Beatrice of Nazareth
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| Beatrice of Nazareth | |
|---|---|
| Blessed Beatrix | |
| Born | c. 1200, Tienen |
| Died | 1268 |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Feast | |
 Saints Portal |
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Beatrice of Nazareth (Dutch: Beatrijs van Nazareth (born 1200 Tienen, died 1268) was a Flemish Cistercian nun. She was the very first prose writer using the 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.
The Seven Ways of Holy Love (Seven Manieren van Heilige Minnen, or Seven Manners of Holy Love) is 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]
Beatrice was also known as a Roman Catholic saint, Blessed Beatrix. She came of a wealthy family, but when her mother died she was sent to become a nun. At the age of seven she went to live with the Béguines. She afterwards joined the Cistercian nuns at Bloemendaal/Florival where she was sent to commence the new foundation at Nazareth, 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. She died in 1268 and was buried at the convent of Nazareth. Her devotion to the Eucharist resulted in bleeding and physical collapse.[2]
After Nazareth was abandoned during a time of disturbance, the body of Beatrice was believed to have been translated by angels to Lier. Her feast day is 29 July, and a short life of her is included by Henriquez in his Lilia.
[edit] External links
- Beatrijs of Nazareth
- Beatrice Belgian university web page of Beatrice's life
- Translation of the "Seven Ways of Holy Love"
- Kennis en Minne-mystiek
[edit] References
- ^ Miejer (1992:16-17).
- ^ Knuth, Elizabeth T. (1992). The Beguines. Retrieved on 2006-04-10.
- Kloppenborg, Ria; Wouter J Hanegraaff (1995). Female Stereotypes in Religious Traditions. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 77–78. 9004102906.
- Beatrice of Nazareth (1200-1268A.D.). Retrieved on 2006-04-10.
- Knuth, Elizabeth T. (1992). The Beguines. Retrieved on 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. pp. 16-17.
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
