The Plays of Roswitha of Gandersheim

Writing in a German convent around the 960s, the canoness Roswitha of Gandersheim produced the first known dramas in Western Europe since the fall of Rome, and became the earliest named woman playwright in history. She took the comic form of the Roman poet Terence and turned it to Christian ends, replacing seductions and intrigues with stories of steadfast faith, chaste heroines, and repentant sinners. The six plays gathered here, among them Dulcitius, Abraham, and Paphnutius, mix earthy humor with martyrdom and miracle. Christopher St. John’s translation carries this remarkable tenth-century voice into English. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available here.