Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

Beatrice d'Este ( oc, Biatritz or ) (1192 – 10 May 1226) was the daughter of

Azzo VI Azzo VI (1170 – November 1212), also known as Azzolino, was an Italian nobleman and condottiero. He held the title of Marquis of Este (''marchio Eystensis'') from the death of his father, Azzo V (1190) until his death. Biography He was heavil ...

of the Este family by his second wife, Sophia Eleanor, daughter of Humbert III, Count of Savoy. She was the aunt of Saint Beatrice d'Este.Thurston, Herbert. "Beatrix." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 3 Aug. 2014
/ref>

Life

An account of her life was written, in both medieval Latin and the Italian vernacular, by a Brother Alberto of the church of the Holy Spirit (S. Spirito). This text was unknown for centuries, until it was rediscovered by the historian Giovanni Brunacci in the eighteenth century in an “old Ferrarese codex." Beatrice was born at the Castello Estense, the seat of her family's power. About her youth Alberto wrote: She became the object of the

courtly love Courtly love ( oc, fin'amor ; french: amour courtois ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing vari ...

Rambertino Buvalelli Rambertino di Guido Buvalelli (1170 or 1180 – September 1221), a Bolognese judge, statesman, diplomat, and poet, was the earliest of the ''podestà''-troubadours of thirteenth-century Lombardy. He served at one time or other as ''podestà ...

, a

Bolognese Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nati ...

troubadour who traveled widely in northern Italy. In nine of his ''

cansos The ''canso'' or ''canson'' or ''canzo'' () was a song style used by the troubadours. It was, by far, the most common genre used, especially by early troubadours, and only in the second half of the 13th century was its dominance challenged by a ...

'' Rambertino celebrates the beauty and character of Beatrice, whom he frequently calls by the ''senhal'' (a "sign", as in a nickname) ''Mon Restaur'' ("My Refreshment" in Occitan). The relationship between Rambertino and the young Beatrice was purely poetic, lyric, and musical. Beatrice became a Benedictine nun at Solarola near Padua at the age of fourteen, and in 1221 founded a religious house at the site of an abandoned monastery in Gemmola, formerly inhabited by hermits. In the 17th century it was turned into villa by a Venetian merchant. Today the Villa Beatrice d'Este houses a nature museum.Villa Beatrice d'Este
/ref>

Sant'Antonio in Polesine

The name "in Polesine" does not refer to the area of Polesine, but to its original situation, high ground surrounded by water. The original monastery, founded in the early Middle Ages by

Augustinians Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

hermits, stood on an island in the middle of the Po River."Monastery of Sant'antonio in Polesine", Emilia Romagna Turismo
/ref> Beatrice received the monastery from her father as a gift for her community. She moved into the convent, where she died in 1226. Her body was removed to Padua for burial in Santa Sofia. Subsequently, her remains were returned to the cloister chapel of the Monastery of

Sant'Antonio in Polesine Sant'Antonio in Polesine is a Catholic monastic complex of the nuns of the Order of Saint Benedict located in Ferrara, Italy and dedicated to Anthony the Great. Administratively, it is part of the deanery of Ferrara, part of the Archdiocese of Fer ...

which she founded. Her '' cultus'' was approved for

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

on 19 November 1763 by

Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII ( la, Clemens XIII; it, Clemente XIII; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. ...

and her feast is May 10.

Notes

Sources

*Bertoni, Giulio. ''I Trovatori d'Italia: Biografie, testi, tradizioni, note''. Rome: Società Multigrafica Editrice Somu, 1967

915 Year 915 ( CMXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Battle of Garigliano: The Christian League, personally led by Pope John X, lays s ...

*Field, W. H. W
Review
of ''Le poesie'' by Rambertino Buvalelli, ed. Elio Melli. In '' Speculum'', 56:2 (Apr., 1981), pp. 362–366.

External links

Villa Beatrice d'Este Monte GemolaVilla Beatrice d'Este sul Monte Gemola
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deste, Blessed Beatrice 1192 births 1226 deaths Blessed Beatrice 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Italian beatified people