Hildegard was at fi rst assisted by her former teacher, the
monk Volmar of Disibodenberg, and from 1177 on, by
Guibert of Gembloux, who is also the author of a par-
tial vita of the Benedictine nun. Her complete vita was
written by the monks Gottfried and Theoderich between
1177–1181. Listed in the Martyrologium romanum (list
of martyrs) since the fi fteenth century, Hildegard is
venerated as a saint in Germany.
Hildegard von Bingen’s most famous work Scivias
(Know the Ways) (1141–1151) constitutes the fi rst part
of her trilogy of visions whose second and third parts are
the Liber vitae meritorum (Book of Meritorious Life)
(1158–1163) and the Liber divinorum operum (Book of
Divine Works), the latter also entitled Liber de opera-
tione del (Book of the Works of God, [1163–1173]). In
these works she speaks both of what she was given to
see and of a divine voice interpreting these visions to
her. Hildegard also conducted comprehensive studies of
natural science and medicine, which she described in
Physica (Subtilitatum diversarum naturarum creatur-
arum libri novem). Nine books on the nature of various
creatures and Causae et curae (Affi lictions and cures,
between 1150–1160). Several hundred letters of her
correspondence have been preserved as well as many
musical compositions including some seventy-seven
liturgical songs, and a drama, the Ordo virtutum (The
Order of Virtue). Hildegard also wrote two vitae, a trea-
tise against the contemporary Cathars, and a linguistic
essay on a lingua ignota (unknown language).
Hildegard’s visionary and prophetic work deals with
complex theological, anthropological, and ecclesio-
logical issues. Her idea of the church and society was a
strictly hierarchical one. Anchored in the Benedictine
liturgical tradition, and the Bible, Hildegard was familiar
with the church fathers as well as with the writings of
her contemporaries, Honorius Augustodunensis, Rupert
von Deutz, and Bernard of Clairvaux.
Hildegard von Bingen was well known in her own
century. Manuscripts of her works, especially some con-
taining resplendent illuminations made under her own
supervision, stem from the twelfth century. Thereafter,
forgotten for centuries, her work was fi nally published in
the extensive series of medieval Latin works, Patrologia
latina (Vol. 197, 1855) and by Joannes Baptista Pitra
(Analecta, Vol. 8, 1882). The twentieth century gave
rise to a revival of Hildegard’s work through studies
and translations initiated by the Benedictine nuns of
Eibingen, notably by the meticulous manuscript study
of Marianne Schrader and Adelgundis Führkötter:
Die Echtheit des Schrifttums der heiligen Hildegard
von Bingen. Quellenkritische Untersuchungen, 1956
(On the Authenticity of the Writing of St. Hildegard
von Bingen: Source Studies). Extended concentrated
research in Hildegard von Bingen’s voluminous work
began in Germany around 1979 in the context of the
800-year celebration of her death. Since then, she has
become probably the most studied and the best known
of all medieval women writers, not only among liter-
ary and feminist scholars, but also among theologians,
historians, and musicologists. Unfortunately, her literary
and musical works have sometimes been popularized
and misinterpreted beyond recognition.
See also Bernard of Clairvaux;
Frederick I BarbarossaFurther Reading
Hildegard of Bingen. The Book of the Rewards of Life—Liber
vitae meritorum, trans. Bruce W. Hozeski. New York: Gar-
land, 1994.
Hildegard of Bingen. Scivias, trans. Mother Columba Hart and
Jane Bishop. New York: Paulist Press, 1990.
Klaes, Monica. Vita Sanctae Hildegardis. CCCM 126. Turnhout:
Brepols, 1993 [Latin “Life”].
Lewis, Gertrud Jaron. Bibliographie zur deutschen Frauenmystik
des Mittelalters. Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag, 1989 [primary
texts, pp. 70–84; secondary sources, pp. 66–70 and 84–145].
Newman, Barbara. From Virile Woman to Woman Christ: Studies
in Medieval Religion and Literature. Philadelphia: University
of Pennsylvania Press, 1995.
van Acker, L. Hildegardis Bingensis Epistolarium. 2 vols. Turn-
hout: Brepols, 1991–1993 [Latin letters].
Gertrud Jaron LewisHILDEGARD VON BINGEN
Saint Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) and the Four Seasons.
From “De Operatione Dei.” Rupertsburg, Germany, 1200 CE.
Codex Latiunm 1942. f.38r. © Scala/Art Resource, New York.