Hildegard of Bingen. 1098-1179. Germany.
Hildegard, also called the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath who paved the way for other women to succeed in a number of fields. She wrote theological, botanical and medicinal texts, as well as letters, liturgical songs, and poems, while supervising brilliant miniature Illuminations (manuscripts).
Hildegard wrote Physica, a text on the natural sciences, and Causae et Curae, a medical text. She was well known for her healing powers involving practical application of tinctures, herbs, and precious stones, and described the natural world around her, including the cosmos, animals, plants, stones, and minerals.
