Hildegard von Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen, also known as Sybil of the Rhine, was born in Bermersheim, Germany, in 1098 into a well-established noble family and given as an “oblate” or offering to the Church at the age of eight, becoming a nun a few years later. In 1150, inspired by a vision, Hildegard established her own independent nunnery at Rupertsberg on the Rhine, near the town of Bingen, where she was elected abbess. She was a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic and visionary and considered by many to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany.