German nun, writer, composer and mystic Hildegard von Bingen was born in c. 1098 and died on this day in 1179. Born in the Rhineland, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, her family was minor nobility in service to the Count of Sponheim. She joined a convent when she was eight, learning to read, write and play music, and quickly became famous for her religious visions. In 1136, she was elected magistra of the convent, later establishing the monasteries of Rupertsberg and Eibingen. A prolific writer, she produced three volumes of theology, choral compositions for the Catholic liturgy, a morality play and books on natural medicine and healing. Many of her manuscripts were published in her lifetime, including Scivias, an account of her religious visions. Unusually for her time, she undertook a number of preaching tours, and corresponded with popes, emperors and theologians. She is thought to have had a lesbian relationship with her assistant personal assistant Richardis von Stade. She died in 1179, aged 81. Beautified as a saint in 1326, she was named as a Doctor of the Church in 2012 for her contributions to theology. Interest in her life and work was revived in the late 20th century by feminist scholars, musicologists and the New Age movement. Her feast day is 15 September, the date of her death.