20 Questions, round 255

[Spartaculous]

Was this person born in Western Europe in 1400 AD or later?

No

So this person was either born in Western Europe in 1001 AD - 1399 AD, or born in Eastern Europe in 1001 AD - 1700 AD.

[han-shahanshah]

Native speaker of a Slavic language?

[Wattsthematter]

Native speaker of a Slavic language?

Under the knowledge that the Slavic languages include: Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Macedonian, and Bulgarian… no, this person was not a native speaker of a Slavic language

[Hominidae]

Born in what is currently France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, or Germany?

[Wattsthematter]

Born in what is currently France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, or Germany?

Yes.

1,4,5,8,11 Real human born in what is currently France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, or Germany
6 not primarily famous for something to do with politics, government, military, royalty, or nobility
7,9 Born after 1000AD, not born in Western Europe in 1400AD or later
10 Not a native speaker of a Slavic language

[Spartaculous]

Is this person famous for something to do with the arts, broadly defined (including literary arts)?

[Wattsthematter]

Is this person famous for something to do with the arts, broadly defined (including literary arts)?

Yes

[JECE]

Painter or composer?

[Wattsthematter]

Painter or composer?

yes

[Spartaculous]

Is this person female?

If yes, free guess: Hildegard von Bingen.

[cdngooner]

Born within borders of present-day Belgium?

Conditional guess: if yes, Jan van Eyck.

[Hominidae]

If no to female and Belgian: Guillaume de Machaut

[Wattsthematter]

Is this person female?

If yes, free guess: Hildegard von Bingen.

Quite the snipe on this one, it is Hildegard von Bingen! I was hoping you all would get caught on the source of fame, as Hildegard was an extraordinary polymath. I've always been fascinated, running into people that have studied completely different fields than me with a similar admiration for Hildegard.

She is considered the greatest composer of monophony, with her pieces still being the most widely performed of any monophonic composer from the medieval era. She had extensive contributions to the herbal and medicinal sciences, she wrote a staggering amount of literature, with hundreds of her letters surviving today, a language she invented, almost a decade of recorded sermons, multiple volumes of material on natural medicines. It's thought that at the end of her life she requested that all of her material was compiled into a collection, which is now called the "Riesenkodex Manuscript."

On top of all of this... Hildegard was a mystic who had visions at a very young age. She wrote this in "Scivias":

But I, though I saw and heard these things, refused to write for a long time through doubt and bad opinion and the diversity of human words, not with stubbornness but in the exercise of humility, until, laid low by the scourge of God, I fell upon a bed of sickness; then, compelled at last by many illnesses, and by the witness of a certain noble maiden of good conduct [the nun Richardis von Stade] and of that man whom I had secretly sought and found, as mentioned above, I set my hand to the writing. While I was doing it, I sensed, as I mentioned before, the deep profundity of scriptural exposition; and, raising myself from illness by the strength I received, I brought this work to a close – though just barely – in ten years. [...] And I spoke and wrote these things not by the invention of my heart or that of any other person, but as by the secret mysteries of God I heard and received them in the heavenly places. And again I heard a voice from Heaven saying to me, 'Cry out, therefore, and write thus!'

This same book had drawn illustrations of Hildegard's visions

[Wattsthematter]

Great guess Spartaculous

[keladry12]

I *adore* Hildegard, nice pick.

[Wattsthematter]

I *adore* Hildegard, nice pick.

Thank you! You should join the next game

[Spartaculous]

Great guess Spartaculous

Good pick! It's fun to learn about someone new. It's interesting how she's arguably the greatest medieval European composer.

I *adore* Hildegard, nice pick.

Any recommendations for her music (from you or Watt)?

I'll get the next round up later on (once I decide on a spiciness level for my pick).

[Wattsthematter]

Great guess Spartaculous

Good pick! It's fun to learn about someone new. It's interesting how she's arguably the greatest medieval European composer.

I *adore* Hildegard, nice pick.

Any recommendations for her music (from you or Watt)?

I'll get the next round up later on (once I decide on a spiciness level for my pick).

I think the first piece I heard of hers was O Rubor Sanguinis. There's a video that follows the original manuscript that's pretty neat.