Hildegard von Bingen (German, 1098 –1179)
Also known as "Saint Hildegard and Sibyl of the Rhine," she was a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, artist, philosopher, Christian mystic, visionary, and polymath. She is considered to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany and published works on theology, botany, and medicinal remedies. She published the first know description of the female orgasm in 1150. She is one of a very few Western illustrators of illuminated miniatures and manuscripts whose work was recognizable and credited in their lifetime.
