www.worldhistory.org Open in urlscan Pro
172.67.7.29  Public Scan

Form analysis
2 forms found in the DOM

/search/

<form accept-charset="utf-8" action="/search/">
  <div class="search_wrapper">
    <input name="q" size="" class="autocomplete_tags_readable ancient_search_btn common_search_field" type="text" value="" placeholder="Search..." autocomplete="off" list="remotelist-1"><datalist id="remotelist-1"><select></select></datalist>
  </div>
</form>

Name: mc-embedded-subscribe-form — POST //ancient.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=c3168e59d8bfba7986977db46&id=ac74a77c22

<form action="//ancient.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=c3168e59d8bfba7986977db46&amp;id=ac74a77c22" method="post" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" class="validate">
  <div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll">
    <h3>Free Newsletter</h3>
    <p>History delivered to you once a week:</p>
    <div class="mc-field-group">
      <input type="email" placeholder="Email address..." name="EMAIL" autocomplete="email" class="required email" id="mce-EMAIL" style="width:80%;" required="">
    </div>
    <p>Are you a...?</p>
    <div class="mc-field-group input-group" style="margin-top: -10px;">
      <input type="radio" value="1" name="group[5]" id="mce-group[5]-5-0" required="" autocomplete="off"><label for="mce-group[5]-5-0">History Enthusiast</label><br>
      <input type="radio" value="2" name="group[5]" id="mce-group[5]-5-1" required="" autocomplete="off"><label for="mce-group[5]-5-1">Teacher</label><br>
      <input type="radio" value="4" name="group[5]" id="mce-group[5]-5-2" required="" autocomplete="off"><label for="mce-group[5]-5-2">Student</label><br>
      <input type="radio" value="8" name="group[5]" id="mce-group[5]-5-3" required="" autocomplete="off"><label for="mce-group[5]-5-3">Librarian</label>
    </div>
    <div id="mce-responses" class="clear">
      <div class="response" id="mce-error-response" style="display:none"></div>
      <div class="response" id="mce-success-response" style="display:none"></div>
    </div> <!-- real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups-->
    <input type="hidden" name="tags" value="40497" autocomplete="off"><!-- Newsletter Tag -->
    <input type="submit" value="Subscribe" name="subscribe" id="mc-embedded-subscribe" class="button content_button red" style="margin-top: 10px;" autocomplete="off">
    <div style="position: absolute; left: -5000px;"><input type="text" name="b_c3168e59d8bfba7986977db46_ac74a77c22" tabindex="-1" value="" autocomplete="off"></div>
    <div class="clear"></div>
  </div>
</form>

Text Content

WE VALUE YOUR PRIVACY

We and our partners store and/or access information on a device, such as cookies
and process personal data, such as unique identifiers and standard information
sent by a device for personalised advertising and content, advertising and
content measurement, audience research and services development. With your
permission we and our partners may use precise geolocation data and
identification through device scanning. You may click to consent to our and our
727 partners’ processing as described above. Alternatively you may click to
refuse to consent or access more detailed information and change your
preferences before consenting. Please note that some processing of your personal
data may not require your consent, but you have a right to object to such
processing. Your preferences will apply to this website only. You can change
your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by returning to this site
and clicking the "Privacy" button at the bottom of the webpage.
Please note that this website/app uses one or more Google services and may
gather and store information including but not limited to your visit or usage
behaviour. You may click to grant or deny consent to Google and its third-party
tags to use your data for below specified purposes in below Google consent
section.
MORE OPTIONSDISAGREEAGREE


Facebook Membership No ads



 * Encyclopedia
   * Index
   * Timeline
   * Maps
   * Book Reviews
   * Weights & Measures
   * Translations
 * Education
   * Teaching Materials
   * Link Database
   * Quizzes
   * Primary Sources
   * Collections
   * School Subscription
 * Media
   * Media Library
   * Audio Articles
   * Podcast
   * Youtube Channel
 * Contribute
   * Submissions
   * Needed Content
   * Style Guide
   * Terms & Conditions
   * Volunteer
   * Donate
 * Shop
   * Books
   * Map Posters
   * Magazines
   * Wall Charts
   * Clothing
 * About
   * About
   * Our Team
   * Editorial Policy
   * Annual Reports
   * Membership
   * Contact
 * Login
   * Login
   * Register


HILDEGARD OF BINGEN


CONTENTS



Subscribe to topic Subscribe to author Print Article

8Merken


DEFINITION

by Joshua J. Mark
published on 30 May 2019
Available in other languages: French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Click to listen

0:00 / 16:19
1X



Subscribe to topic Subscribe to author Print Article
Depiction of Hildegard of Bingen in the St. Foy Church
Ralph Hammann (CC BY-SA)

Hildegard of Bingen (also known as Hildegarde von Bingen, l. 1098-1179) was a
Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, and polymath proficient in philosophy,
musical composition, herbology, medieval literature, cosmology, medicine,
biology, theology, and natural history. She refused to be defined by the
patriarchal hierarchy of the Church and, although she abided by its strictures,
pushed the established boundaries for women.

Along with her impressive body of work and ethereal musical compositions,
Hildegard is best known for her spiritual concept of Viriditas – “greenness” -
the cosmic life force infusing the natural world. For Hildegard, the Divine
manifested itself and was apparent in nature. Nature itself was not the Divine
but the natural world gave proof of, existed because of, and glorified God. She
is also known for her writings on the concept of Sapientia – Divine Wisdom –
specifically immanent Feminine Divine Wisdom which draws close to and nurtures
the human soul.

Remove Ads
Advertisement


From a young age, she experienced ecstatic visions of light and sound, which she
interpreted as messages from God. These visions were authenticated by
ecclesiastical authorities, who encouraged her to write her experiences down.
She would become famous in her own lifetime for her visions, wisdom, writings,
and musical compositions, and her counsel was sought by nobility throughout
Europe.


YouTube Follow us on YouTube!


EARLY LIFE & EDUCATION

Hildegard came from an upper-class German family, the youngest of ten children.
She was often ill as a child, afflicted with headaches which accompanied her
visions, from around the age of three. Whether her parents consulted physicians
about her health issues is unknown, but at the age of seven, they sent her to be
enrolled as a novice in the convent of Disibodenberg.

Remove Ads
Advertisement

Hildegard had feared & resisted her visions but was supported & encouraged to
accept them by Volmar.

Hildegard was placed under the care of Abbess Jutta von Sponheim (l. 1091-1136),
head of the order, an aristocrat and daughter of a count who had chosen the
monastic life for herself. Jutta was only six years older than Hildegard in 1105
when the latter entered the convent and the two would become close friends.
Jutta taught Hildegard to read and write, how to recite the prayers, and
introduced her to music by teaching her to play the psaltery (a stringed
instrument like a zither). Jutta may also have instructed the younger girl in
Latin (though this claim has been challenged) and encouraged her to read widely.

During this time, she was also instructed by a monk named Volmar (d. 1173) who
served as prior to the convent and the nuns' confessor (since women were not
allowed to hear confession, celebrate Mass, or preside over any official
assembly other than meetings of other women regarding the day-to-day upkeep of
their community). Hildegard had told Jutta about her visions, and Jutta felt it
her duty to inform Volmar. Volmar encouraged Hildegard to believe in the
authenticity of the visions and to write about them. He may have also been the
one to teach her Latin and introduce her to various forms of literature. After
seven years of tutelage and service, at the age of fourteen, Hildegard made her
profession of faith and was accepted into the order.

Remove Ads
Advertisement




St. Hildegard Meeting St. Jutta of Sponheim
Kurt Wichmann (CC BY)



Hildegard and Jutta were typical of the nuns at this time in that they came from
upper-class, aristocratic families who could afford to pay the Church to take
their daughters. Although it was officially forbidden to accept money from
parents, nunneries required a substantial 'dowry' for a girl to be accepted,
claiming it would go to her upkeep. These dowries took the form of deeds to
lands, cash, expensive clothing, and similar valuables. Daughters of poor
families could not afford the dowry and, if they wanted to participate in
convent life, it was as maids or cooks. Scholars Frances and Joseph Gies comment
on the attraction of the convent for young women in the Middle Ages:

> For upper-class women, the convent filled several basic needs. It provided an
> alternative to marriage by receiving girls whose families were unable to find
> them husbands. It provided an outlet for nonconformists, women who did not
> wish to marry because they felt a religious vocation, because marriage was
> repugnant, or because they saw in the convent a mode of life in which they
> could perform and perhaps distinguish themselves. The nunnery was a refuge of
> female intellectuals. (64)

Hildegard certainly fit this paradigm of the female intellectual, distinguishing
herself by her vast learning, devotion to God, and service to others. When Jutta
died in 1136, Hildegard, then 38 years old, was unanimously chosen to succeed
her.


VISIONS & MOVE TO RUPERTSBERG

From the time she was young, Hildegard had feared and resisted her visions but
was supported and encouraged to accept them by Volmar. A few years after
becoming abbess, she began receiving the visions more vividly than before and
with such frequency that she became bed-ridden. She had confessed her visions to
the Abbot Kuno, who presided over her order, and he encouraged her to write
about them, but she refused.

Remove Ads
Advertisement


The visions themselves then became insistent that she write them down and
interpret them for an audience. Hildegard resisted until she fell into delirium
in which the visions, constantly recurring, demanded she express them in
writing. She relates:

> In this affliction I lay thirty days while my body burned as with fever…And
> throughout those days I watched a procession of angels innumerable who fought
> alongside Michael against the dragon and won the victory. And one of them
> called out to me, 'Eagle! Eagle! Why Sleepest thou? Arise! For it is dawn –
> and eat and drink!' Instantly my body and my senses came back into the world
> and, seeing this, my daughters [fellow nuns] who were weeping around me lifted
> me from the ground and placed me on my bed and thus I began to get my strength
> back. (Gies, 78)

Encouraged by Volmar and Abbot Kuno and inspired by the visions themselves,
Hildegard began to write her best-known work, the Scivias (shortened form of the
Latin Scito vias Domini – “Know the Way of the Lord”– , composed c. 1142-1151)
which, in accordance with her visions' instructions, related what she saw and
what she felt they meant. By this time, she was a well-established visionary,
renowned for her wisdom, and much sought after for counsel. Pope Eugenius
(served 1145-1153) read parts of the Scivias, approved the visions as authentic
revelations, and encouraged Hildegard to continue the work. People would visit
Disibodenberg to seek her out and, afterwards, would have been gently reminded
by Abbot Kuno to leave a donation before they departed.



Ruins of Disibodenberg Monastery
E-W (CC BY-SA)



In 1147, Hildegard requested leave to found her own convent in Rupertsberg, 65
miles (105 km) to the south-east. Her request sparked a dispute with Abbot Kuno
who denied her permission and suggested she accept the position of Prioress at
Disibodenberg and place herself under his authority. His reasons for refusal are
never recorded but most likely he was reluctant to lose so great an asset as
Hildegard who not only brought in significant revenue but managed to keep the
convent running efficiently and conduct correspondence with important figures
who might be inclined to donate further.

Remove Ads
Advertisement


Hildegard refused to accept Kuno's decision, repeated her request, and when Kuno
denied her a second time, she took the matter to the Archbishop of Mainz who
approved it. Kuno still would not release her or the nuns until Hildegard,
bed-ridden (possibly due to her visions), informed him that God himself was
punishing her for not following His will in moving the nuns to Rupertsberg.
Hildegard was stricken with a paralysis so severe that no one could move her
arms or legs and, after witnessing this, Kuno relented and allowed the nuns to
leave. Hildegard established the convent at Rupertsberg c. 1150 with 18 nuns and
her friend the monk Volmar as their confessor.


WORKS & BELIEFS

Hildegard's vision is all-encompassing in scope, far transcending the common
vision of the medieval Church while still remaining within the bounds of
orthodoxy. She claimed the Divine was as female in spirit as male and that both
these elements were essential for wholeness. Her concept of Viriditas elevated
the natural world from the Church's view of a fallen realm of Satan to an
expression and extension of the Divine. God was revealed in nature, and the
grass, flowers, trees, and animals bore witness to the Divine simply by their
existence.

Hildegard's Ordo Virtutum is the oldest medieval morality play & the only
medieval musical extant.

Her first major work, the Scivias, relates 26 of her visions in three sections –
six visions in the first, seven in the second, thirteen in the third – along
with her interpretation and commentary on the nature of the Divine and the role
of the Church as an intermediary between God and humanity. She depicts God as a
cosmic egg, both male and female, pulsing with love; the male aspect of the
Divine is transcendent while the female is immanent. It is this immanence which
invites rapport with the Divine.

Book Recommendation
Women in the Middle Ages
by Joseph Gies & Frances Gies
published by Harper Perennial (2018)
$9.25

Hildegard believed that, prior to the Fall of Man, God was worshipped by
celestial song which, after the Fall, was approximated by music as humans now
heard and understood it. Music, then, was the best expression of one's love for,
devotion to, and worship of God. In keeping with this belief, she ends the
Scivias with the text of her morality play Ordo Virtutum and her Symphony of
Heaven, one of her earliest musical compositions.



Throughout her time at Disibodenberg, Hildegard routinely practiced what is
known today as “holistic healing” using resonant spiritual energies and natural
remedies to maintain health and cure illness and injury. Between 1150-1158 she
composed her Liber Subtilatum (“Book of Subtleties of the Diverse Qualities of
Created Things”) comprised of two sections, her Physica (“Medicine”) and Causae
et Curae (“Causes and Cures of Disease”). She argues that human beings are the
pinnacle of God's creation and the natural world exists in harmony with
humanity; humans should care for nature and nature will do the same.

Her concept of health was based on the prevailing understanding, derived from
ancient Greek medicine, of a human body's health depending on the balance of
four humors of the body: sanguine/peaceful/dry (blood), choleric/angry/hot
(yellow bile), phlegmatic/apathetic/moist (phlegm), melancholy/depressed/cold
(black bile). Hildegard's conception of the humors differed slightly but still
conformed to the traditional understanding. When these humors were in balance,
the body was in optimum health; sickness indicated imbalance. Hildegard
recommended herbal remedies, hot baths, proper sleep patterns, a healthy diet,
and a positive attitude to keep one in balance or bring a sick person back to a
balanced, healthy state.

Remove Ads
Advertisement


An essential aspect of health was virtuous conduct and Hildegard addressed this
in her morality play Ordo Virtutum (“Order of the Virtues”), completed in 1151.
The play depicts the struggle of the soul, trapped in the flesh, between the
call of the virtues and the temptations of the devil. This work was performed by
Hildegard and her nuns as the chorus of virtues and the soul (a female voice),
male clergy singing the roles of the patriarchs and prophets, and most likely
Volmar in the role of Satan – the only character in the play who does not sing
since Satan is incapable of producing music, the true praise of God. Ordo
Virtutum is the oldest medieval morality play and the only medieval musical
extant.



Illustration of Hildegard of Bingen from Scivias
Eisenacher~commonswiki (Public Domain)



Hildegard was especially proficient at Rupertsberg and next produced her Liber
Vitae Meritorum (“Book of Life's Merits”) between 1158-1163. This work expands
and develops the theme of her earlier play as it discusses the struggle of the
soul between virtue and vice, the true nature and final rewards of both, the
reason for the soul's struggle, and the immanence of God's presence and
redeeming love. In this work she also wrote on human sexuality, specifically
female sexuality, describing a woman's orgasm as the spiritual force which
enfolds the man's seed in the womb and holds it there. The depth of the passion
the parents felt for each other during sex would determine the child's
character; if they were in love, then the orgasm of both would be strong and the
child would be healthy and happy; if they were not, then the child would be
bitter and imbalanced.

She then wrote her grand theological opus, Liber Divinorum Operum (“Book of
Divine Works”) between 1164-1174, which drew together the themes of her previous
works but elevated all through the grand scale of her further visions and
explication of the nature of the Divine Love (Caritas) and Divine Wisdom
(Sapientia) represented as feminine energies radiating light.




Her concept of Viriditas is also explored more fully in this work. The
'greenness' of the natural world is reflected in the 'greenness' of the human
soul receptive to the Divine, which blooms to life once connected to the cosmic
life force. Cut off from Divine Love, the soul is at the mercy of vice which
leads only to misery and death. The natural and life-affirming choice is to
embrace the Divine as the essential and enduring energy of existence,
recognizing that the virtues call one toward an elevated, transcendent reality.
Music, of course, is intertwined with this concept of 'greenness' as it elevates
the soul in praising the source of all life.


CORRESPONDENCES & CONTROVERSIES

While composing her written works and musical scores (still popular and
performed in the present day), Hildegard also kept up a correspondence with
kings, queens, ecclesiastical authorities, and many others. She exchanged
letters, still extant, with such medieval luminaries as Bernard of Clairvaux (l.
1090-1153), Thomas Becket (l. 1118-1170), Henry II (l. 1133-1189), Eleanor of
Aquitaine (l. c. 1122-1204), Holy Roman Emperor and King of Germany Frederick
Barbarossa (l. 1122-1190), and many others. She was never afraid of controversy
or criticism and never failed to stand up to patriarchal ecclesiastical or
secular authority for what she believed was right.

Even in her early eighties, Hildegard refused to be bullied or cowed by male
authority figures.

She went on four speaking tours which included stops in Cologne, Trier,
Wurzburg, Frankfurt, and Rothenburg as well as trips into Flanders. These tours
were expressly to deliver sermons to predominantly male audiences in spite of
St. Paul's injunction against women speaking in the presence of men, having
authority over men, or teaching men (I Timothy 2:12-14, I Corinthians 11:3, I
Corinthians 14:34) and a central focus of her sermons was the corruption of the
church and the need for immediate and drastic reform.

Even in her early eighties, Hildegard refused to be bullied or cowed by male
authority figures. The Archbishop of Mainz ordered her to exhume the body of a
young man, buried in holy ground at Rupertsberg, who had died excommunicated.
Hildegard refused, claiming that the man had sought absolution and received
grace and it was only the Archbishop's personal stubbornness and pride which
prevented him from recognizing this. She traveled twice to Mainz to plead her
case but was denied, and her convent was placed under interdict. Only when the
Archbishop died was the interdict lifted and Hildegard and her nuns regarded as
having been returned to a state of grace in the Church.


CONCLUSION

Aside from her contributions to theology, philosophy, music, medicine, and the
rest, Hildegard invented the constructed script of the Litterae ignotae
(alternate alphabet), which she used in her hymns for concise rhyming and,
possibly, to lend to her text a sense of another dimension and higher plane. She
also invented the Lingua ignota (unknown language), her own philological
construct of 23 letters which served to separate and elevate her order from the
mundane world.

In spite of her accomplishments and fame, the Church continued to regard women
not only as second-class citizens but dangerous temptations and obstacles to
virtue. The highly influential Bernard of Clairvaux claimed that a man could not
associate with a woman without desiring sex with her and the canonical order of
the Premonstratensians banned women from their order claiming to have recognized
"that the wickedness of women is greater than all the other wickedness in the
world" (Gies, 87). It was precisely this kind of misogynistic mindset that
Hildegard struggled against not only within the Church but in medieval society
at large.



Even so, the significance of her work was recognized by the Church and she was
singled out as a woman of note. Her cause of death is unknown but she died, most
likely of natural causes, in 1179. Attempts to canonize her stalled until 2012
when she was recognized as a saint through the process of Equivalent
Canonization and was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI. Her
famous visions are today interpreted as symptoms of a migraine sufferer but this
has in no way detracted from her reputation.

In 1979, the artist Judy Chicago included Hildegard of Bingen in her
installation artwork The Dinner Party (currently on display at the Brooklyn
Museum, New York, USA), an ornate triangular table with settings for 39 women
from history and literature celebrating their contributions to world culture and
knowledge. The names of another 999 women are engraved on the floor the table
rests on. Hildegard would no doubt enjoy her place at the table between Eleanor
of Aquitaine and accused-witch Petronilla de Meath (1300-1324), executed for
heresy; two of the many women celebrated in the work for who they were and the
message they continue to offer the world.

Did you like this definition?


Subscribe to topic Related Content Books Cite This Work License

Editorial Review This article has been reviewed by our editorial team before
publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards
in accordance with our editorial policy.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

 * Brooklyn Museum: The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago, accessed 29 May 2019.
 * Cantor, N. F. The Civilization of the Middle Ages. Harper Perennial, 1994.
 * Coulton, G.G. Medieval Village, Manor, And Monastery. Kessinger Publishing,
   LLC, 2010.
 * Deanesley, M. A History of the Medieval Church, 590-1500. Methuen, 1969.
 * Gies, F. & J. Women in the Middle Ages. Harper Perennial, 2018.
 * Hildegard of Bingen (translated by Bruce W. Hozeski). The Book of the Rewards
   of Life. Oxford University Press, 1997.
 * Hildegard of Bingen (translated by Priscilla Throop). Hildegard von Bingen's
   Physica. Healing Arts Press, 1998.
 * Loyn, H. R. The Middle Ages: A Concise Encyclopedia. Thames & Hudson, 1991.
 * Power, E. Medieval Women. Cambridge University Press, 2019.
 * Wise Bauer, S. The History of the Medieval World. W. W. Norton & Company,
   2010.


World History Encyclopedia is an Amazon Associate and earns a commission on
qualifying book purchases.

Subscribe to this author


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joshua J. Mark
Joshua J. Mark is World History Encyclopedia's co-founder and Content Director.
He was previously a professor at Marist College (NY) where he taught history,
philosophy, literature, and writing. He has traveled extensively and lived in
Greece and Germany.



TRANSLATIONS

French German Italian Portuguese Spanish

We want people all over the world to learn about history. Help us and translate
this definition into another language!


QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

WHO WAS HILDEGARD OF BINGEN?

Hildegard of Bingen was a medieval German Christian mystic and polymath best
known for her concept of Viriditas - "greenness" - the cosmic life force of the
natural world.

WHY IS HILDEGARD OF BINGEN FAMOUS?

Hildegard of Bingen became famous during her life for her visions, wisdom,
musical compositions, correspondence, and as a woman who refused the status of a
second-class citizen.

WAS HILDEGARD OF BINGEN A HOLISTIC HEALER?

Today, Hildegard of Bingen would be regarded as a holistic healer as she relied
on natural remedies and the channeling of spiritual energies in treating
patients.

HOW DID HILDEGARD OF BINGEN DIE?

Hildegard of Bingen's cause of death is unknown but she most likely died of
natural causes in 1179.


RELATED CONTENT

Filters:
All 
Definitions50
Articles19
Images14
Videos12
Collections4
Video


HILDEGARD VON BINGEN: DE SANCTA MARIA - AVE MARIA, RESPONSORIUM

Blessed Hildegard of Bingen (German: Hildegard von Bingen) (1098...
Definition


THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH

Religious practice in medieval Europe (c. 476-1500) was dominated...
Definition


ANCIENT GREEK MUSIC

Music (or mousike) was an integral part of life in the ancient...
Image


DEPICTION OF HILDEGARD OF BINGEN IN THE ST. FOY CHURCH

A depiction of the Catholic Saint Hildegard of Bingen (1098 - 1178...
Image


ILLUSTRATION OF HILDEGARD OF BINGEN FROM SCIVIAS

A depiction of Hildegard of Bingen (1098 - 1179 CE) receiving divine...
Image


HILDEGARD OF BINGEN

An engraving by W. Marshall of the Benedictine abbess Hildegard...
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next › Last »


FREE FOR THE WORLD, SUPPORTED BY YOU

World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. For only €4 per month
you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural
heritage and to improve history education worldwide.

World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. Please support free
history education for millions of learners worldwide for only €4 per month by
becoming a member. Thank you!

Become a Member   Donate
Add External Link


EXTERNAL LINKS

Hildegard of Bingen: life and music of the great female composer
classicfm.com


CITE THIS WORK

APA STYLE

Mark, J. J. (2019, May 30). Hildegard of Bingen. World History Encyclopedia.
Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Hildegard_of_Bingen/

CHICAGO STYLE

Mark, Joshua J.. "Hildegard of Bingen." World History Encyclopedia. Last
modified May 30, 2019. https://www.worldhistory.org/Hildegard_of_Bingen/.

MLA STYLE

Mark, Joshua J.. "Hildegard of Bingen." World History Encyclopedia. World
History Encyclopedia, 30 May 2019. Web. 03 Nov 2024.


LICENSE & COPYRIGHT

Submitted by Joshua J. Mark, published on 30 May 2019. The copyright holder has
published this content under the following license: Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and
build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and
license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the
web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please
note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

Remove Ads
Advertisement



TIMELINE

Add Event Visual Timeline
 * 1098 - 1179
   Life of Hildegard of Bingen.
 * c. 1100
   Hildegard of Bingen begins to receive her visions around the age of three.
 * 1105
   Hildegard of Bingen enters the convent at Disibodenberg at the age of seven.
 * 1136
   Hildegard of Bingen becomes Abbess of Disibodenberg.
 * c. 1142 - 1151
   Hildegard of Bingen's first major theological work Scivias composed.
 * 1150
   Hildegard of Bingen founds convent at Rupertsberg and moves her order there.
 * 1150 - 1158
   Hildegard of Bingen writes her Liber Subtilatum, a work on medicine and
   holistic health.
 * 1151
   Hildegard of Bingen writes her musical morality play Ordo Virtutum.
 * 1158 - 1163
   Hildegard of Bingen writes her second major theological work Liber Vitae
   Meritorum.
 * 1164 - 1174
   Hildegard of Bingen writes her third major theological work, Liber Divinorum
   Operum.

Remove Ads
Advertisement



FREE NEWSLETTER

History delivered to you once a week:



Are you a...?

History Enthusiast
Teacher
Student
Librarian



Remove Ads
Advertisement


 




World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization publishing free history
content that has been carefully researched and reviewed. If you liked this
content, please consider donating at www.worldhistory.org/donate/. To remove
this message from printouts, you can become a supporting member at
www.worldhistory.org/membership/. Thank you for supporting our work!

Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University. Our
publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education,
Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University),
OER Commons and the School Library Journal. Please note that some of these
recommendations are listed under our old name, Ancient History Encyclopedia.

Our Mission Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to
improve history education worldwide.
Follow Us Facebook
About • Contact • Advertise • Privacy Policy • Partners • Supporters •
Newsletter • Settings

World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United
Kingdom.
World History Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada.

Some Rights Reserved (2009-2024) under Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted.

The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark.

Featured Partner