parents, Zacharias and his barren wife, Elizabeth, and
Zacharias’s failure to believe in the annunciation of
the approaching birth of their son. Zacharias’s lack of
faith in the angelic message is punished by muteness.
The poem next recounts the annunciation of Jesus to
Mary, who in contrast to the doubting Zacharias, ac-
knowledges her absolute faith in God. After the Baptists
birth and circumcision, and the restoration of speech to
Zacharias through the intercession of the Holy Spirit,
the exemplary character of Johannis highlights the
need for repentance and vigilance. Johannis’s ascetic
discipline stands in opposition to Harod’s lascivious-
ness. While the king enslaves himself to erotic passion,
Johannis struggles to uphold the rule of reason and to
bridle the desires of the fl esh. The poem underscores the
Baptist’s role as a helper to all Christians. His spiritual
orientation enables him to serve God and humankind,
to bear witness as a martyr, and to merit the praise of
Christendom. The major poem in the series, Das Leben
Jesu (Life of Jesus), recapitulates the annunciation to
Zacharias, the mission of John the Baptist, and the
machinations of Herod. After the account of Jesus’
baptism in the Jordan, Ava tells of his fast in the desert
and encounter with Satan, his tempter. The defeat of
the devil as tempter culminates in his actual subjection
during Christ’s triumphal Harrowing of Hell. Follow-
ing the scenes of Jesus’ temptations in the desert, the
narrative recounts his miracles or healing. The capture,
trial, and crucifi xion of Jesus place charity—the central
commandment to his disciples—in the context of giving
one’s own life for a friend. After depicting the Resurrec-
tion and the Ascension, the poem focuses on the arrival
of the Holy Spirit in the upper room and the recipients’
use of the divine gifts to teach others. The main body of
Das Leben Jesu ends with Peter winning many converts
as bishop in Antioch and Rome. The transitional verses
that follow constitute Die Sieben Gaben des Heiligen
Geistes (The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit) and offer
a catalogue of virtues given by Jesus to his disciples.
The third work in the series is Der Antichrist. This short
poem of twelve strophes relates how the Antichrist will
take possession of the world and overthrow the existing
social order. Ava shows that his qualities are antithetical
to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Those who lack the
correct orientation to God will succumb to the impos-
tor’s deception. Although the Antichrists reign will last
for four and one-half years and infl ict great suffering on
all Christians, the sin of pride will eventually lead to his
fall and destruction. Das jüngste Gericht, the fi nal poem
in the series, previews the fi fteen days that precede the
Last Judgment and the purifi cation of the world by fi re.
The second half of the poem describes the Parousia,
the glorious second coming of Christ. Preceded by the
four evangelists, he awakens the dead to reward the
good and punish those who caused him suffering. As
the requirements for salvation can no longer be fulfi lled
once Christ has returned, Ava advocates repentance and
the immediate practice of redeeming virtues, particularly
applicable to an aristocratic audience: protecting the
poor, ransoming prisoners, holding court without bribe
taking, showing mercy to those of lesser power, and
generous giving of alms. After the account of the Last
Judgment, the poem commemorates the beginning of
the liturgical year at Easter as an appropriate time for
spiritual reorientation.
Ava’s poems are the earliest extent work of an identi-
fi able woman author written in German. Little is known
about the author apart from some autobiographical
disclosures in her work and from records of her death.
Only in the fi nal poem of the series does Ava tell some-
thing about her life. Her sons are likely to have been
clerics who advised her on interpreting Scripture and
other religious sources. The record of Ava’s death in the
necrology of the Austrian monastery of Melk notes the
year 1127 and her vocation as religious recluse.Further Reading
de Boor, Helmut. Frühmittelhochdeutsche Studien. Zwei Unter-
suchungen. Halle/Saale: Niemeyer, 1926.
Domitrovic, Martin. “Die Sprache in den Gedichten der Frau Ava,
Vokalismus und Konsonantismus.” Ph.D. diss., University of
Graz, 1950.
Freytag, Wiebke. “Geistliches Leben und christliche Bildung.
Hrotsvit und andere Autorinnen des frühen Mittelalters.”
Deutsche Literatur von Frauen, vol. 1. Munich: Beck, 1988,
pp. 65–76.
Greinemann, S. Eoliba, OSB. “Die Gedichte der Frau Ava Un-
tersuchungen zur Quellenfrage.” Ph.D. diss., University of
Freiburg im Breisgau, 1967.
Heer, Friedrich. Aufgang Europas. Eine Studie zu den Zusammen-
hängen zwischen politischer Religiosität, Fröm-migkeitsstil und
dem Westen Europas im 12. Jahrhundert. Vienna: Europa, 1949.
Helm, Karl. “Untersuchungen über Heinrich Heslers Evangelium
Nicodemi.” Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache
und Literatur 24 (1899): 85–187.
Henschel, Erich. “Zu Ava ‘Leben Jesu’.” Beiträge zur Geschichte
der deutschen Sprache und Literatur (Halle) 78 (1956):
479–484.
Hintz, Ernst Ralf. “Frau Ava,” in Semper idem et novus. Fest-
schrift for Frank Banta, ed. Ftancis G. Gentry. Göppingen:
Kümmerle, 1988, pp. 209–230.
——. “Frau Ava (?–1127).” In German Writers and Works of
the Early Middle Ages: 800–1170, ed. Will Hasty and James
Hardin. Detroit: Gale, 1995, pp. 39–44.
——. Learning and Persuasion in the German Middle Ages. New
Yotk: Garland, 1997, pp. 103–137.
Hoffmann von Fallersleben, Heinrich. Fundgruben für Geschichte
deutscher Sprache und Literatur. Breslau: Grass, Barth, 1830.
[part 1, (“G”) only, Johannis omitted].
Kienast, Richard. “Ava-Studien. 1–3” Zeitschrift für deutsches
Altertum und deutsche Literatur 74 (1937): 1–36; 74 (1937):
277–308: 77 (1940): 45–104.
Mauter, Friedrich. Die Dichtungen der Frau Ava. Tübingen:
Niemeyer, 1966.
Menhardt, Hermann. “Ein früher Teildruck der Görlitzer Ava-FRA AVA