10 questions · Society & Everyday
Hildegard of Bingen is born in 1098 in the Rhineland, the tenth child of a noble family. By the custom of the time the "tenth" is given to the Church: at eight she is placed with an anchoress and from then on grows up at the monastery of Disibodenberg. Even as a child she has strange apparitions, which she later calls "the living light": visions she keeps to herself for decades. Only past the age of 40, by now head of her community of nuns, does she interpret her visions as a divine commission and begin to write. Her first great work, 'Scivias', makes her famous; even the Pope recognises her writings. For a woman of the 12th century this is astonishing: Hildegard does something practically forbidden to women: she preaches in public and admonishes bishops and emperors in her letters. Hildegard is a true polymath. She writes theological books, but also works on medicine and natural science in which she describes plants, stones and diseases: the basis of the still-popular "Hildegard medicine". She also composes sacred chants of great beauty, among the most important musical works of the Middle Ages, and even invents her own secret language, the "Lingua ignota". Against resistance she founds her own monastery on the Rupertsberg near Bingen. When she dies in 1179 at the age of 81, she is one of the most famous women of her era. Her renown keeps growing over the centuries: in 2012 the Catholic Church officially declared her a saint and a "Doctor of the Church": an honour granted to only a handful of women.
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Middle Ages (12th century)
She was one of the most influential figures of her time and a woman at that.
💡 Did you know? In the strongly male-dominated 12th century, Hildegard became one of Europe's most influential women: popes and emperors sought her counsel.
abbess
She founded her own monastery on the Rupertsberg near Bingen.
💡 Did you know? As an abbess Hildegard founded her own convents and led them independently: unusually self-reliant for a woman of her time.
polymath (theology, medicine, music)
Hildegard wrote on theology, medicine, plants and music and composed: a true polymath of the Middle Ages.
💡 Did you know? She even invented her own secret language, the "Lingua ignota".
her visions
Only past the age of 40 did she begin to write these visions down.
💡 Did you know? From childhood Hildegard had visions of light, which she later wrote down and even had recognised by the pope.
Scivias
Even the Pope recognised her writings: extraordinary for a woman of her time.
💡 Did you know? In „Scivias“ („Know the Ways“) Hildegard recorded her visions over ten years in words and glowing images.
healing / Hildegard medicine
In works such as 'Physica' she described plants, stones and diseases.
💡 Did you know? Her writings on healing plants and healthy eating still inspire the popular „Hildegard medicine“ today.
sacred chants / music
Hildegard composed over 70 sacred chants of remarkable beauty: early masterpieces from a woman's hand.
💡 Did you know? Her compositions are still performed and recorded today.
saint and Doctor of the Church
To this day only four women hold the title of Doctor of the Church.
💡 Did you know? In 2012 Pope Benedict XVI declared Hildegard a saint and Doctor of the Church: an honour granted to only four women so far.
Foto: Unbekannt · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen (1098 to 1179) was a German abbess, mystic and polymath of the Middle Ages.
💡 Did you know? Almost 900 years after her birth, Hildegard is among the few women named a „Doctor of the Church“ by the Catholic Church.
81
Died: 17 September 1179, aged about 81
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