Beatification, in the Roman Catholic Church, an act by which the Pope declares a person beatified or blessed after his death. It is the first step to canonization, that is, the raising one to the honour and dignity of a saint. No person can be beatified till fifty years after his or her death. All certificates or attestations of virtues and miracles, the necessary qualifications for saintship, are examined by the Congregation of Rites. This examination often continues for several years; after which his Holiness decrees the beatification, and the corpse and relics of the future saint are exposed to the veneration of all good Christians. The present
custom dates from a Bull of Urban VIII in 1634, although local veneration may be traced back to the earliest Christian ages.—In the Orthodox Eastern Church beatification is not distinguished from canonization.
Beating the Bounds, the periodical survey or perambulation by which the boundaries of parishes in England are preserved. It was the custom in some places that the clergyman of the parish, with the parochial officers and the boys of the parish school, should march to the boundaries, where the boys were struck with willow rods. A similar ceremony in Scotland was called riding the marches.
Bea´ton, David, Archbishop of St. Andrews, and cardinal, born 1494. Pope Paul III raised him to the rank of cardinal in Dec., 1538. On the death of his uncle, Archbishop James Beaton, he succeeded him in the see of St. Andrews in 1539. After the accession of Mary he became Chancellor of Scotland, and distinguished himself by his zeal in persecuting members of the Reformed party, among the rest the famous Protestant preacher George Wishart, whose sufferings at the stake he viewed from his window with apparent exultation. At length a conspiracy was formed against him, and he was assassinated at his own castle of St. Andrews, on the 29th May, 1546. His private character was marked by pride, cruelty, and licentiousness.
Beatrice Portinari (bā-a˙-trē´chā por-tē-nä´rē), the "glorious lady" of Dante, born about 1266, died 1290; the daughter of a wealthy citizen of Florence, and wife of Simone de Bardi. She was but eight years of age, and Dante nine, when he met her first at the house of her father. He altogether saw her only once or twice, and she probably knew little of him. The story of his love is recounted in the Vita Nuova, which was mostly written after her death.
Beattie (bē´ti), James, a Scottish poet and philosophical writer, born at Laurencekirk, Kincardineshire, in 1735, died at Aberdeen 1803. He studied at Marischal College, Aberdeen, for four years, and received the M.A. degree. In 1753 he was appointed schoolmaster at Fordoun, a few miles from his native place; from whence he obtained a mastership in the Grammar School of Aberdeen, and ultimately was installed professor of moral philosophy and logic in Marischal College. In 1760 he published a volume of poems, which he subsequently endeavoured to buy up, considering them unworthy of him. In 1765 he published a poem, The Judgment of Paris, and in 1770 his celebrated Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth, attacking Helvetius and Hume and advocating what was afterwards called the doctrine of Common Sense, for which the University of Oxford conferred on him the degree of D.C.L., and George III honoured him, when on a visit to London, with a private conference and a pension. He next published in 1771 the first book of his poem The Minstrel, and in 1774 the second; this is the only work by which he is now remembered. In 1776 he published dissertations on Poetry and Music, Laughter and Ludicrous Composition, &c.; in 1783 Dissertations, Moral and Critical; in 1786 Evidences of the Christian Religion; and in 1790-3 Elements of Moral Science. His closing years were darkened by the death of his two sons.—Bibliography: Margaret Forbes, Beattie and His Friends; A. Mackie, James Beattie, the Minstrel: Some Unpublished Letters.
Beattie, William, M.D., Scottish physician, poet, and miscellaneous writer, born in 1793, died at London 1875. He was author of the standard Life of Thomas Campbell, whose intimate friend he was; published several poems, including John Huss, The Heliotrope, and Polynesia; wrote a series of descriptive and historical works, beautifully illustrated by his friend and fellow-traveller, W. H. Bartlett, on Switzerland, Scotland, &c. He had a very extensive and lucrative medical practice.
Beatty, Admiral of the Fleet, Earl, born in 1871. He entered the navy in 1884, became Commander in 1898, Rear-Admiral in 1910, and Vice-Admiral in 1915. He served in the Sudan from 1896 to 1897, and in China in 1900. In 1912 he was Naval Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty, and from 1912 to 1916 commanded the First Battle Cruiser Squadron. He distinguished himself in the battle of Jutland in 1916, and until 1919, when he succeeded Admiral Sir Rosslyn Wemyss (now Lord Wester Wemyss) as First Sea Lord, he was in command of the Grand Fleet. When the entire German High Seas Fleet left port on 31st May, 1916, and steamed up the west coast of Denmark, it was quickly sighted by the British scouts, so that the main British fleet immediately steamed out from its base to engage the enemy. The British Battle Cruiser Squadron, under the command of Earl Beatty (then Sir David) was nearer the scene than the main battle fleet under Sir John Jellicoe (Viscount Jellicoe of Scapa since 1918). The admiral sighted the enemy fleet north-west of the Horn Reef, and about 3.30 in the afternoon the ships engaged. The Jutland battle lasted only a few hours. At the end of Nov., 1916, Admiral Sir John Jellicoe was made First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, and Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty took over the supreme command of the Grand Fleet.
He is a D.S.O., an O.M., a G.C.B., a G.C.V.O., and a Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honour. He was knighted in 1914, and
received a grant of £100,000 in Aug., 1919, when he was created an earl. He was elected Lord Rector of Edinburgh University in 1917.