When readers switch from other medieval texts to the writings of Hildegard of Bingen, they should go through a cultural shock. Their minds should get used to the new illumination, which first seems like an impenetrable gloom. Instead of the cheerful ring of rhymes filling the poetry of the late Middle Ages, they are met by a certain similarity of a modern free verse, where instead of naive and judicious edifications, rational allegories, and ordered verbal games, they read dark and meaningful symbols, combined by an associative principle with such infinite freedom, which they might see in the writings of the most audacious poets of the modern epoch.
These unusual compositions belong to an unusual person. For a woman in the 12th century to be able to talk before the whole world, moreover announcing not scholastic knowledge, but a certain secret revealed to her and only to her, this woman should combine within her a generally acknowledged sanctity, a visionary gift, ingenious abilities, and strong will. Being an obscure figure at her time, now it can be seen a certain mass interest to her persona.
First of all, this was due to a wide array of her talents, which range covers everything from music, theology, writing, preaching, cosmology, and many others. (King-Lenzmeier, 2001). It should be mentioned, however, that the admirers of the unusual life of Hildegard of Bingen, with her visions, achievements in many fields, and famous sermons, when first introduced to her works, can be puzzled by the fact that Hildegard, being an extremely educated woman, usually was referring to herself as a “poor, uneducated female.” (King-Lenzmeier, 2001).
However, in some sense, this statement was truthful, – after all Hildegard of Bingen belonged among the greatest self-educated figures in world history. In that regard, Hildegard of Bingen could be considered as one of the most creative minds of the Middle Ages, whose influence through her works extends to the present times.
Hildegard was born in Germersheim, near Alzey in the summer of 1098. She was born a tenth child of a noble German family, and as it was customary with the tenth child, whom the family could not feed, “she was dedicated at birth to the church.” (Lerman 1998) She was sent at the age of eight to live with the sister of a count for whom Hildegard’s father served as a knight – Jutta.
It was stated by Hildegard herself in the second book of the “Vita”, that she had her first visionary experience before she was five years old. During the period, between 1112 and 1115, Hildegard took the veil from Bishop Otto of Bamberg, professing virginity, and she, Jutta, and other women who joined them transformed their anchorage into a small convent following the Benedictine rule. After Jutta died in 1136, Hildegard was elected as the leader of the cloister, where she was elevated to the title of Magistra, marking a period of leadership that lasted until she died in 1179. (King-Lenzmeier 2001)
In 1143 an incident took place, which can be generally referred to as the reason that made Hildegard of Bingen a writer. It is not unknown exactly what happened to Hildegard other than from her word.
As stated in the preface of “Scivias”:
[W]hen I was forty-two years and seven months old,… the heavens were opened and a blinding light of exceptional brilliance flowed through my entire brain. The command that she received was: ‘O fragile one, ash of ash and corruption of corruption, say and write what you see and hear’ (Flanagan, p. 1998).
The aforementioned story starts a book with a somewhat strange name “Scivias” (“Know the Ways of the Lord”). It was not so simple for Hildegard to execute the received order, and she never learned Latin systematically. Certainly, she learned by heart the Latin text of psalms and other liturgical texts, as it was assumed for any nun, but the meanings of these texts were likely guesses and inspirations, rather than any other way. “[S]he always had secretaries to help her write down her visions – she had a good intuitive feel for the intricacies of the language itself, constructing complicated sentences fraught with meanings on many levels that are still a challenge to students of her writings.” (Lerman, 1998).
The Latin in Hildegard’s writings can be considered as a linguistic phenomenon, bordering with the gift of tongues, where semi-familiar language lays before her as pathless wood thickets, through which she is led with confidence. However, even such visionary Latin was not enough for Hildegard to transfer her visions, and she goes deep into designing a nonexistent language, for many centuries anticipating linguistic experiments of the modern epoch. Hildegard made a new language, lingua ignota or unknown language, “a series of invented words corresponding to an eclectic list of nouns” (Flanagan, 1998).
With more of a functional, but still extraordinary nature, Hildegard wrote her medical and natural-science works. In her Physica and Causae et Curae, Hildegard moved from the visionary form of writing, where it did not even contain any reference to a divine source of her knowledge. In these works, it can be known about Hildegard’s practice of medicine, where for example in Physica there were a collection of over 200 short chapters on plants, a subject that she was interested in medical purposes.
In terms of poetry, as with her other works, the style of Hildegard was also unusual in Medieval European lyric, where she wrote in form of free verse instead of rhymed, metrical patterns. (King-Lenzmeier 2001) Despite its extraordinary forms, her poetry was virtually impossible to translate into other languages, because of the loss of her frequent use of word sound, such as alliteration and assonance.
In her theological-visionary works her usage of terms and images were remarkable, where each term was meaningful to Hildegard: “viriditas (an attribute which might refer to fertility in this context) and flowering of all sorts; the use of sugar (moisture) to convey the sense of moisture and freshness; the figures of Ecclesia and Sapientia; biblical echoes, especially those of the Old Testament in the Song of Songs and her favorite theme of Incarnation” (King-Lenzmeier 2001) Another aspect that should be mentioned is that Hildegard of Bingen wrote her music for her poems.
In addition to composing the music for her poems, her creation of music was also a separate body of work, where she composed music throughout much of her lifetime. Among her most famous musical creations is Symphonia, a complete cycle of songs, in which the poetry covered most of the subjects: God, Christ, the Holy Ghost, the Trinity, Mary, angels, patriarchs, apostles, and many others (Flanagan, 1998).
Her creative approach to her music made it difficult to formulate and reconstruct, especially that many elements were not contained in her notations. Nevertheless, “[h]er music is undergoing a revival and enjoying huge public success. “(Lerman 1998) Writing in the plainchant tradition of a single vocal melodic line (Lerman 1998), Hildegard utilized the music moving the structures of her pieces freely for the sake of her poetic inspiration (King-Lenzmeier, 2001).
Religion can be taken as a separate subject as it can be seen that all her other major interests were some way or another related to religion, her main devotion in life. Accordingly, her impact can be seen in her position as a woman men’s world having a vision for humanity. The relation of her literary works to religion can be explicitly seen in her “Scivias” and “Liber vitae moratorium”, in which Hildegard narrates and explains her visions.
In that regard, the aforementioned books can be considered comprehensive guides to Christian faith and action (Flanagan, 1998). Many mystery aspects such as the creation of God, the fall of man, and the incarnation were not emphasized, while such aspects as the human nature of Christ were omitted, Hildegard rather provided instructions from a functional perspective, introduced in the form of how human should behave and what course of action should they take.
Other impacts can be seen in her role in preaching. Not being an abbess, although commonly referred to in such way, and being a woman, Hildegard and women, in general, were allowed to teach just like anyone else, “if [they] possess sound doctrine.”, and Hildegard’s writings “though filled with natural metaphors, remain wholly orthodox and therefore express revealed exegesis” (Flynn, 2008).
It can be concluded that Hildegard of Bingen was an extraordinary figure and a creative mind. Assessing her position within contemporary society, it can be said that there is not a world figure currently that can be related to Hildegard of Bingen or her achievements. Even if omitting the visions and revelations that she was preaching, only taking her multiple talents, it can be seen that the current situation in education globally, forces individuals to focus and excel in a single subject. Acknowledging Hildegard’s multiple talents and achievements and considering that she was a self-educated woman in the 12th century, the comparison is definitely out of question.
If taking a religious figure, it is difficult to assess, where the only religious figure acknowledged “officially” is the Pope, and if adding to the comparison the literary contribution of Hildegard, it can be stated that such figures do not exist in the present and the last century. Nevertheless, the assessment of Hildegard of Bingen took a long time, until the interest in her contributions was brought in the last century. Thus, even if assuming some deficiencies and inaccuracies in her works, the historical context and her gender enable the people to consider Hildegard of Bingen as one of the most creative minds of the middle ages.
References
- Flanagan, Sabina. 1998. Hildegard of Bingen, 1098-1179 : a visionary life. London ; New York: Routledge. Web.
- Flynn, Frances (ed.). 2009. Frequently Asked Questions about Hildegard. International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies 2008. Web.
- King-Lenzmeier, Anne H. 2001. Hildegard of Bingen: an integrated vision: Liturgical Press. Web.
- Lerman, Kristina. 2009. The Life and Works of Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179). University of Southern California 1998. Web.