Called "the first of the prophets of the modern age," reknowned for her spirituality in her own age, and an accomplished hagiographer, biographer, historian, poet, abbess, musician, artist, physician/healer, scientist, theologian, prophet, mystic, preacher, linguist, playright, advisor to eccleasistical authorities including Popes, founder of convents, traveler, and sociologist, Hildegard of Bingen was inauspiciously born the tenth child of a family of the upper nobility. Even as a small child Hildegard had visions. Some speculate that as the tenth child, she was the tithe child and so she was given to the church. Others speculate that her parents, fearing that her "peculiarities" would give her poor marriage prospects and following the custom of the nobility of placing impaired children in monasteries, gave her to the church. For whatever reason, at age 8, Hildegard was sent to live with the anchorite, Jutta, the sister of her father's overlord Count Meginhard of Spanheim, at the monestary of Saint Disibod in Disibodenberg. Jutta taught her to read and sing Latin. By age 15, Jutta's hermitage had attracted enough followers to become a convent and Hildegard became a Benedictine nun. When Jutta died in 1136, Hildegard was unanimously elected leader of the convent.

      In Hildegard's time, monastic life in no way implied a life of poverty. Wealthy families often gave the convents the land, goods, and money which would have formed their daughter's dowry had she instead choosen to marry. Even in the convents, including the convents where Hildegard lived, learned, and eventually ruled, the social classes were kept apart with the daughters of the wealthy being an educated, priviledged class and the daughters of the poor doing the physical labor.

      Similarily, even in the century before Hildegard was born, church positions from the archbishop on down were regularly bought by and sold to the highest bidder regardless of the purchaser's character or spiritual qualifications. Simony was rife for the church offices were positions of wealth, power, and influence. Secular lords jealously guarded their rights to appoint their subjects to eccleasistical offices while eccleastical "barons" jealously guarded their rights to sell the offices positions under their control. The stage was set for brutal battles between secular and eccleasistical authorities for control of church offices. Although Gregory VII who became Pope in 1073 began to reform the system, the struggles between Pope and Emperor continued theoughout Hildegard's lifetime.

      The Manichean heresy, under the name of Catharism, made a resurgence during this time. It's popularily seemed to be related more to it's opposition to the corruption of the established church than to the Manichean beliefs themselves. The Cathars believed that the universe was divided between two all-powerful forces, one good and one evil. Further, since the material world was created by the Evil One, it must be completely rejected."

      So, the Church was under attack both from within and from without. Hildegard was very concerned to be considered orthodox by church authorities and hoped that the Pope would declare her visions to be authentic. Incomplete drafts of her first work, a record of her visions, Scivias were submitted to Pope Eugenius for his approval. He not only approved the work, he read parts of it to the synod of bishops held at Trier during 1147-1148. Hildegard became an instant celebrity. The number of both visitors and postulates to the convent Disibodenberg greatly increased, increasing the wealth of the monestary.

      Over the objections of the officials at the Disibodenberg monestary, some time between 1147 and 1150 Hildegard moved her community to the run-down church and unfinished buildings in Rupertsberg, near Bingen. She renovated the buildings which became the convent. The new, up-to-date facilities in Rupertsberg boasted a number of very modern conviences including running water in the workrooms and a scriptorium. The appropriate eccleastical letters established the new convent's independence from the Disibodenberg monestary while requiring the monastery to provide a provost to see to the nun's spiritual welfare." Removal of her convent to Rupertsberg increased Hildegard's administrative and financial control. Her reputation continued to flourish and the Rupertsberg convent continued to grow. In 1165, she founded a second Benedictine convent, at Eibingen, across the Rhine from Bingen.

      A list of just her principle works gives the reader a clue as to the source of her reputation:
      Scivias (Know the Way), written between 1141 and 1151, is the first of three volumes which record her visions.
      Liber Vitae Meritorum (The Book of the Rewards of Life), written between 1158 and 1163, is the second of three volumes which record her visions
      Liber Divinorum Operum simplicis Hominis (The Book of the Divine Works of a Simple Person), written between 1163 and 1173, is the third of three volumes which record her visions.
      Physica: Subtilitatum diversarum Naturarum Creaturarum (Physical Things: Of the Simplicities of Various Natural Causes) is a scientific study of the physical world, plants, animals, rocks, and the like.
      Causae et Curae (Causes and Cures) is a medical treatise.
      Vita Sancti Disibodi (The Life of Saint Disibod) (1170) gives a few facts about the Saint and a long interpretation of Scripture and other moral teachings.
      Vita Sancti Ruperti (The Life of Saint Rupert) gives some information on Saint Rupert and a long explanation of the Athanasian Creed.
      Solutiones Triginta Octo Quaestionum (Answers to Thirty-Eight Questions): comments on various theological and scriptural subjects.
      Explanatio Symboli Sancti Athanassi (Explanation of the Symbol of Saint Athanasius) and Explanatio Regulae Sancti Benedicti (Explantation of the Rule of Saint Benedict) are self-explanatory/
      Ordo Vitutum, written between 1141 and 1151, is the earliest extant liturgical morality play. The play forms the last vision in Scivia, the thirteenth vision of part 3.

      Finally, Hildegard had voluminous correspondence with popes, cardinals, bishops, abbots, kings, emperors, monks, nuns, and laity of all social classes.

      In addition to her literary achievements, her duties as abbess of a convent, and her efforts to oversee the illumination and reproduction of her own works, Hildegard composed both the music and the words for Symphonia Armonie Celestium Revelationum (The Symphony of the Harmony of Heavenly Revelations) which contains approximately 70 hymns, antiphons, and reponsories. She also undertook four preaching journeys, in 1159, 1160, 1163, and 1170. For her own diversion, Hildegard created her own language with 900 words and her own alphabet.

      Hildegard discussed the story of creation and the fall in two works, in Scivias (Know the Way) (Vision 2) and Liber divinorum operum (The Book of Divine Works) (Visions 3 and 4) In both works she first describes then vision the provides an explanation of the vision

      Scivias is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 (6 visions) shows how the relationship between God, humanity, and the world evolved. Part 2 (7 visions) describes the process of redemption. Finally, Part 3 (13 visions) describes salvation

      In one of the most metaphysical commentaries of the creation story which we will examine, Hildegard grapples with a question familiar to many modern philosophers and theologians: why does a loving, just, omnipotent God permit evil in this world?

      In her creative retelling of the creation story, Hildegard does not dispute the main elements of the story: tempted by a serpent, Eve ate the fruit of the forbidden tree then gave the fruit to Adam, who ate what he was given. She adds many details to this basic story line. The devil, jealous of the love between Adam and Eve, disguises himself as a serpent to make the task of seducing Eve easier. Because both Adam and Eve in body and soul turned from the tree the devil knew that the tree was forbidden to them. The devil approached Eve, instead of Adam, because he thought it would be easier to overcome her tenderness than to overcome his strength. The devil also knew that Adam loved Eve dearly and would do whatever she asked of him. Hildegard even tells us what became of the great love between Adam and Eve after the fall: "Because humanity stood out rebellious to God in that place of sweet things, that woman who had been subjected to that man in his service now opposed herself to him."

      Hildegard asks: why did God permit the devil to tempt Eve? She answers, if mankind had remained in paradise, "the Word of God might never have died on the cross". Touched with compassion towards the creatures that had been seduced by the cunning serpent, God sent the Word into the world to give humankind something greater than paradise, heaven. God permitted the fall so that he could give mankind heaven.

      Vision 2: 9: "And, accordingly, the devil knew that other creatures had not yet been filled with the wickedness that the devil had inside. But the devil was angry seeing Adam and Eve in their innocence in the garden of delights, so with great amazingness the devil changed into a serpent in order to deceive them. Why did the devil change appearance? Because the devil knew it would be more wondrous to change into a serpent than into some other animal. Concealed as a serpent, the devil took great pains to accomplish the deceitfulness which the devil could not complete openly in the devil's usual form. When the devil saw Adam and Eve turn away both in body and in soul from the tree which had been forbidden to them, the devil knew that they had received a divine command regarding that place, but the devil also knew that they might easily be hurled down in the very first work which they had begun."

      Vision 2: 10: "Why did the devil approach Eve? Because the devil knew the tenderness of a woman was more easily conquered than the strength of a man. The devil also saw that Adam's love for Eve was burning so strongly that if the devil was able to conquer Eve, whatever she might say to Adam, Adam would do the same. And the cloud threw the form of a man out of itself: this signifies that the same ancient seducer, expelling Eve and Adam from the seat of blessedness by treachery, sent them into the darkness of destruction. How did the devil do this? Clearly the devil seduced Eve first, so that she rather than Adam was able to lead the other creatures to disobedience, because she had been made from his rib. Because of this, a woman hurls a man down more quickly, when he easily takes her to himself, not shrinking back from her words."

      Vision 2: 27: "Because humanity stood out rebellious to God in that place of sweet things, that woman who had been subjected to that man in his service now opposed herself to him."

      Vision 2: 31: "And so humanity, having been freed, shines in God and God in humanity, humanity having a partnership in God, having - of course - the very great brightness which humanity had previously in heaven. This might not have come about if the same Word of God had not put on flesh, because if humanity had remained in paradise, the Word of God might not have died on the cross. But when humanity was deceived through the cunning serpent, God was touched with true compassion, so that God caused the Only-Begotten to become flesh in the purest Virgin. And so after the fall of humanity, more virtues were lifted up - shining in heaven - just as humility is lifted up as the queen of virtues. "

      Vision 2: 32: "In the beginning of creation, the same devil was lifted up with the haughtiness of pride and thereby cast down in death, causing humanity to be expelled from the glory of paradise. At the time, God did not resist the devil with divine power, but God eventually conquered the devil with the humility of the Word. Because Lucifer had mocked the justice of God, Lucifer was not able to know about the incarnation of the Only-Begotten Word of God in accordance with the just judgment of God. And through this agreement which god and the Word made without Lucifer's knowledge, the lost sheep was carried back to life. O rebellious people, why are you so harsh? God did not forsake people, but God instead sent the Word for their salvation, thereby crushing the head of pride in the serpent. As humanity was released from death, Satan opened the evil barricade, shouting: "Alsa, alas, who will help me." All the devils cried aloud with a great roar, astonished by anyone having such power that they could not resist it even with their leader, even as God's Word carried the faithful souls back to Heaven. As a result, humanity was lifted up above the heavens, because God appeared in the form of a person and person appeared in the form of God through the Word of God. . . . For God had created humanity, but humanity fell into death through the persuasion of the devil. The Word of God snatched humanity from the devil through the shedding of blood, and the Word lead humanity back to heavenly glory."

References:

      Biographical information from Hildegard of Bingen's Mystical Visions by Matthew Fox, Bear and Company, Santa Fe, NM 1986

      The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen: Volume I, translated by Joseph L. Baird and Radd K. ehrman [Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1994]

      Hildegard of Bingen: The Book of the Rewards of Life (Liber Vitae Meritorum), translated by Bruce W. Hozeski [New York, Garland Press, 1994]

      Medieval Women Writers, Katharina M. Wilson [Athens, Ga., University of Gerogia Press, 1984]

      Vision: The Life and Music of Hildegard von Bingen, Jane Bobko, Barbara Newman, and Matthew Fox [New York, Penguin Studio Books, 1995]

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