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Elizabeth A.Sackler Center for Feminist Art

Frau Ava

b. circa 1060, Germany; d. 1127, Austria

Ava was a German poet, the first named female writer in her language. She was married and had two children. After her husband died, it is thought that she retired to an Austrian abbey, where she penned several religious poems. Written for an aristocratic audience, these poems are pedagogical exercises on the attainment of salvation.