Ava

The poet Ava, also known as Frau Ava, Ava of Göttweig or Ava of Melk, was the first named female writer in any genre in the German language. She is the author of five poems which focused on Christian themes of salvation and the second coming of Christ. Her work on the lives of John the Baptist and Jesus, according to Sarah Westphal-Wihl, "has been praised as the first German epic". She is known for her simple rhyming couplets written in the vernacular, making complex biblical teachings accessible to the people of her time.