Selected Writings

by Hildegard von Bingen, Mark Atherton (Translator)

Benedictine nun, poet and musician, Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was one of the most remarkable figures of the Middle Ages. She undertook preaching tours throughout the German empire at the age of sixty, and was consulted not only by her religious contemporaries but also by kings and emperors, yet it is largely for her apocalyptic and mystical writings that she is remembered. This volume includes selections from her three visionary works, her treatises on medicine and the natural world, her devotional songs, and fascinating letters to prominent figures of her time. Dealing with such eternal subjects as the relationship between humans and nature, and men and women, Hildegard's works show her to be a wide-ranging thinker who created such fresh, startling images and ideas that her writings have been compared to Dante and Blake.

Genres: Philosophy, Religion, Nonfiction, Classics, Medieval, History, Theology

356 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

born circa 1098

People revered Saint Hildegard von Bingen, German nun, composer, and a visionary, during her own lifetime; she set her poems to music and also wrote works on medicine and natural history.

People also knew this philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, and polymath as Sibyl of the Rhine. Her fellows elected her as a magistra in 1136; she founded the monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150 and Eibingen in 1165. The Ordo Virtutum exemplifies early liturgical drama.

Her theological and botanical texts, letters, liturgical songs, and arguably the oldest morality play, well survive; she meanwhile supervised brilliant miniature Illuminations.

Reviews

[vinnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

sometimes it’s just you and your yonic symbolism against the world

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hildegard of Bingen is an absolutely wonderful writer to read, and she's one of those rare historical figures who manage to really pop out of their historical context and attain a sort of reality all their own. Her areas of interest touch on theology, mysticism, current events, nature, medicine, linguistics and music. She was in touch with (and often gave orders to) nearly all the major figures of her time. Her writing is clear and lyrical, and she has a very distinctive sort of mysticism that's very vivid and visual, focused especially on greenness, nature, and growth. Everyone should read one of her works at some point in time.

That said, I'm not sure I'd really recommend this edition. It's nice for an overview, but the selections it pulls tend to be really brief and jump around all over the place, so it's hard to get really into any of her works. I'd recommend instead Scivias for a good edition of her visions or Hildegard of Bingen's Book of Divine Works: With Letters and Songs. If you're interested in her medical writings, go with Hildegard von Bingen's Physica: The Complete English Translation of Her Classic Work on Health and Healing, and if you'd like to see how she interacted with other players of the period take a look at The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen, Vol. 1.

[David Gustafson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gregorian chant has often been my background music of choice while playing around in the kitchen, especially when baking bread, so it was only a matter of time before I bumped into the 12th century nun, mystic, visionary, writer, lecturer, herbalist and composer, Hildegard von Bingen.

If you are a history adventurer longing to enter deep into the mindset of the middle ages, this selection of writings from one of its most influential females will unlock that secret doorway more than a crack or two, giving you a well-deserved respite from the woes of the 21st century.

As a preview of coming attractions to put yourself in the proper mood, you might click on some of Hildegard von Bingen’s wonderful musical selections available on YouTube.

[Mikolajl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascnating read. From incredible visions (some say inspired by God), through religious interpratations to beautiful letters.

Gives a lot of insight into the life of this intersting and talented woman. But also into the life and customs of the times she lived in (the XII-th century).

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up from a free library box across the street from my apartment, creased, dog eared, already covered in annotations. One of the best tricks I've picked up for generating ideas is to periodically read text from a different, and preferably somewhat randomly chosen era, whether that be the 1970s or the 12th century Holy Roman Empire.

This is a deeply weird book, and Hildegard was a deeply weird woman. She experienced by her own account many visions from God throughout her long and stories life in various abbeys and on the road. She was a woman of considerable intelligence and sensitivity and, as the translator suggests, had to dress those qualities up in divinity to avoid the structures of being a woman in the 12th century.

Much of what she writes is vividly drawn nonsense, but unmistakably compelling. Perhaps this is a friendly translation, but the book is not a difficult read at all, moving quickly and lightly between different registers of her work, and even including some letters written from and to her, and a small chunk of a contemporary-ish account of her life.

As a small coda, Hildegard is held in very high regard by one particular set of contemporary people: practitioners of alternative medicine. The woman loved a healing crystal every bit as much as a Marin County mother does.

[Morgan Djuna Sorais Harrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always felt drawn to Saint Hildegard of Bingen after seeing a book of her journal entries when I was 6. Her writings are beautiful and knowledgeable. I love what she has to say about nature and medicine.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this one up as preparation for a class I'm teaching at my church, as together we review Hildegard's writings, her life...and her music.

Mostly her music, which is just so radiantly glorious, ethereal and mystic in the best possible way.

The book is a solid resource, a good overview of her writings, well selected and...hmmm.

It's a wee bit dry, in the way of much scholarly writing. It's also, um. How to put this? It's not hagiographic. Meaning, you see all of Hildegard, and all of Hildegard is "interesting," but perhaps not in the way I'd anticipated. Meaning, there's a bunch of stuff in there that's waaaaay esoteric. Because she was that way, being medieval and all.

The gemstones-are-magic stuff, for example. It's...er...let's just say that's not particularly useful in my Christian walk. And her oracles offered to political leaders? Hmmm.

That's not a liability of the book, but rather my perhaps overinflated and culturally mediated expectations.

A three point five. And the music? Wow. Still just wow.

[crackmybacc · Rating 5 out of 5]

God I love her. What an interesting way to look at the soul and femininity

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book came into my life in an appropriately mysterious way - my sister found it on the street and gave it to me since she knew I was a Hildergard devotee - I even have a tattoo!
Despite that I’ve not read any of her famous writings. This is a collection of excerpts, not in chronological order but by genre, of her work and letters.
Oh my god is medieval spiritual writing hard to read though… I ended up slogging through her visions, and theological writings but enjoyed how snappy, political and personal her letters were, also definitely supported my Lesbian Nun theories . Also a whole mysterious section on how different colour stones are made and will heal you that is so extravagantly wrong… you could write anything in 1209!
This is for real medieval heads !

[Joe Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible writings of an inspiring Christian Mystic.
Highly recommended.

It you love Hildegard, please visit
http://www.hildegardchristianmystic.com

Thank you.

God bless,

[Trunks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hildegard always blows my mind!

If you are looking for Hildegard stuff
check out this awesome website:
http://www.hildegardchristianmystic.com

Peace & love,

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I love Hildegard, but I’m not sure this was a particularly great selected works.

[Amelia and John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hildegard was a brilliant saint. In a tradition where theology is often articulated by men, Hildegard is one of the innumerable women who took the Church by storm with her teachings, bringing her words to bishops and popes.

The way she sees God is very edifying. She sees God as life, animating and vitalizing creation. This is why she makes greenness a motif throughout her works, seeing creation in terms of growth and organic life.

Her visions of God portray a God who is concerned with the matters of today, with the purity of one’s soul, and a God who is very much the creator and sustainer of nature. It is interesting that there are sections in which she devotes her teachings to actual science. At the time, she spoke on herbs and rocks that contained healing capacities and powers, though unlike modern New Age spiritualities, their powers came from and only because of God. That’s just one example of how she saw creation as imbued with God’s divine life.

[Reading Through the Lists · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Penguin edition offers a decent cross-section of Hildegard’s copious body of work, drawing from her three major works as well as her letters, songs, and her hagiography. It certainly sparked my curiosity and wonder; now I need to track down the full edition of Scivias.

My only substantial complaint in this volume is that the letters are divided in such a way that the requests and the responses are located in different sections of the book--thus you read Hildegard’s answer before you read what the original author was requesting. It’s an odd choice--I would have preferred the request and response to be together in the text--but not a serious impediment.

4.5 stars.

[Brian Hutzell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th Century nun, was a fascinating woman. In addition to writing on many diverse subjects, she also composed dramas and music. She even invented her own language! This book barely scratches the surface of her work. The organization of the book also feels a little random, and sometimes quite disjointed, as when correspondence is broken up. I would also welcome more thorough biographical information.

[Aaron Schuschu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, what I like about it is my usual spiel about monks and nuns in the Middle Ages. Plus I read Hildegard's Illuminations for my German- Israel Relations class in college, so there's that. I'm acquainted with her whole thing.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Love the music she created back in 1150's but I am not a religious person at all. I could not get through this book and take it seriously when it is 2024 and we know a lot of these things are debunked. I will stick to the music she created.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for being slightly out of date and not enough poetry for my taste. :P

[Zac Hawkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enlightening, if eclectic and uneven selection of mystical aphorisms and prayers.

[kristen tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5
read excerpts for hum

[hana · Rating 4 out of 5]

read half of it for university, loved it! only didn't finish it since the library wanted it back, but i really do want to complete it!

[Sarah Hazelrig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, trippy visions of the divine mixed in with lots of weird medieval names? Sign me up.

[cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

They hate it when you serve sickly woman who has a more intimate relationship with God that the male leaders of the Church at the time 😣

[P.S. Beckmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hildegard von Bingen, the Sybil of the Rhine, was a 12th century nun and Christian mystic. Mark Atherton's translation seems to preserve the authenticity of her medieval musings without attempting to convert the phrasing to accommodate modern readers. I read the book to gain insight into the mind, thoughts, and emotions of a historical character, and Mr. Atherton's translation didn't get in the way of that. His introduction was helpful in that he sets up the modern reader, who may be biased to discredit a medieval prophetess, with an explanation of how a medieval nun's meditative reading could be understood to lead to mystical visions.

During a misogynist period, Hildegard gains extraordinary privilege to comment on politics of the day and to leave the convent to travel and preach. Her musings are intriguing. I didn't find the discography of her music as fascinating. My interest was piqued by her thoughtful musings, very intentional, never rambling, on subjects ranging from the mysteries of God, thunder and lightning, the sun and moon, the cosmos, and the healing power of sapphires. Scattered throughout the excerpts are also wonderful allegories that give meaningful insight into the mind of a 12th century nun.

[Vincent · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very tedious, repetitive read. However, I am a firm believer in reading and judging a work within the context in which it was written, and for that I can appreciate how revolutionary Hildegard of Bingen was for her time. In fact, many feminist historians trace the roots of modern feminism to Hildegard, who commanded the respect of popes and bishops, composed music, and wrote treatises on natural history and medicinal plants. But she is most famous for her visions which she claimed were delivered from God, but were most likely the result of chronic migraines and a vivid imagination. She collected these in her Scivias around 1152, following each with an inspired interpretation regarding their divine symbolism.

The Ways of the Lord, published by HarperOne, is a selective collection of the Scivias, and makes for an odd book. Hildegard’s psychedelic visions are given little explanation or context besides a short forward by former NASA engineer Homer Hickam, most famous for his book Rocket Boys: A Memoir, which was the basis for the film “October Sky”. It is never clear why Hickam is chosen to introduce this book or what his connection or expertise is in regards to medieval feminine mysticism. Though he states that her contributions to feminism will be clear by reading her Scivias, it is instead revealed in her biography, which receives little detail here.

As for the visions themselves, if you are a reader who enjoys Catholic theology or apologetics, or are prone to believe in the divine inspiration of Hildegard, you may find the Scivias compelling. However, I do not count myself in any of those groups. The Ways of the Lord gave me some insight into medieval mysticism, but my eyes blurred and struggled their way through most of it.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hildegard of Bingen is one of those rare individuals that people of different ideologies try to claim as one of their own. She is held in esteem by feminists who consider her a proto-feminist and yet is also acclaimed by the Catholic Church as a Doctor of the Church.

This volume contains a representative sample of her many writings on numerous subjects, and the quality of the material varies based on subject and form. The songs are quite beautiful (It's not hard to see why numerous discs of her music have been recorded), the treatises on science read as awkward and sometimes embarrassing by their out-dated information, the letters have a historical curiosity for those interested in her life and often reflect her own visions and teachings. But through it all, one comes across recurring images and certain idiosyncrasies in her language.

Objectively speaking, I guess this should be rated as 3 stars out of 5. However, because I have a bit of interest in St. Hildegard of Bingen, I found the collection to be quite interesting (Even though I found myself skipping pages in the sections on gemstones) and consequently rated it higher than I would have were it somebody else.

[Johanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mostly enjoyed readin of her life's story, and how others percieved her-
Among her visions there were certain passages of interest - and the imagery was interesting too, in most cases.

It was interesting to read of the thoughts around the planets, and how the sun, the moon, and the rain "works" - but I believe that would have been more "common" 12th century thought than exactly her own..

The one thing that struck me was at the end of the book, where there is retold the instance in which her parents decide to oblate her to the church - after she apparently could see/predict what the calf of a pregnant cow would look like (pattern wise). To me... would this have been 400 years later, this prediction would have been -far- off anything suggesting divine grace.. more likely the opposite.

It really tells a lot how view points change-- nothing never stays the same -- which perhaps is a good thing.

[Caspar "moved to storygraph" Bryant]

Hildy's here what a lady there's a sprinkling here for everybody we have mysticism all through and a lovely schooling in the interpretation of visions as well as some decidedly queer happenings from our Sibyl. She is remarkable and I think the translation serves her prose (accessible! Very!) well.

I suppose the main draw here is the content of HvB's visions themselves - the best known likely being the cosmic 'egg'. Atherton delivers though I did finish and wonder how accessible Scivias is (and how huge?) because it does precisely what we want.

Beautiful beautiful things here much to be loved

[Matthew Richey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this... I really did. The mystics just do not resonate with me. I read them every once in a while, kind of hoping they will. This reminded me of the Shepherd of Hermas (which I also did not like). If you liked that, you may like this. I did not.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good overview for the curious, but I strongly encourage that one read her full works.