Hrotsvitha von Gandersheim

Dates:

~930 - 1002

Occupation:

canoness, poet, dramatist, historian

Known for:

Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim wrote the first plays known to be written by a woman.

Also known as:

Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim, Hrotsvitha von Gandersheim, Hrotsuit, Hrosvitha, Hroswitha, Hrosvitha, Hrostsvit, Hrotsvithae, Roswita, Roswitha

About Hrotsvitha von Gandersheim:

Of Saxon background, Hrotsvitha became canoness of a convent in Gandersheim, near Göttingen. The abbess, Gerberga, was a niece of the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I the Great.

At the convent, and encouraged by the abbess, Hrotsvitha wrote plays on Christian themes. She also wrote poems and prose. In her lives of the saints and in a life in verse of Emperor Otto I, Hrostvitha chronicled history and legend. She wrote in Latin as was usual for the time.

Hrotsvitha's plays were not rediscovered until 1500, and parts of her other works are missing.

Places:

Germany, Saxony, Gandersheim

Religion:

Catholic

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