Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Blessed Beatrice of Nazareth or in Dutch Beatrijs van Nazareth (1200 Tienen – 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 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. Beatrice was also known as Blessed within the Roman Catholic church. She came of a wealthy family, but when her mother died she was sent to become a nun.