venerated in | Catholic Church |
Feast | July 29 |
Blessed Beatrice of Nazareth or in Dutch Beatrijs van Nazareth (c. 1200 – 1268) was a Flemish Cistercian nun . She was the first prose writer using an early Dutch language , a mystic , and the author of the notable Dutch prose dissertation known as the Seven Ways of Holy Love . She was also the first prioress of the Abbey of Our Lady of Nazareth in Nazareth near Lier in Brabant .
Sources
Evidence for her life comes from both her biography, published in Crisóstomo Henríquez 's Lilia Cistercii, the origins, lives and deeds of the holy virgins of Cîteaux , (Douai 1633), and from her own work The Seven Ways of Holy Love ( Seven Manieren van Heilige Minnen ). The latter is a work of early mystic literature that describes seven stages of love, as it is purified and transformed, before it can return to God . It has a simple and balanced prose style, [1] and is associated with the emergence of the ' bridal mysticism ' movement.
Life
Beatrice was born in Tienen , Belgium, of a wealthy family. [2] At the age of seven, her mother died, and she was sent to live with the Béguines in nearby Zoutleeuw, where she attended the local school. A little over a year later, her father arranged for her to return home. [3]
Wishing to join a monastery, her father took her to the Cistercian nuns at Bloemendaal/Florival , where at the age of ten, she became an oblate . She continued her education at the monastery in Florival. [3] At the age of fifteen, Beatrice asked to be allowed to enter the novitiate , and was initially refused due to her young age and delicate health. However, the following year she was admitted as a novice. [3]
Later, in 1236, she was sent to commence the new foundation at Nazareth, a hamlet near Lier, Belgium. She practised very severe austerities , wearing a girdle of thorns and compressing her body with cords. In her visions, Jesus is said to have appeared to her and to have pierced her heart with a fiery dart. Her devotion to the Eucharist resulted in bleeding and physical collapse. [4]
She died in 1268 and was buried at the convent of Nazareth. Legend says that after Nazareth was abandoned during a time of disturbance, the body of Beatrice was translated by angels to the city of Lier . [5]
Veneration
She is known as Blessed within the Catholic church. [5] Her feast day is 29 July.
References
- ↑ Miejer (1992:16-17).
- ↑ Wolfskeel C., "Beatrice of Nazareth", A History of Women Philosophers vol 2. (M.E. Waithe, ed.) Springer, Dordrecht. (1989)
- 1 2 3 Lindemann, Kate. "Beatrice of Nazareth 1200 - 1268 CE", Women-Philosophers
- ↑ Knuth, Elizabeth T. (1992). "The Beguines" . Archived from the original on 5 April 2006 . Retrieved 2006-04-10 .
- 1 2 Thurston, Herbert. "Beatrix." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 24 August 2021 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Beatrix". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Further reading
Modern editions
- The Life of Beatrice of Nazareth, 1200-1268 , trans Roger DeGanck, (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1991)
- Beatrice of Nazareth, Seven Ways of Holy Love , as translated by Wim van den Dungen, (1997, 1998, 2006)
Secondary sources
- Kloppenborg, Ria; Hanegraaff, Wouter J. (1995). Female Stereotypes in Religious Traditions . Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 77–78. ISBN 90-04-10290-6 .
- "Beatrice of Nazareth (1200-1268A.D.)" . Archived from the original on 2006-02-06 . Retrieved 2006-04-10 .
- Knuth, Elizabeth T. (1992). "The Beguines" . Archived from the original on 5 April 2006 . Retrieved 2006-04-10 .
- Meijer, Reinder, Literature of the Low Countries: A Short History of Dutch Literature in the Netherlands and Belgium. (New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1971), pp16–17
External links
- Beatrice Belgian university web page of Beatrice's life
- (in Dutch) Kennis en Minne-mystiek
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