ABSTRACT
This chapter reveals a network of British and American women at the beginning of the twentieth century who translated, directed, and performed the plays of the medieval German playwright Hrotswitha of Gandersheim, suggesting direct parallels between the role of the medieval German abbess, writing for the girls and women of Gandersheim Abbey, and that of the modern female theater director, playwright, actress, and suffragist. This includes Hrotswitha’s English translator, Christopher St. John, for the “Pioneer Players,” who first performed her plays along with the works of suffragist Cicely Hamilton, and the group of antiquarians who united under her image and documented the first modern performances of her plays: the Hroswitha Club of New York.
