including praying for themselves and others, copying
manuscripts, maintaining libraries and schools, acting
as missionaries to the heathen, preaching to the poor,
and fighting heresy. But in an age when governments
did not provide basic social services, monks and nuns
also worked for society by performing a number of
social welfare services that our governments provide
today.Monasteries often provided both food and clothing
for the poor. Otto of Freising, a German writer of his-
tory in the twelfth century, declared, “There is always a
pious, God-fearing friar sitting [at the gate] receiving
all arriving guests, pilgrims, and poor people, as
friendly and kind-hearted as Christ himself.” Due to a
shortage of inns, monasteries also provided refuge for
pilgrims and other travelers. As the Rule of SaintFI L M HISTORY
Vision(2009)
WRITTEN AND DIRECTEDby Margarethe von Trotta, a
German director well known for her feminist views,
Visionis a cinematic reconstruction of the life of the
twelfth-century nun and mystic Hildegard of Bingen
(Barbara Sukowa). The movie follows her life from her
initial entry as a young girl into a Benedictine monastery
at Disibodenberg in western Germany through her
career as abbess of a convent at Rupertsberg.
The film is a realistic portrayal of Hildegard’s life and
her many accomplishments. She wrote Gregorian chants,
parts of which form the background music for the film,
and one scene shows the nuns of her convent
performing her playOrdo Virtutum(Play of the Virtues)
for a visiting abbess. Hildegard’s preoccupation with
books is evident in her philosophical, theological, and
scientific interests. She was active as a healer, making
good use of her extensive knowledge of herbal
remedies. Her mystical visions, in which she claimed to
receive the “living light,” or a direct message from
God, were written down in three books.
The film captures the complicated nature of a
world in which money and politics often collided with
sincere religious impulses. The twelfth-century
religious world is depicted as an environment
dominated by men, who pursue political and financial
as well as religious goals. It was also a time of fear and
superstition. In the film, Hildegard’s male superiors
often remind her that her visions may be from the
devil instead of God.
Hildegard is presented—rightly or wrongly—in
very human terms as capable of cynically using her
near-death experiences and mystical ecstasies for
political and even selfish purposes to gain benefits for
herself and her nuns. Portrayed as politically astute,
she appears quite capable of appealing to and evenmanipulating powerful individuals to gain favors,
including the construction of a new convent for her nuns
at Rupertsberg.
Called “one of the greatest intellectuals and mystics
of the west,” Hildegard of Bingen stands out as an
unusual woman in the twelfth century. Indeed, the film
presents Hildegard as the forerunner of the modern,
liberated woman. When reminded of her vow of
absolute obedience to her superiors, she responds, “It is
our divine right to decide our own fate.”Visionalso
portrays Hildegard as an early practitioner of holistic
medicine, not only in her use of herbal medicines, but
also in her promotion of music as an instrument in
healing. As she says, “Music can heal wounds and the
soul.”Hildegard of Bingen (Barbara Sukowa) collects herbs in a convent
garden in Rupertsberg, Germanyª
Zeitgeist Films/Courtesy The Everett Collection, Inc.236 Chapter 10 The Rise of Kingdoms and the Growth of Church PowerCopyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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