Born and died—(c. 935-1000), regarded as the first German woman poet
Hrosvitha also called Roswitha, was a German poet and chronicler. As a young woman she entered the Benedictine convent of Gandersheim, near Göttingen. Her works, all in Latin, comprise eight religious poems: two historical chronicles in verse, one on the deeds of Holy Roman Emperor Otto I and the other a history of the convent of Gandersheim; and six moral comedies written in imitation of the six comedies of the Roman dramatist Terence. These plays are unique in the literature of the Middle Ages, representing a link between classical drama and the medieval mystery play. In place of the love adventures recounted by Terence, Hrosvitha substituted religious themes, treated with humour, portraying the victory of Christian virtues over paganism.
