Hildegard von Bingen

1098-1179

German Medical Author, Composer, and Visionary Mystic

The achievements of the Benedictine nun Hildegard von Bingen were astonishing in their range and excellence, particularly for a woman of the twelfth century. During a time in which female activities were restricted, she became the first woman authorized by the Pope to write theological works, the only medieval woman to preach publicly, the author of the first known morality play, the most prolific medieval composer of liturgical plainchant, an artist who created unique illuminated manuscripts, the author of the first book written by a woman on herbal medicine, and one of the earliest scientific writers to discuss sexuality and gynecology from a female perspective.

Hildegard, born in 1098 in the rural Rhineland, was the tenth child of a noble family. At the age of eight, she was dedicated to the Church as a "tithe"—an offering of a tenth of one's wealth—at the convent attached to the Benedictine monastery at Disibodenberg, near Bingen. Here she became the student of the renowned teacher and recluse Jutta von Spanheim (1092-1136), receiving a Latin education based on holy scriptures and Church fathers.

When Jutta died, Hildegard was elected magistra or teacher. Five years later she began to write about the extraordinary visions she had experienced since childhood, which filled her with intuitive knowledge of spiritual mysteries. She sought counsel from Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux (1090-1153), later named a saint, and from Pope Eugenius III (d. 1153), both of whom encouraged her to write and speak about her experiences. At age 50, Hildegard founded a new monastery at Bingen. In her late 60s she traveled to the great cathedrals of the area, preaching and advocating reform among the clergy.

In 1178, at age 80, she refused the order of Eugenius III to exhume the body of a friend buried in her monastery cemetery. The Pope claimed the man was not entitled to a Church burial, and placed the monastery under a decree of interdict, banning all religious activities there. Hildegard insisted the man had been absolved, and eventually the Pope withdrew the order and restored the monastery to full participation in the Church. Hildegard died in her sleep in 1179.

In her religious writings, Hildegard was concerned primarily with the divine, but in her scientific and medical works she focused on material, observable conditions. The exact sources of her knowledge are not known, but she had access to Latin texts as well as vernacular material, and profited from the long-standing Benedictine tradition of caring for the sick at the monastery's infirmary, most likely equipped with its own herbal garden. Between 1150 and 1160 Hildegard produced two medical texts. The first, Causae et Curae (Causes and cures), is a compact handbook on the etiology (cause), diagnosis, and treatment of diseases, and also contains chapters on human sexuality, psychology, and physiology. The detailed descriptions reflect a quality of scientific observation rare in that period.

Hildegard's second medical text, Physica, is an extensive pharmacopoeia (guide to healing agents) organized in nine books, cataloging the medicinal qualities and uses of plants, elements, trees, stones, fish, birds, quadrupeds, reptiles, and metals. Physica displays a thorough knowledge of what was then known about the natural world, and gives a reliable picture of how medicine was practiced at monastic centers.

In several ways, her texts depart from the twelfth-century norm. First, Hildegard was a nun writing about medicine. Only one other female medical writer, Trotula of Salerno, Italy (d. c. 1097), is known from the entire medieval period. Second, Hildegard did not merely copy selections from pre-existing works as a scribe might do, but rather sought to explain the reasons for health and disease in the broader context of religion and natural science. Although she saw the human fall from grace as the ultimate cause of disease, she did not advocate passive acceptance of suffering. She advanced the philosophy that practical skills and knowledge can help alleviate suffering and promote healing, thus justifying the energetic pursuit of knowledge and dignifying the practice of medicine.

Hildegard was much admired by her contemporaries, who called her "Sybil of the Rhine" and "Jewel of Bingen." During her incredibly productive career as writer, teacher, composer, reformer, and founder of monasteries, Hildegard was consulted by kings, emperors, popes, and other notable figures of her age. Much of her correspondence, music, mystical, and scientific writings survive. Largely forgotten for centuries, her compositions and writings have enjoyed a resurgence of interest in recent decades; her music is frequently performed and recorded, and scholarly studies of her religious and scientific writings are increasing. Although not canonized, Hildegard has been beatified and is frequently referred to as St. Hildegard.

DIANE K. HAWKINS