Hrotsvitha

thumb|320px|Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim presents an aged emperor Otto the Great with her Gesta Oddonis, under the eyes of Abbess [[Gerberga II, Abbess of Gandersheim|Gerberga. 1501 woodcut by Albrecht Dürer.]]

Hrotsvitha (–973) was a secular canoness who wrote drama and Christian poetry under the Ottonian dynasty. She was born in Bad Gandersheim to Saxon nobles and entered Gandersheim Abbey as a canoness. She is considered the first female writer from the Germanosphere, the first person since the Fall of the Roman Empire to write dramas in the Latin West, and the first German female poet.

Hrotsvitha's six short dramas are considered to be her most important works. She has been called "the most remarkable woman of her time", and an important figure in the history of women. Her works were rediscovered in 1501 by the humanist Conrad Celtes and translated into English in the 1600s. It means "a mighty shout", and speaks to the way she wanted to glorify Christian heroes and legends, as well as the values they represent. Some have commented on how this either represents or conflicts with the personality presented in her writing.

While many have questioned the authenticity of Hrotsvitha's work, examinations and collections of her works, coupled with multiple historical and contemporary works that speak of her, demonstrate that Hrotsvitha's work is authentic. Feminist scholars have argued that this questioning of the authenticity of Hrotsvitha's work reflects a sexist narrative rather than revealing a flaw in her work or that she did not exist, as individuals have been engaging with her work for hundreds of years, and with increased intensity since her rediscovery during the German Renaissance. and the Primordia coenobii Gandeshemensis, the history of Gandersheim Abbey. It was discovered by the humanist Conrad Celtis in 1493/94 in the Cloister of St. Emmeram in Regensburg and formed the first edition (illustrated by Albrecht Dürer).

Liber Primus

The Book of Legends is a collection of eight legends: "Maria", "Ascensio", "Gongolfus", "Pelagius", "Theophilus", "Basilius", "Dionysius", and "Agnes". All are written in Leonine hexameter except "Gongolph", which is written in rhymed distichs. "Theophilus" and "Basilius", are based on Latin translations of the vitae of Greek saints, and are versions of the Faustian tradition, in which a sinner sells his soul to the Devil. Hrotsvitha supplements the story with her description of Theophilus in The Seven Arts: De sophiae rivis septeno fonte manantis.

A common theme throughout is the constant battle between good and evil. The Devil is a frequent presence in many of Hrosvitha's works, and she characterizes him according to the conventions of her time. In "Dionysius" and "St. Agnes" she recounts the martyrdoms of early Christians.

Liber Secundus

The Book of Drama presents a Roman Catholic alternative to Terence. These are the six plays: "Gallicanus", "Dulcitius",

As the earliest known woman writer in the German lands, Hrotsvitha was keenly aware that her gender made her writings less likely to be taken seriously than that of her male contemporaries. All six speak to a consistent theme in Hrothsvitha's work, the virtue of virginity over temptation.

Her plays contrast the chastity and perseverance of Christian women with Roman women, who were portrayed as weak and emotional. Hrotsvitha wrote her plays in response to those of Terence, a popular Roman playwright who she thought unfairly represented women as immoral.

All these dramas serve a discreet purpose. "Gallicanus" and "Calimachus" focus on conversion, "Abraham" and "Pafnutius" tell stories of redemption and repentance, and "Dulcitius" and "Sapientia" tell stories of virgin martyrdom. Cumulatively they speak to the power of Christ and Christian values, which was Hrothsvitha's objective. There are comedic elements, as in "Dulcitius", when the wicked blind governor stumbles among pots and pans, having attempted to molest three virgins. The women watch and laugh.

Liber Tertius

The third book is dedicated to Emperors Otto I and Otto II, and consists of two historical writings in Latin hexameters. Gesta Oddonis tells the story of the Ottonian dynasty, and its rise to power; and Primordia Coenobii Gandeshemensis tells the history of Gandersheim Abbey.

Legacy

Feminism

Hrothsvitha's work was largely ignored until Conrad Celtis rediscovered and edited her work in the 1500s. feminists began their own rediscovery of her work under a gendered lens to re-contextualize it to demonstrate that women of the past did have important roles in their societies, but their work was lost or not seen as important. According to A. Daniel Frankforter, Hrotsvitha seems to confirm the assumption that woman's work was inferior, by saying that any excellence in her work is the excellence of God, not her own, Hrothsvitha's plays served the purpose of speaking truth to power and counterbalancing male dominance of the field.

Translations

thumb|Conrad Celtis

Hrotsvitha's work was largely ignored until re-discovered and edited by Conrad Celtis in the early 16th century. Often these works are filtered through the perceptions and unconscious bias of the translator., It has been suggested that Celtis may have misrepresented her work due to his own implicit biases. to posit that Colleen Butler is the person who best represented Hrotsvitha's work, as she discerned its true comedic nature by being able to deduce the unwritten context in the writing. However, while there may be some small misrepresentations of Hrothvitha's work, her message, and the known facts about her life remain relatively consistent. The club published Hroswitha of Gandersheim: Her life, times, and works in 1965.

Since 1973 Bad Gandersheim has annually awarded the Roswitha Prize, named for Hrosvitha, to female writers; since 1974 the Roswitha Ring has been awarded at the close of each summer season of the Gandersheimer Domfestspiele to the outstanding actress.
Hrotsvitha is frequently referred to in John Kennedy Toole's 1980 comic novel A Confederacy of Dunces, in which she is called Hroswitha.
In 2006, American feminist drama group Guerrilla Girls On Tour issued the "First Annual Hrosvitha Challenge" on their website, announcing that they would bestow the First Annual Hrosvitha Award on whichever professional theater decides "to scrap their plans of producing yet another production of a Greek tragedy and instead produce a play by Hrosvitha, the first female playwright".

References

Bibliography

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Croft, Susan (editor, 2019), "Paphnutius" (extract) in Classic Plays by Women, London: Aurora Metro Books. .

External links

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. Very good site about "Other Women's Voices" with links (Engl.)
with pictures.
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with analytical indexes.
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