Hildegarda de Bingen

"She called the archbishop of Cologne a bird of prey, she preached in the markets before the enthusiastic masses as only heretics had previously dared to do and even being an octogenarian she knew how to stand up to the arbitrariness of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Hildegard of Bingen was one of the most fascinating figures of the 12th century. Many things that Hildegard of Bingen did and wrote were unheard of for her time: she corresponded with popes, rulers, bishops, with kings and with women who needed her advice. Hildegard held numerous offices at the same time: she was a poetess, a naturalist, an apothecary and simultaneously ran two abbeys."--