Nun, Scientist, Artist, Saint: Meet Hildegard von Bingen

Hildegard von Bingen, the youngest of ten children, was born in Bremersheim near modern-day Mannheim, Germany. At eight years old her parents promised her to the Benedictine Roman Catholic Church, and she later joined the Disibodenberg convent at 14. There she rose to magistra, the highest female station at the time, and later founded her own monastery, the Monastery of Rupertsberg in Bingen am Rhein, hence adopting the name “von Bingen.”

As abbess of Rupertsberg, she held significant independence and influence in medieval society. Beyond her religious role, she wrote and published poetry, music, medical, and religious works. Her influence led Pope Benedict XVI to canonize her and award her the title “Doctor of the Church” in 2012, one of only four women to receive this honor.

Visions of Healing

The End of the World

Two key things stand out when looking at Hildegard von Bingen’s role in the Roman Catholic Church. First, during her time (the late 11th to early 12th century), many European religious thinkers believed the world was about to end. Because of this, much of theology focused on trying to prevent the apocalypse. This heavily influenced Hildegard. Her work was all about healing—spiritual, religious, societal, and medical.

Visionary

Another key factor in Hildegard von Bingen’s high level of recognition was her recorded visions of the divine past, present, and future. Hildegard von Bingen documented these visions through written descriptions and miniature paintings, often including her self-portraits.

Self-Portraits

One example of Hildegard von Bingen’s self-portraits is found on the first page of Scivias, one of her main religious manuscripts. The portrait shows her having a vision, dressed in a simple dark blue gown, holding wax tablets, with flames around her eyes symbolizing the divinity of her visions. The flames do not cover her eyes, emphasizing her conscious sanity during these experiences and legitimizing the truth of her visions.

Saint Hildegard the Scientist: Herbal Healing

Physica

Hildegard von Bingen’s healing efforts included compiling medical knowledge of her time. Her book Physica covers the healing uses of plants, animals, and minerals, offering a comprehensive summary of early medieval herbal medicine, nutritional health, zoology, and spiritual healing. This work is significant because, during her era, women’s extensive knowledge of herbal medicine was often dismissed by male authorities. Hildegard’s high status in the Roman Catholic Church allowed her to collect, publish, and professionalize this knowledge, making it one of her central achievements.

The Celestial Influence on Men, Animals and Plants

Hildegard von Bingen’s understanding of the world was highly nature-based. Her understanding of the universe was closely connected to the human body and nature. The medical healing of the body, simultaneously, aids the healing of the universe.

This importance of nature in Hildegard von Bingen’s understanding of the world is well-illustrated by her miniature painting The Celestial Influence on Men, Animals and Plants. Broadly interpreted, it depicts the divine balance that is inherent to the cycle of seasons.

Saint Hildegard the Artist: Religious Healing

The Tower of the Church

Hildegard von Bingen’s healing efforts also included religious and societal aspects, as reflected in her visions. One example is The Tower of the Church miniature painting, which features multilayered symbolic storytelling. Elements like the Holy Trinity, divine wisdom, justice, strength (a warrior woman slaying a dragon of sin), and the apostles represent the church as a fortress of divine healing.

One of Many

This miniature, while not unique in Hildegard von Bingen’s work, exemplifies her devotion to her faith and her focus on healing the world. Her miniature paintings stood out for two reasons. Firstly, she used uncommon techniques, such as utilizing the painting material itself to create perspectives, which was rare in European medieval art. Secondly, her miniatures are particularly difficult to read, with complex and varying directions for interpretation.

Saint Hildegard the Composer: Artistic Healing

Music

A major aspect of Hildegard von Bingen’s work was music. She is one of the most renowned European medieval composers, known for her monophonic choral music. Her devotion to music was linked to her efforts for universal healing, as she believed that intellectual and artistic achievements connected to divinity and facilitated healing. She created a new musical genre called Symphonia, intended for Mass, and introduced an unusual complexity to medieval choral music. This included extreme tone jumps that required significant vocal skills from the performers.

The Choir of Angels

The centrality of music and its connection to sanctity for Saint Hildegard is also reflected in her miniature paintings. For example, this is demonstrated in The Choirs of Angels, which directly represents the saint’s cycling understanding of the divinity of music.

Saint Hildegard von Bingen was a multifaceted woman who not only ascended to one of the most powerful positions available to women during her lifetime, but also expressed her efforts of healing through poetry, music, medicine, and written and visual depictions of her religious efforts. She was one of the most influential individuals of the European Middle Ages.