Hildegard of Bingen - Mystic of the 12th Century

A Paper Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for:

Church History I
Professor: The Rev. Steven A. Peay, PhD.

By James Brzezinski
17 December 2009

Hildegard of Bingen - Mystic of the 12th Century

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was subject to supernatural religious experiences from early childhood.1 In her autobiography she describes her first visionary experiences before the age of 5 when she was able to “see” the color of a yet-unborn calf and visualize pictures of places she had never been.2 She wrote that she had been experiencing visions since early childhood but that she had not made them known. I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘therefore, tell others of these miracles and write them down.’3 At age eight she was entrusted to the care of Jutta, a recluse attached to the Benedictine monastery of Disibodenberg, and after Jutta’s death in 1136 she succeeded her as Abbess of the community which had gathered round her.4

Five years’ later, in 1141, Hildegard experienced a transforming vision of what she called “the shadow of living light.” In this vision, she claimed suddenly to have understood the true meaning of the Bible, and heard a voice repeating three times: “O fragile one, ash of ash and corruption of corruption, say and write what you see.”5

In addition to her supernatural visions Hildegard was gifted in many ways. She was a writer of books, and poetry, a musician, a composer, an artist, a feminist, she wrote books on holistic medicine though she never practiced medicine, an herbalist, a preacher and she oversaw two convents. The most interesting aspect of her life and ministry was that she claimed no credit for her abilities because she believed that all her giftedness came supernaturally from God.

Barbara Newman in her book Sister of Wisdom, shares this insight into Hildegard’s life. in medieval times where woman were not allowed the same privileges as men, especially a mystic who has visions, has permission to preach the gospel, who is a feminist:

Hildegard's visions not only supplied her with a message; they also assured an audience for it. Were it not for the vi¬sions, she would never have preached or written at all, and she even maintained-echoing a theme as old as Moses-that in spite of them she was hardly eager to prophesy. But it is no less true that, had she not claimed her gift as a mark of divine authority, no one would have listened to her. Many have suggested that, in an age when the Apostle's command that "no woman is to teach or have authority over men" (I Tim. 2:12) was rigorously enforced, it was only through vi¬sions that a religious or intellectual woman could gain a hear¬ing. This is not to say that such visions were necessarily rooted in the desire for authority; but the visionary could not help knowing that, although men might perhaps heed a di¬vinely inspired woman, they would have little patience with a mere presumptuous female.6

Hildegard was afforded great authority and freedom in a time where most women were not accepted in any traditional male roles. The supernatural power of God was at work in her life.
An example of her writing, Redemption from Scivias, Part II, Vision 1 number 4 shows us the depth and understanding that she received through these visions.

4- Why the Son of God is called the Word
And why is he called the Word? For the following reason. Through the speaking of the localized word, which is impermanent, in the dust of humanity, wise and prudent people understand the commands of a ruler and the reason for his commands. Similarly also, through the utterance of the unlocalized Word, which is permanent in the inextinguishable life that lives through eternity, the strength of the Father is understood by the various creatures of the world who sense and recognize it as the origin of their created state. Likewise, just as the capacity and the glory of the human being are known by the functioning word, so the sanctity and the goodness of the Father shine through the perfectly filled Word.7

Hildegard’s music is interesting in many respects. She was one of the earliest women composers in Europe whose works have been preserved.
Antiphon: Laus Trinitatis

Praise the Trinity
Our life-giving music.
She is creating all things.
Life itself is giving birth.
And she is an angel chorus praising
And the splendour of arcane mysteries,
Which are too difficult to understand.
Also from her true life springs for all.8

Balance was central to Hildegard's view of the cosmos. As this antiphon indicates, for Hildegard music was crucial in this process and therefore central to her theology. In her day, music was a higher order subject being included in the Quadrivium with astronomy, geometry and mathematics. However, the study of the Quadrivium was available only to aristocratic boys, because women were not considered capable of abstract thinking. Hildegard, therefore, would not have had access to this. Her musical education consisted of being immersed in liturgical music from an early age. It is unlikely that she wrote down her own music.9

Hildegard’s work in the discipline of healing and medicine is extraordinary as well.

Some regard Hildegard as the first German scientist and medical doctor. She was one of the first to write in depth of the properties of herbs and elements, of the physiology of the human body and how remedies might connect the two together. She spoke openly and clearly of sexuality and of the physical and emotional differences between men and women. Her medical books were well regarded in her time.10

Hildegard died peacefully at the age of 81, seeing at the last a bright light from heaven in the shape of a cross-the true "living light" she had sought all her life long. Although there is no formal record of her canonization, the process was apparently undertaken at least twice, and must have been accomplished since from the 15th century on she was listed in the official Roman Martyrology of Baronius, and pilgrimages to her shrine were granted papal indulgences. The heart and tongue of this astounding woman are preserved in a golden reliquary in the parish church in Rudesheim.11

Hildegard a woman before her time with incredible giftedness used for the glory of God.
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Foot Notes

1 The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 3rd Edition Revised. F. L. Cross, and E. A. Livingstone, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 775.
2 Father John-Julian. Stars In A Dark World - Stories of the Saints and Holy Days of the Liturgy. (Parker: Outskirts Press, 2009), 526.
3 Henry Bettenson, and Chris Maunder, . Documents of the Christian Church. 3rd. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 174.
4 Cross. The Oxford, 775.
5 John-Julian. Stars In A Dark World, 526.
6 Barbara Newman. Sister of Wisdom - St. Hildegard's Theology of The Feminine. (Berkely, CA.: University of California Press, 1987), 40.
7 Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard of Bingen - Selected Writings. Translated by Mark Ahteron. (London: Penguin Books, Ltd., 2001), 13.
8 June Boyce-Tillman. The Creative Spirit - Harmonious Living with Hildegard of Bingen. (Harrisburg, PA.: Morehouse Publishing, 2001), 130.
9 Ibid.
10 Boyce-Tillman. The Creative Spirit, 105.
11 John-Julian. Stars In A Dark World, 528.

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Works Cited

Bettenson, Henry, and Chris Maunder, . Documents of the Christian Church. 3rd. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Bingen, Hildegard of. Hildegard of Bingen - Selected Writings. Translated by Mark Ahteron. London: Penguin Books, Ltd., 2001.

Boyce-Tillman, June. The Creative Spirit - Harmonious Living with Hildegard of Bingen. Harrisburg, PA.: Morehouse Publishing, 2001.

Cross, F. L., and E. A. Livingstone, . The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 3rd Edition Revised. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

John-Julian, Father. Stars In A Dark World - Stories of the Saints and Holy Days of the Liturgy. Parker: Outskirts Press, 2009.

Newman, Barbara. Sister of Wisdom - St. Hildegard's Theology of The Feminine. Berkely, CA.: University of California Press, 1987.

Weeks, Andrew. German Mysticism - From Hildegard of Bingen to Ludwig Wittgenstein. Albany, NY.: State University of New York Press, 1993.