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Hildegard of Bingen: The Woman of her Age
Best known today as a fine composer, the twelfth-century German abbess Hildegard of Bingen was also a religious leader and visionary, a poet, naturalist and writer of medical treatises. Despite her cloistered life she had strong, often controversial views on sex, love and marriage too - a woman astonishing in her own age, whose book of apocalyptic visions, Scivias, would alone have been enough to ensure her lasting fame.
In this classic and highly praised biography - first published by Headline in 2001 - distinguished writer and journalist, Fiona Maddocks, draws on Hildegard's prolific writings to paint a portrait of her extraordinary life against the turbulent medieval background of crusade and schism, scientific discovery and cultural revolution. The great intellectual gifts and forceful character that emerge make her as fascinating as any figure in the Middle Ages.
More than 800 years after her death, Pope Benedict XVI has made Hildegard a Saint and a Doctor of the Church (one of only four women). Fiona Maddocks has provided a short new preface to cover these tributes to an extraordinary and exceptional woman.
In this classic and highly praised biography - first published by Headline in 2001 - distinguished writer and journalist, Fiona Maddocks, draws on Hildegard's prolific writings to paint a portrait of her extraordinary life against the turbulent medieval background of crusade and schism, scientific discovery and cultural revolution. The great intellectual gifts and forceful character that emerge make her as fascinating as any figure in the Middle Ages.
More than 800 years after her death, Pope Benedict XVI has made Hildegard a Saint and a Doctor of the Church (one of only four women). Fiona Maddocks has provided a short new preface to cover these tributes to an extraordinary and exceptional woman.
332 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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May 4, 2019A careful and methodical book about Hildegard of Bingen, perfect if, as I was, you are in the condition of knowing her name but not much more and desired to learn a bit more than what one can read on the internet.
The most interesting point to emerge for me was that Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) despite being dead for a fair while and relatively well known as an author, composer, and possibly even a saint, is relatively understudied, there are apparently no critical editions of her works (in Latin in accordance with the spirit of the times), let alone complete translations into modern languages, as a result analysis of her works is fairly limited, but this is all in passing. Maddocks, a music journalist, aims to give a careful, sober, account of her life, drawing mainly on saint's lives, both hers and that of her mentor Jutta of Sponheim. Here one notices how methodical Maddocks' approach is, Hildegard's vita had multiple (male) authors or rather different men took up the pen at different stages and worked on it, Maddock's is rather interested in picking this part, in appreciating the differences between the colourful and gossipy Guibert of Gembloux and the respectful and admiring Volmar.
Biographical bit
In brief Hildegard was born to the noble family in the Rhineland, at an early age she was ear marked for the church and was paired up with the aforementioned Jutta (the two families had a well established connection), the two joined a male Bendictine monastery – there not being a suitable women’s Abbey in the region – at Disbodenberg (also in the Rhineland) the very young ladies (both perhaps teenagers, or maybe only Jutta was while Hildegard might have been as young as eight were anchorites – they lived on the monastery site but had a separate cell to live in, in fact they were bricked into their cell perhaps with a couple of other girls, with only a window for food and clothing to go in and waste products to come out. Jutta was responsible for Hildegard's education, it is unclear how well she learnt Latin, later the monk Volmar working as her secretary may have translated her from German to Latin at the same time as writing down her words. This life was even less jolly than it sounds as Jutta liked to mortify her own flesh, strictly limit her calorie intake and generally maintained an austere regime, eventually she succeeded in dying before the age of fifty, at which point Hildegard emerges from the shadows particularly as a prophetess and seer, she got to speak at a regional synod before the Pope and the Archbishop and was officially approved of as having church sanctioned visions. She and Jutta had made enough of a name for themselves that quite a few young women had been attracted to Disbodenberg to join the community in return for fat dowries ( these would have been properties rather than cold hard cash) which improved the financial situation of the monastery and generally made the Abbot happy even if they didn’t have co-educational facilities and he had to deal with the wayward and visionary Hildegard. However Hildegard broke away with the women and founded a new abbey at Bingen at the confluence of three rivers (1151). Nothing of this abbey remains today – it was destroyed by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years war and then it was more thoroughly destroyed by the Prussians during the nineteenth century as part of railway construction, a sister institution on the opposite bank of the Rhine for women of lower social status lasted a bit longer, but also no longer exists today.
Anyhow founding this new Abbey started a long running conflict with Disbodenberg as Hildegard carried off not only the women, their dowries, but also needed some of their men since the Catholic church even then did not allow women to become Priests. Luckily one of her supporters gifted the Abbey a toll on the river which provided them with cash flow to keep them going and they also earnt money through saying prayers for the dead buried within their grounds. That is basically the story of her life, in addition she composed books and music, as well as conducting correspondences with various worthies, the good and the great of twelfth century Europe.
more general observations
The case of Elisabeth of Schönau (pp.138-143) illustrates some of the difficulties of 'coming out' as prophet at the time, Hildegard had appealed to the Pope and the Archbishop of Mainz, Elisabeth appealed to Hildegard. Hildegard wrote a massive book of prophecies called Scivias illustrated with amazing full colour pictures, the autograph manuscript didn’t survive WWII, but there is a pre-war copy. Elisabeth was managed more cunningly by her brother (a monk) who as her scribe wrote down her visions as well as copying them and publicising them, as a result they survive in 145 MSS, although Elisabeth apparently resented the whole business, not caring for the twelfth century media circus. Hildegard herself was careful to stress that she had her visions while awake and in decent and seemly circumstances. Elisabeth said that she only went public with her own visions after an angel threatened to beat her.
In modern times, it has been thought that Hildegard's visions might have been linked to migraine, as it happened Hildegard also wrote a medical book, although she mentions migraine she didn’t describe herself as a sufferer. I am interested in the meaning of illness to the individual and society as in the case of Margery Kempe, but then again her visions may not have been related to her poor health. Maddocks devotes a fair amount of space to Hildegard’s discussion of people divided into the four humours (oddly dovetailed into their astrological star sign) but curiously detailing the sexual and reproductive aspects of this: the quality of sperm and erections in men, the likelihood of conception and maternal feeling in women (pp.163-183) The melancholy woman for example might conceive up to the age of fifty, while the choleric man has (fittingly) fierce erections and has sex ferociously – but only because, Hildegard tells us, he is so angry with women. This is all a bit curious, and is a reflection of how little we know about her and her inspirations, the contents of the libraries at either of her institutions are unknown and nor has anyone apparently worked backwards and searched through texts that she might have drawn on, it’s hard to imagine her conducting field work on human sexuality, even allowing for some of the nun’s joining the Abbey as widows.
Curiously apparently a fair deal is known about the library available to Hrotsvit of Gandersheim, another medieval German woman writer, active about a century before Hildegard.
Although Maddocks is a music journalist, she didn’t I feel have anything much interesting to state about the music, she instead picks up on the question of being a composer suggesting that we might understand her better as a Walt Disney type figure, setting the pitch and maintain the tone but not drawing and colouring every cell.
It was hard to understand quite what Hildegard might have been about, she spoke in favour of Church reform – but what might that have meant to a woman whose experience of the church was limited to service in one monastery and an Abbey, intending a synod and going late in life on a preaching tour, she backed the Pope against the emperor in their ongoing conflict yet supported secular authority over church lands – which was a complex position to hold in the so called investiture struggle – but then of course she would have had no access to text books, monographs or journal articles to understand the conflict between Popes and emperors as well as we can today.
In terms of reform she was herself a wayward leader (never apparently even formally made an Abbess, she seems to have assumed the role and title by virtue of founding an abbey, a complaint repeated several times about her regime was that she had her nuns grow their hair long , contrary to the rule which required the hair to be shorn regularly, the better to represent their virgin virtue, and also to wear some sort of decorative mini-crown or tiara. One imagines Hildegard as an aristocratic figure, determined to do things her own way irrespective of rules and traditions, so I imagine her conception of 'church Reform' would have been similarly idiosyncratic, although Maddows tries to link this to the reaction against heretical movements like the Cathars (who were active for a while in the Rhineland).
Hildegard was a great letter writer but it seems as though she was the one who initiated most of these connections, making contact with Bernard of Clairvoux and other luminaries. Much of this is obscure, for example she got into a quarrel shortly before her death with the chapter of the bishopric of Mainz over the alleged burial of an ex-communicate in her abbey, three letters survive relating to this, none of which mention the name of the deceased.
Hildegard emerges as lucky and unlucky, lucky in that her career was completed before the great rise of the universities which shut women out of discourse on learned subjects, on the other hand as she died the Papacy was asserting control over the process of canonisation. Had she been officially accepted as a saint shortly after her death, more material connected with her life would certainly have been preserved.
It is a careful book and readable, it comes across as though she takes the reader though the same footsteps of discovery as she made herself. If her book raises more questions than it can answer that is a reflection of the obscurity even relative to her own time of Hildegard herself.
The most interesting point to emerge for me was that Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) despite being dead for a fair while and relatively well known as an author, composer, and possibly even a saint, is relatively understudied, there are apparently no critical editions of her works (in Latin in accordance with the spirit of the times), let alone complete translations into modern languages, as a result analysis of her works is fairly limited, but this is all in passing. Maddocks, a music journalist, aims to give a careful, sober, account of her life, drawing mainly on saint's lives, both hers and that of her mentor Jutta of Sponheim. Here one notices how methodical Maddocks' approach is, Hildegard's vita had multiple (male) authors or rather different men took up the pen at different stages and worked on it, Maddock's is rather interested in picking this part, in appreciating the differences between the colourful and gossipy Guibert of Gembloux and the respectful and admiring Volmar.
Biographical bit
In brief Hildegard was born to the noble family in the Rhineland, at an early age she was ear marked for the church and was paired up with the aforementioned Jutta (the two families had a well established connection), the two joined a male Bendictine monastery – there not being a suitable women’s Abbey in the region – at Disbodenberg (also in the Rhineland) the very young ladies (both perhaps teenagers, or maybe only Jutta was while Hildegard might have been as young as eight were anchorites – they lived on the monastery site but had a separate cell to live in, in fact they were bricked into their cell perhaps with a couple of other girls, with only a window for food and clothing to go in and waste products to come out. Jutta was responsible for Hildegard's education, it is unclear how well she learnt Latin, later the monk Volmar working as her secretary may have translated her from German to Latin at the same time as writing down her words. This life was even less jolly than it sounds as Jutta liked to mortify her own flesh, strictly limit her calorie intake and generally maintained an austere regime, eventually she succeeded in dying before the age of fifty, at which point Hildegard emerges from the shadows particularly as a prophetess and seer, she got to speak at a regional synod before the Pope and the Archbishop and was officially approved of as having church sanctioned visions. She and Jutta had made enough of a name for themselves that quite a few young women had been attracted to Disbodenberg to join the community in return for fat dowries ( these would have been properties rather than cold hard cash) which improved the financial situation of the monastery and generally made the Abbot happy even if they didn’t have co-educational facilities and he had to deal with the wayward and visionary Hildegard. However Hildegard broke away with the women and founded a new abbey at Bingen at the confluence of three rivers (1151). Nothing of this abbey remains today – it was destroyed by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years war and then it was more thoroughly destroyed by the Prussians during the nineteenth century as part of railway construction, a sister institution on the opposite bank of the Rhine for women of lower social status lasted a bit longer, but also no longer exists today.
Anyhow founding this new Abbey started a long running conflict with Disbodenberg as Hildegard carried off not only the women, their dowries, but also needed some of their men since the Catholic church even then did not allow women to become Priests. Luckily one of her supporters gifted the Abbey a toll on the river which provided them with cash flow to keep them going and they also earnt money through saying prayers for the dead buried within their grounds. That is basically the story of her life, in addition she composed books and music, as well as conducting correspondences with various worthies, the good and the great of twelfth century Europe.
more general observations
The case of Elisabeth of Schönau (pp.138-143) illustrates some of the difficulties of 'coming out' as prophet at the time, Hildegard had appealed to the Pope and the Archbishop of Mainz, Elisabeth appealed to Hildegard. Hildegard wrote a massive book of prophecies called Scivias illustrated with amazing full colour pictures, the autograph manuscript didn’t survive WWII, but there is a pre-war copy. Elisabeth was managed more cunningly by her brother (a monk) who as her scribe wrote down her visions as well as copying them and publicising them, as a result they survive in 145 MSS, although Elisabeth apparently resented the whole business, not caring for the twelfth century media circus. Hildegard herself was careful to stress that she had her visions while awake and in decent and seemly circumstances. Elisabeth said that she only went public with her own visions after an angel threatened to beat her.
In modern times, it has been thought that Hildegard's visions might have been linked to migraine, as it happened Hildegard also wrote a medical book, although she mentions migraine she didn’t describe herself as a sufferer. I am interested in the meaning of illness to the individual and society as in the case of Margery Kempe, but then again her visions may not have been related to her poor health. Maddocks devotes a fair amount of space to Hildegard’s discussion of people divided into the four humours (oddly dovetailed into their astrological star sign) but curiously detailing the sexual and reproductive aspects of this: the quality of sperm and erections in men, the likelihood of conception and maternal feeling in women (pp.163-183) The melancholy woman for example might conceive up to the age of fifty, while the choleric man has (fittingly) fierce erections and has sex ferociously – but only because, Hildegard tells us, he is so angry with women. This is all a bit curious, and is a reflection of how little we know about her and her inspirations, the contents of the libraries at either of her institutions are unknown and nor has anyone apparently worked backwards and searched through texts that she might have drawn on, it’s hard to imagine her conducting field work on human sexuality, even allowing for some of the nun’s joining the Abbey as widows.
Curiously apparently a fair deal is known about the library available to Hrotsvit of Gandersheim, another medieval German woman writer, active about a century before Hildegard.
Although Maddocks is a music journalist, she didn’t I feel have anything much interesting to state about the music, she instead picks up on the question of being a composer suggesting that we might understand her better as a Walt Disney type figure, setting the pitch and maintain the tone but not drawing and colouring every cell.
It was hard to understand quite what Hildegard might have been about, she spoke in favour of Church reform – but what might that have meant to a woman whose experience of the church was limited to service in one monastery and an Abbey, intending a synod and going late in life on a preaching tour, she backed the Pope against the emperor in their ongoing conflict yet supported secular authority over church lands – which was a complex position to hold in the so called investiture struggle – but then of course she would have had no access to text books, monographs or journal articles to understand the conflict between Popes and emperors as well as we can today.
In terms of reform she was herself a wayward leader (never apparently even formally made an Abbess, she seems to have assumed the role and title by virtue of founding an abbey, a complaint repeated several times about her regime was that she had her nuns grow their hair long , contrary to the rule which required the hair to be shorn regularly, the better to represent their virgin virtue, and also to wear some sort of decorative mini-crown or tiara. One imagines Hildegard as an aristocratic figure, determined to do things her own way irrespective of rules and traditions, so I imagine her conception of 'church Reform' would have been similarly idiosyncratic, although Maddows tries to link this to the reaction against heretical movements like the Cathars (who were active for a while in the Rhineland).
Hildegard was a great letter writer but it seems as though she was the one who initiated most of these connections, making contact with Bernard of Clairvoux and other luminaries. Much of this is obscure, for example she got into a quarrel shortly before her death with the chapter of the bishopric of Mainz over the alleged burial of an ex-communicate in her abbey, three letters survive relating to this, none of which mention the name of the deceased.
Hildegard emerges as lucky and unlucky, lucky in that her career was completed before the great rise of the universities which shut women out of discourse on learned subjects, on the other hand as she died the Papacy was asserting control over the process of canonisation. Had she been officially accepted as a saint shortly after her death, more material connected with her life would certainly have been preserved.
It is a careful book and readable, it comes across as though she takes the reader though the same footsteps of discovery as she made herself. If her book raises more questions than it can answer that is a reflection of the obscurity even relative to her own time of Hildegard herself.
August 4, 2017
This is a well-researched and level-headed treatment of the life, work and legacy of Hildegard of Bingen. She is best known, perhaps, for her music, but she accomplished much in her life and was learned in many areas. She was a mystic, a prophet, a healer, an artist and a scientist of sorts; she actually invented her own language. She corresponded with clerics, monks, saints, popes and emperors, and even went on preaching tours!
Destined for the religious life from a young age, she accepted her vocation at fourteen (according to Maddocks' best guess, but scholars have varying opinions on that particular detail). At first she was under the tutelage of Jutta of Sponheim, who also had a reputation for sanctity. When she was older, she became mistress of a group of nuns (although technically not an abbess). The accomodations at Disibodenberg eventually became too crowded (it actually belonged to a group of monks) so she decided to move her nuns to a new location, Rupertsberg. This did not happen without some trouble and controversy; however, she managed it and eventually the new convent flourished.
Like all figures of note, she had her devotees and her detractors, but she gained the support of Pope Eugene III and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, among others. She was often very ill, and suffered from migraines and other grievous complaints. The migraines were probably a contributing factor to her visions, which she eventually recorded with the help of a monk, Volmar, who became a good friend. These visions were very vivid, and apocalyptic in nature. But she also wrote on other topics, such as flora and fauna, medicine and even sexuality.
Despite her religious duties and her frequent illnesses, she maintained a voluminous correspondence with many people. Some of these wrote asking for prayers and healing, while others wrote out of curiosity, asking her to answer convoluted theological questions. Still others wrote to complain or to admonish her, but she had plenty to say in return--especially when she did not get her way. She thought nothing of threatening people with divine retribution if they did not do what she believed God wanted them to do! Luckily, she was also known for kindness and compassion, and she was able to forgive those who opposed her once the argument had been settled.
After she died, there were several attempts to canonize her, but these were not immediately successful. At the time Maddocks was writing this book, Hildegard was venerated in her locality, but not by the Catholic Church as a whole. However, in May 2012, she was finally declared a saint by Pope Benedict XIV. In October of the same year, she also became one of the few women to bear the title "Doctor of the Church."
In modern times, Hildegard has been rediscovered and co-opted by many people and groups with widely varying agendas. One very special case is that of Matthew Fox, who interprets her works in terms of his own esoteric spirituality. She is considered a hero by many feminists, but Maddocks issues the caveat that she was not exactly a feminist in the modern sense of the term. She is now famed for her music and her art but this has not come without difficulty.
What we can say is that she was a woman of her time. But by using her abilities and knowledge in many different areas, she accomplished great things and made a lasting mark on history, culture and spirituality.
Destined for the religious life from a young age, she accepted her vocation at fourteen (according to Maddocks' best guess, but scholars have varying opinions on that particular detail). At first she was under the tutelage of Jutta of Sponheim, who also had a reputation for sanctity. When she was older, she became mistress of a group of nuns (although technically not an abbess). The accomodations at Disibodenberg eventually became too crowded (it actually belonged to a group of monks) so she decided to move her nuns to a new location, Rupertsberg. This did not happen without some trouble and controversy; however, she managed it and eventually the new convent flourished.
Like all figures of note, she had her devotees and her detractors, but she gained the support of Pope Eugene III and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, among others. She was often very ill, and suffered from migraines and other grievous complaints. The migraines were probably a contributing factor to her visions, which she eventually recorded with the help of a monk, Volmar, who became a good friend. These visions were very vivid, and apocalyptic in nature. But she also wrote on other topics, such as flora and fauna, medicine and even sexuality.
Despite her religious duties and her frequent illnesses, she maintained a voluminous correspondence with many people. Some of these wrote asking for prayers and healing, while others wrote out of curiosity, asking her to answer convoluted theological questions. Still others wrote to complain or to admonish her, but she had plenty to say in return--especially when she did not get her way. She thought nothing of threatening people with divine retribution if they did not do what she believed God wanted them to do! Luckily, she was also known for kindness and compassion, and she was able to forgive those who opposed her once the argument had been settled.
After she died, there were several attempts to canonize her, but these were not immediately successful. At the time Maddocks was writing this book, Hildegard was venerated in her locality, but not by the Catholic Church as a whole. However, in May 2012, she was finally declared a saint by Pope Benedict XIV. In October of the same year, she also became one of the few women to bear the title "Doctor of the Church."
In modern times, Hildegard has been rediscovered and co-opted by many people and groups with widely varying agendas. One very special case is that of Matthew Fox, who interprets her works in terms of his own esoteric spirituality. She is considered a hero by many feminists, but Maddocks issues the caveat that she was not exactly a feminist in the modern sense of the term. She is now famed for her music and her art but this has not come without difficulty.
What we can say is that she was a woman of her time. But by using her abilities and knowledge in many different areas, she accomplished great things and made a lasting mark on history, culture and spirituality.
March 5, 2013
Pros: clear, easy to read biography, warnings against drawing conclusions without sufficient information, examples from contemporaries to explain medieval thought and give context for Hildegard's actions and/or what may have happened to her when information is scarce
Cons: the introduction and conclusion gave a lot more information about the modern state of the cult of Hildegard than I was interested in
Fiona Maddocks takes historical sources to piece together Hildegard of Bingen's life. Her prose is engaging and, though scholarly, easy to read. She obviously knows modern interpretations of Hildegard's life and works, mentioning them in her book while at the same time cautioning modern readers against looking at Hildegard's actions with a feminist/lesbian slant. Hildegard was very much a woman of her time and there isn't enough evidence to make such conclusions (while at the same time understanding that this doesn't mean such conclusions are wrong).
For times when the information about Hildegard herself is scarce (her childhood for example), Maddocks mentions stories and writings of contemporaries who would have had similar experiences. For example, there is some doubt that Hildegard joined the monestary at the age of 8 but there are other cases when boys and girls of similar ages in Medieval times felt called to serve their God behind walls, so it's not unheard of that she could have come to her vocation early, especially knowing her parents had promised her to the church.
I was unaware of just how much Hildegard had written and on how many subjects - the natural world (plants, animals, rocks), music lyrics and notation as well as her visions. Makes me want to read some of her own works now, though Maddocks warns that most of the English translations are by a gentleman who translated them not from the original Latin but from a German translation (meaning you're getting interpretations of someone else's interpretations, compounding whatever translation errors/decisions the previous translator made).
If you want to read about this fascinating woman while maintaining proper historical distance, I highly recommend this book.
Cons: the introduction and conclusion gave a lot more information about the modern state of the cult of Hildegard than I was interested in
Fiona Maddocks takes historical sources to piece together Hildegard of Bingen's life. Her prose is engaging and, though scholarly, easy to read. She obviously knows modern interpretations of Hildegard's life and works, mentioning them in her book while at the same time cautioning modern readers against looking at Hildegard's actions with a feminist/lesbian slant. Hildegard was very much a woman of her time and there isn't enough evidence to make such conclusions (while at the same time understanding that this doesn't mean such conclusions are wrong).
For times when the information about Hildegard herself is scarce (her childhood for example), Maddocks mentions stories and writings of contemporaries who would have had similar experiences. For example, there is some doubt that Hildegard joined the monestary at the age of 8 but there are other cases when boys and girls of similar ages in Medieval times felt called to serve their God behind walls, so it's not unheard of that she could have come to her vocation early, especially knowing her parents had promised her to the church.
I was unaware of just how much Hildegard had written and on how many subjects - the natural world (plants, animals, rocks), music lyrics and notation as well as her visions. Makes me want to read some of her own works now, though Maddocks warns that most of the English translations are by a gentleman who translated them not from the original Latin but from a German translation (meaning you're getting interpretations of someone else's interpretations, compounding whatever translation errors/decisions the previous translator made).
If you want to read about this fascinating woman while maintaining proper historical distance, I highly recommend this book.
September 24, 2014
This book was informative in some ways, and completely lacking in another. First, the good. Maddocks gives a decent overview of Hildegard's life: the progression, the external events, some of her views on external topics (medicine, sexuality, etc.), her interactions with others. If you are looking for a basic summary of Hildegard's life, this isn't a bad place to start. In addition, Maddocks views Hildegard as a real person, and not a perfect saint. No hagiography here, thank the stars. I will warn you, however, if you don't want to receive the impression that Hildegard exhibited preening, self-indulgent, grandiose, and bullying behavior at times, then this isn't the biography for you. I, myself, appreciated the rational view, based on substantiated evidence.
However...
Hildegard is best known (and, really, only known) for her mystical visions. Maddocks almost completely ignores these visions. Other than mentioning that they occurred, she in no way discusses them, analyzes them, incorporates them into the discussion of Hildegard's life, or in any other way dovetails them into the narrative. The omission is absolutely perplexing. It is as if ignoring his music when discussing Mozart, her writing when discussing George Eliot, his painting when discussing Van Gogh... you get the idea. Why on earth would a person write a biography and omit the most important aspect? I have no idea.
However...
Hildegard is best known (and, really, only known) for her mystical visions. Maddocks almost completely ignores these visions. Other than mentioning that they occurred, she in no way discusses them, analyzes them, incorporates them into the discussion of Hildegard's life, or in any other way dovetails them into the narrative. The omission is absolutely perplexing. It is as if ignoring his music when discussing Mozart, her writing when discussing George Eliot, his painting when discussing Van Gogh... you get the idea. Why on earth would a person write a biography and omit the most important aspect? I have no idea.
July 8, 2025
Well well well. What can I say about this book? Was it my irresponsible optimism that would be cause of a supreme waste of my time?
Between the first publication of this book in 2001 and it's re-release, Hildegaard, the anchorite who was given by her parents to religious life at the age of eight, was officially canonised by Benedict, more than eight hundred years after her death. It's possible, voir likely, that investigations into minor historical figures don’t attract the more accomplished or entertaining of scholars, and I guess I should be grateful that anyone picked up the gauntlet to write about a person who was still, up till 2012, very obscure.
Later in the same year, she would be given that fantastical title of “Doctor of the Church” and would spend the rest of her heavenly days fraternising with St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Siena. One would have thought that a doctor of the Church (whether or not we know that she is one) would have had a worthwhile life, or influential writings, or controversial teachings, or world-shattering experiences. In this book I did not read about any of those things.
A lot was written about Hildegard's movements from monastery to the next, the architectural considerations of building those monasteries and the geography of the German landscape, the political atmosphere within vatican of the day, how she was to choose her next secretaries, lots and lots of descriptions of people writing useless and accessory letters to one another.
I read this whole book, over 300 pages of it, and at the end of it all, I know even less about Hildegard than when I started.
This was the portrait of a woman, removed from us by almost a millennium (death 1179), which read very dull. Worse, though ignorant of how it could have been better, I am left with the impression that the fault was the authors’, not Hildegaard. For example, the most important bit, HER ECSTATIC VISIONS, were… well, were they… did she… did the author even really mention them? What were they?! How were they ecstatic? What did Hildegard write about them?! How did she react to them?! How did other people react to them? Are the images and paintings of it accurate?! How have they affected The Church?!
Fiona Maddock’s secondary goal, it seemed, was to identify the most dubious erotic connotations or sexual speculation in Hildegard’s writings or interactionswith women (and sometimes a few men). She spentchapters trying to shock her readers by giving long expositions on excerpts of plants written about by in Curae et Cusae, just as long as they were aphrodisiacs. She described the temperaments that Hildegard described, but only in so far as much as they pertained to bodily excretions or funny fetishes. It was as if she believed that an audience would only be kept reading as long as she could scandalise them in some way. Unfortunately a reader who has gone so far as to select a book about Hildegard von Bingen probably wants to read about just that; Hildegard von Bingen.
The only real moment where the writers’ strength appeared was in the one chapter about music; and to be honest thank goodness, given that this woman is actually a music scholar. She explained, for example, the relative obscurity of Hildegard in musical circles until very very recently, when a sort of mass hysteria overtook people; the fact that she has been named so often “the first woman composer… the first x… the first y…” but that that title is not really applicable or appropriate; and also (amazingly) that as musical notation did not exist, we have absolutely NO IDEA how her pieces would have been sung or performed, and probably neither did the performers until someone got the first note going..
My enthusiasm has been knocked and bruised, but not defeated, to continue searching for biographies of mystical and/or troubled and/or strange (female) saints. The high I was riding post-reading Saint Jean of Arc by Vita Sackville-West is strong enough to carry me through this unfortunate episode.
Between the first publication of this book in 2001 and it's re-release, Hildegaard, the anchorite who was given by her parents to religious life at the age of eight, was officially canonised by Benedict, more than eight hundred years after her death. It's possible, voir likely, that investigations into minor historical figures don’t attract the more accomplished or entertaining of scholars, and I guess I should be grateful that anyone picked up the gauntlet to write about a person who was still, up till 2012, very obscure.
Later in the same year, she would be given that fantastical title of “Doctor of the Church” and would spend the rest of her heavenly days fraternising with St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Siena. One would have thought that a doctor of the Church (whether or not we know that she is one) would have had a worthwhile life, or influential writings, or controversial teachings, or world-shattering experiences. In this book I did not read about any of those things.
A lot was written about Hildegard's movements from monastery to the next, the architectural considerations of building those monasteries and the geography of the German landscape, the political atmosphere within vatican of the day, how she was to choose her next secretaries, lots and lots of descriptions of people writing useless and accessory letters to one another.
I read this whole book, over 300 pages of it, and at the end of it all, I know even less about Hildegard than when I started.
This was the portrait of a woman, removed from us by almost a millennium (death 1179), which read very dull. Worse, though ignorant of how it could have been better, I am left with the impression that the fault was the authors’, not Hildegaard. For example, the most important bit, HER ECSTATIC VISIONS, were… well, were they… did she… did the author even really mention them? What were they?! How were they ecstatic? What did Hildegard write about them?! How did she react to them?! How did other people react to them? Are the images and paintings of it accurate?! How have they affected The Church?!
Fiona Maddock’s secondary goal, it seemed, was to identify the most dubious erotic connotations or sexual speculation in Hildegard’s writings or interactionswith women (and sometimes a few men). She spentchapters trying to shock her readers by giving long expositions on excerpts of plants written about by in Curae et Cusae, just as long as they were aphrodisiacs. She described the temperaments that Hildegard described, but only in so far as much as they pertained to bodily excretions or funny fetishes. It was as if she believed that an audience would only be kept reading as long as she could scandalise them in some way. Unfortunately a reader who has gone so far as to select a book about Hildegard von Bingen probably wants to read about just that; Hildegard von Bingen.
The only real moment where the writers’ strength appeared was in the one chapter about music; and to be honest thank goodness, given that this woman is actually a music scholar. She explained, for example, the relative obscurity of Hildegard in musical circles until very very recently, when a sort of mass hysteria overtook people; the fact that she has been named so often “the first woman composer… the first x… the first y…” but that that title is not really applicable or appropriate; and also (amazingly) that as musical notation did not exist, we have absolutely NO IDEA how her pieces would have been sung or performed, and probably neither did the performers until someone got the first note going..
My enthusiasm has been knocked and bruised, but not defeated, to continue searching for biographies of mystical and/or troubled and/or strange (female) saints. The high I was riding post-reading Saint Jean of Arc by Vita Sackville-West is strong enough to carry me through this unfortunate episode.
“And so many tears did I shed, weeping and weeping, that my tears soaked all the pain and all the bruises of my wounds.”
"Fasting the worthiest form of ascetic vigour"
“The dept and slime of my sin”
(On Cholerics—I’m quite fond of this one) “There are other women who have slender flesh but big bones, moderately sized veins and dense red blood. They are pallid in colouring, prudent and benevolent, and men show them reverence and are afraid of them.”
“Given the circumstance, it is a wonder the women ever ate at all.”
April 29, 2024
I enjoyed this book - it is not an indepth analysis of her visions or music, nor is it an exhaustive biography from start to finish.
The book is a good easy to read entry point into the great Saint Hildegard - written before her canonisation, it covers her life from birth to death in an easy to read format where you can sympathise with her struggles and marvel at her God given achievements.
The book also sensitively covers the fact that St Hildegard was/has been hijacked by the hippies, but the author dispels the rubbish that Hildegard was a liberal feminist who was constantly bashing the patriarchy. She did not - she certainly fought back where there were problems in the Church (as indeed there still are), but she always accepted her obidience to superiors and taught others to do so as well.
I certainly recommend this book as a beginners guide to St Hildegard.
"I saw all this and then - I refused to write. Not out of stubbornness, but out of a sense of my inability, for fear of the scepticism of others, the shrugging of shoulders, and the manifold gossip of mankind, until God's scourge threw me on the bed of illness. There, finally, overcome by much suffering, I set my hand to write" - From Scivias Declaration - Quoted P.49
The book is a good easy to read entry point into the great Saint Hildegard - written before her canonisation, it covers her life from birth to death in an easy to read format where you can sympathise with her struggles and marvel at her God given achievements.
The book also sensitively covers the fact that St Hildegard was/has been hijacked by the hippies, but the author dispels the rubbish that Hildegard was a liberal feminist who was constantly bashing the patriarchy. She did not - she certainly fought back where there were problems in the Church (as indeed there still are), but she always accepted her obidience to superiors and taught others to do so as well.
I certainly recommend this book as a beginners guide to St Hildegard.
"I saw all this and then - I refused to write. Not out of stubbornness, but out of a sense of my inability, for fear of the scepticism of others, the shrugging of shoulders, and the manifold gossip of mankind, until God's scourge threw me on the bed of illness. There, finally, overcome by much suffering, I set my hand to write" - From Scivias Declaration - Quoted P.49
May 13, 2025
There’s gotta be better biographies of St. Hildegard to read… consistent late 90’s early 2000’s preoccupation with being anti “political correctness” plus weird potshots at the feminists. Nauseating British attitude, insane sense of humor (Prince Jokes (“the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince”) that bleed into the footnotes). Rare instance where I wish I had less of a sense of the author’s personality in a nonfic. The info was solid, though.
January 9, 2020
I was aware of Hildegard because I had been in a Hildegard of Bingen choir in Austin, Texas. We sang in Latin and altho I could hear that my choir-mates were sometimes off-key and most of us were not "singers" or in other choirs or music classes, yet somehow it came off beautifully. It was a 6-week course and I attended performances of the Austin Hildy choirs with different groups and it was the same - it sounded terrific.
I am not Catholic, do not view Hildegard as a feminist icon, and I was aware of her contentious personality, so the book was not a disappointment for me as it seems to be for others. As for religion, this is a biography, not a thelogical discussion, but there was plenty of "religion" - petty politics, bishops murdered over greed for power, lack of chastity, self-punishment, guilt, humility and false humility among the clergy. Hildegard abused herself to purge her guilt as well. Her visions were apocalyptic, filled with terrible images. I didn't want to learn more about that.
For me the book was as informative as this short book could be and it was clear that there are very few actual records about Hildegard's life. There is plenty of reference to her visions, but the book is about her life as an abbess, not only her mysticism. There is a question, even, of who actually wrote some of the works attributed to her. But this book is well-written, well-researched, and in places it made me laugh out loud because of the author's wry commentary.
The descriptions of the countryside around Bingen and area of the original monastery as described in the last chapter makes me want to visit.
I am not Catholic, do not view Hildegard as a feminist icon, and I was aware of her contentious personality, so the book was not a disappointment for me as it seems to be for others. As for religion, this is a biography, not a thelogical discussion, but there was plenty of "religion" - petty politics, bishops murdered over greed for power, lack of chastity, self-punishment, guilt, humility and false humility among the clergy. Hildegard abused herself to purge her guilt as well. Her visions were apocalyptic, filled with terrible images. I didn't want to learn more about that.
For me the book was as informative as this short book could be and it was clear that there are very few actual records about Hildegard's life. There is plenty of reference to her visions, but the book is about her life as an abbess, not only her mysticism. There is a question, even, of who actually wrote some of the works attributed to her. But this book is well-written, well-researched, and in places it made me laugh out loud because of the author's wry commentary.
The descriptions of the countryside around Bingen and area of the original monastery as described in the last chapter makes me want to visit.
August 8, 2020
This was a well-researched, simple and honest book about the life and times of Hildegard von Bingen, a nun from the Twelfth Century who had astounding visions and was not, amazingly, silenced by the male-dominated church, but rather encouraged to document them. She entered closeted life as a child of about 8 and grew up to become the leader of a small group of nuns based at the German monastery of Disibodenberg. At middle age, this feisty feminine leader decided to start her own convent and took her sorority to a new site at Rupertsberg near the confluence of the Nahe and Glan rivers into the Rhine at Bingen.
Unlike other books about this female theologian, which range from new-age recipe books of natural foods touted by Hildegard to raunchy taboo romances between nuns and monks, Maddocks takes the straight road based on what we really know about her, refusing to succumb to any wild theories or fanciful romantic tales.
Indeed, one of the problems of such historical study is the sheer passage of time. Hildegard died in 1179, and although there are relatively good copies of works that have survived, and several detailed letters of correspondence, we will probably never really know the inner workings of this ostensible saint's mind or deepest stirrings of her soul. Although we can glean some insights to the various facets of medieval life in a monastery, the records of the time often obscure somewhat the quirkiest aspects of a subject's inner life. What we do have to go on, Maddocks outlines very well. The author's chronological account outlines her life and explains when major written and musical works were accomplished and the ecclesiastical community's response and respect for them, all the way up to pope! The author also includes an appendix that briefly summarizes each of Hildegard's works, of which there were many.
Probably the most famous work is her Scivias (Know the Way), which is an illuminated manuscript describing her visions. From the time she was a small child, Hildegard would apparently become a channel of divine inspiration and see, while awake, vivid and often frightening visions regarding the church and its role within medieval society. Some have theorized that her visions were the effect of migraine headaches or possibly related to epileptic seizures, however, the evidence is not conclusive on this. Although she often fell into a depressive and sickly state throughout her life, she lived into her early eighties.
This is a very good book for those wanting a simple and accurate introduction into the life of Hildegard von Bingen, who has been on the short-list for sainthood for about 800 years, but still not officially canonized, she remains at beatification.
Unlike other books about this female theologian, which range from new-age recipe books of natural foods touted by Hildegard to raunchy taboo romances between nuns and monks, Maddocks takes the straight road based on what we really know about her, refusing to succumb to any wild theories or fanciful romantic tales.
Indeed, one of the problems of such historical study is the sheer passage of time. Hildegard died in 1179, and although there are relatively good copies of works that have survived, and several detailed letters of correspondence, we will probably never really know the inner workings of this ostensible saint's mind or deepest stirrings of her soul. Although we can glean some insights to the various facets of medieval life in a monastery, the records of the time often obscure somewhat the quirkiest aspects of a subject's inner life. What we do have to go on, Maddocks outlines very well. The author's chronological account outlines her life and explains when major written and musical works were accomplished and the ecclesiastical community's response and respect for them, all the way up to pope! The author also includes an appendix that briefly summarizes each of Hildegard's works, of which there were many.
Probably the most famous work is her Scivias (Know the Way), which is an illuminated manuscript describing her visions. From the time she was a small child, Hildegard would apparently become a channel of divine inspiration and see, while awake, vivid and often frightening visions regarding the church and its role within medieval society. Some have theorized that her visions were the effect of migraine headaches or possibly related to epileptic seizures, however, the evidence is not conclusive on this. Although she often fell into a depressive and sickly state throughout her life, she lived into her early eighties.
This is a very good book for those wanting a simple and accurate introduction into the life of Hildegard von Bingen, who has been on the short-list for sainthood for about 800 years, but still not officially canonized, she remains at beatification.
December 24, 2020
This is one of apparently several biographical books about someone I'd never heard of. Indeed, her renowned-ness has ebbed and flowed over the centuries, as has her influence. She's been co-opted by several modern groups, from feminists to New Agers, but her most important contributions lie closer to Catholic mysticism.
Her visions were symbolic and often either harsh judgements on especially Catholic clerics of her day, or apocalyptic. As has been noted elsewhere and here, it's possible they were linked to a physical cause: Hildgard was often laid up, sometimes for months, after some of her visions. It's suggested that she suffered from migraines.
There is evidence that Hildegard and others went back and ammended some of her writings so it's unclear how 'improved' some of the source material is.
Also unclear: While Hildegard's belief in the genuine nature of her visions as springing from God Himself, it is also sure that at least some of those visions served her purposes well. (Example: God condemns the permission given by a church official for a nun who was close to Hildgard's heart to tranfer and become an abbess elsewhere...even though the nun in question sought the promotion herself.)
Clearly, she was an authoritarian who ruled over her convent comprised of girls from wealthy families. She rose higher in power and recognition through her correspondence with powerful men at the time, and at times defied their pronouncements completely- a thing that would seem to directly contradict the Church's emphasis on obedience. She also clad her nuns in headresses and tiaras, which went a bit beyond propriety and contradicts a Bible verse or two.
Whatever one makes of her, she certainly had an unorthodox life.
The three star rating is not because of the scholarship of the author or her skills- it is due to the limited appeal of the Midieval subject matter. Frankly, Hildegard is a specialist's subject.
Her visions were symbolic and often either harsh judgements on especially Catholic clerics of her day, or apocalyptic. As has been noted elsewhere and here, it's possible they were linked to a physical cause: Hildgard was often laid up, sometimes for months, after some of her visions. It's suggested that she suffered from migraines.
There is evidence that Hildegard and others went back and ammended some of her writings so it's unclear how 'improved' some of the source material is.
Also unclear: While Hildegard's belief in the genuine nature of her visions as springing from God Himself, it is also sure that at least some of those visions served her purposes well. (Example: God condemns the permission given by a church official for a nun who was close to Hildgard's heart to tranfer and become an abbess elsewhere...even though the nun in question sought the promotion herself.)
Clearly, she was an authoritarian who ruled over her convent comprised of girls from wealthy families. She rose higher in power and recognition through her correspondence with powerful men at the time, and at times defied their pronouncements completely- a thing that would seem to directly contradict the Church's emphasis on obedience. She also clad her nuns in headresses and tiaras, which went a bit beyond propriety and contradicts a Bible verse or two.
Whatever one makes of her, she certainly had an unorthodox life.
The three star rating is not because of the scholarship of the author or her skills- it is due to the limited appeal of the Midieval subject matter. Frankly, Hildegard is a specialist's subject.
March 7, 2024
A decent biography, but I was hoping for something with more specific focus on Hildegard’s impact as author and composer.
September 24, 2014
This book was informative in some ways, and completely lacking in another. First, the good. Maddocks gives a decent overview of Hildegard's life: the progression, the external events, some of her views on external topics (medicine, sexuality, etc.), her interactions with others. If you are looking for a basic summary of Hildegard's life, this isn't a bad place to start. In addition, Maddocks views Hildegard as a real person, and not a perfect saint. No hagiography here, thank the stars. I will warn you, however, if you don't want to receive the impression that Hildegard exhibited preening, self-indulgent, grandiose, and bullying behavior at times, then this isn't the biography for you. I, myself, appreciated the rational view, based on substantiated evidence.
However...
Hildegard is best known (and, really, only known) for her mystical visions. Maddocks almost completely ignores these visions. Other than mentioning that they occurred, she in no way discusses them, analyzes them, incorporates them into the discussion of Hildegard's life, or in any other way dovetails them into the narrative. The omission is absolutely perplexing. It is as if ignoring his music when discussing Mozart, her writing when discussing George Eliot, his painting when discussing Van Gogh... you get the idea. Why on earth would a person write a biography and omit the most important aspect? I have no idea.
However...
Hildegard is best known (and, really, only known) for her mystical visions. Maddocks almost completely ignores these visions. Other than mentioning that they occurred, she in no way discusses them, analyzes them, incorporates them into the discussion of Hildegard's life, or in any other way dovetails them into the narrative. The omission is absolutely perplexing. It is as if ignoring his music when discussing Mozart, her writing when discussing George Eliot, his painting when discussing Van Gogh... you get the idea. Why on earth would a person write a biography and omit the most important aspect? I have no idea.
November 26, 2016
Another inspiring woman
I'm always on the look out for a good book about a great woman. I heard about Hildegard on an NPR broadcast. The part I found most intriguing is that this woman was recognized for her greatness in so many fields in her own lifetime. But then something happened, that I couldn't quite catch from the radio. As the author explains, by the 12th century, the convent of nuns of the Catholic church was a place where women's education could flourish.
As the "seat" of learning changed to universities, women were closed out again, just as they had been in the earlier centuries of the Church. It could be argued that it has taken 900 years to regain a system of educating women who can reach the intellectual and spiritual heights of Hildegard of Bingen. With Mr. Trump just having been elected, will women of the 21st century be thrown back into the same dark places as women who followed Hildegard?
This book reads like a novel. It was very engaging and well written. I did just skim the chapters on music and art. I just didn't have the background to follow the detail, my shortcoming, not the author's. I would highly recommend.
I'm always on the look out for a good book about a great woman. I heard about Hildegard on an NPR broadcast. The part I found most intriguing is that this woman was recognized for her greatness in so many fields in her own lifetime. But then something happened, that I couldn't quite catch from the radio. As the author explains, by the 12th century, the convent of nuns of the Catholic church was a place where women's education could flourish.
As the "seat" of learning changed to universities, women were closed out again, just as they had been in the earlier centuries of the Church. It could be argued that it has taken 900 years to regain a system of educating women who can reach the intellectual and spiritual heights of Hildegard of Bingen. With Mr. Trump just having been elected, will women of the 21st century be thrown back into the same dark places as women who followed Hildegard?
This book reads like a novel. It was very engaging and well written. I did just skim the chapters on music and art. I just didn't have the background to follow the detail, my shortcoming, not the author's. I would highly recommend.
January 7, 2013
This biography of Hildegard of Bingen, twelfth-century abbess, mystic, and composer, was well-written but rather basic. It covers the events and aspects of Hildegard's life in a straightforward, but brief manner. There is a lot of good information, but little analysis, discussion, or insight about Hildegard or her work. Especially disappointing is the fact that her music gets barely half a chapter. Maddocks is good at providing context for her subject's circumstances and actions, nicely weaving in and showing the relevance of various political and ecclesiastical events of the time. On the other hand, Maddocks' occasional brief editorializing is generally not very successful.
Overall this book reads well and nicely covers Hildegard's life. However, it is more of an overview or introduction - I would have liked more discussion and analysis. It's a good start, but I wanted a lot more.
Overall this book reads well and nicely covers Hildegard's life. However, it is more of an overview or introduction - I would have liked more discussion and analysis. It's a good start, but I wanted a lot more.
October 12, 2017
A good read. I didn't know very much about Hildegard besides the obvious ("medieval nun who composed music, had visions and wrote about herbal remedies") so this was a very useful biography on her. It not only describes Hildegard but also places her in the context of her time. The author treats her subject fairly, pointing out where Hildegard was perhaps not as wise as she could have been (the Richardis affair) and describing the visions evenhandedly, neither fawning over them nor forcefully trying to find a 'rational' medical explanation for them. I did feel you could tell Ms Maddocks has a background in music - the chapter on Hildegard's music was one of the longer ones and flowed better - but that's hardly something to complain about.
All in all a good book for people wanted to know more about Hildegard of Bingen.
All in all a good book for people wanted to know more about Hildegard of Bingen.
June 6, 2017
I started reading this while spending a weekend at St Gertrude's, a Benedictine monastery in Idaho. I was mostly familiar with Hildegard because of the rediscovery of her music and a trend for awhile to turn her into a modern day feminist. But in the 12th century she was known for her visions and mysticism. I came away with a much better appreciation of her place both then and now I would give it 4 stars for research, and readability, although at times there was too much detail for me and I ended up skipping over parts. Still I would recommend it as a balanced, well researched and insightful treatment about this intelligent, spiritual, strong willed religious leader.
September 10, 2022
I first read this book in 2001-2002 as I was writing my dissertation. It's been a great pleasure coming back to it 20 years later. I've had a copy lying around for yonks, so it was about time!
This is a comprehensive and well rounded read on a subject that very easily could have slid into the impenetrably arcane. Maddocks writes sympathetically yet critically of her subject matter.
It must be said that one of the attractions for me of the high middle ages is in superabundance here: it's downright weirdness! There's a vitality, and an insistance that things are knowable. The 12th century was a time of increasing cultural stability and flourishing, and though life was physically very hard for everyone, it also had certainties that later ages might envy.
Of course, those certainties are pretty questionable when looked at closely (giving your children to a church, walling people up, starvation, self-brutalisation, the equivalence of suffering with spiritual power- these all made sense in their historical context but make very little outside of that).
Maddocks holds back on the judgement and allows what there is to stand or fall on its own merits, as a good historiographer ought. I particularly appreciated the appendices and the final interview with a nun at the abbey now bearing Hildegard's name. It was good to hear how the tradition is playing out in a modern nunnery. The changes and the bits of continuity.
I wrote elsewhere that I was coming to the end of my obsession with the medieval and so am now just working through all the books still unread (or unreread) in my existing pile. Though 20 years of continued scholarship has doubtless happened since this book was published, for sheer accessibility and comprehensiveness this book must still surely rank highly!
This is a comprehensive and well rounded read on a subject that very easily could have slid into the impenetrably arcane. Maddocks writes sympathetically yet critically of her subject matter.
It must be said that one of the attractions for me of the high middle ages is in superabundance here: it's downright weirdness! There's a vitality, and an insistance that things are knowable. The 12th century was a time of increasing cultural stability and flourishing, and though life was physically very hard for everyone, it also had certainties that later ages might envy.
Of course, those certainties are pretty questionable when looked at closely (giving your children to a church, walling people up, starvation, self-brutalisation, the equivalence of suffering with spiritual power- these all made sense in their historical context but make very little outside of that).
Maddocks holds back on the judgement and allows what there is to stand or fall on its own merits, as a good historiographer ought. I particularly appreciated the appendices and the final interview with a nun at the abbey now bearing Hildegard's name. It was good to hear how the tradition is playing out in a modern nunnery. The changes and the bits of continuity.
I wrote elsewhere that I was coming to the end of my obsession with the medieval and so am now just working through all the books still unread (or unreread) in my existing pile. Though 20 years of continued scholarship has doubtless happened since this book was published, for sheer accessibility and comprehensiveness this book must still surely rank highly!
March 25, 2021
This is the third foray I've taken into Hildegard of Bingen, the other two were historical fiction, this, a biography. I enjoyed this one the most, although I sometimes find a straight bio much more dry than a fiction, which is why I read those. This one, however, kept my interest throughout.
There was an entire chapter devoted to her music, which is why I have been fascinated by her. Recent musicologists have labeled her, "the earliest named composer." If you have not heard any of her musical works, I highly recommend them.
I also found the portion on her second theological work (Liber vitae meritorum) interesting, as it seems that she entails the punishments imparted for various sins, in a way similar to, yet predating Dante.
This book also includes some fascinating full colour plates of some of her artwork re her visions. They are highly reminiscent of Tarot cards and a just fascinating.
Friends of mine, who will understand why this sentence amused me, regarding an attack, in an extant letter, on Hildegard for her unusual practices in the way her nuns adorned themselves, in flowing robes, jewels and crowns. Quote from book, "Once you appreciate the degree of hostility underlying the flattery, the document becomes perilously comic, like Mistress Quickly writing to Flagstaff.
There was an entire chapter devoted to her music, which is why I have been fascinated by her. Recent musicologists have labeled her, "the earliest named composer." If you have not heard any of her musical works, I highly recommend them.
I also found the portion on her second theological work (Liber vitae meritorum) interesting, as it seems that she entails the punishments imparted for various sins, in a way similar to, yet predating Dante.
This book also includes some fascinating full colour plates of some of her artwork re her visions. They are highly reminiscent of Tarot cards and a just fascinating.
Friends of mine, who will understand why this sentence amused me, regarding an attack, in an extant letter, on Hildegard for her unusual practices in the way her nuns adorned themselves, in flowing robes, jewels and crowns. Quote from book, "Once you appreciate the degree of hostility underlying the flattery, the document becomes perilously comic, like Mistress Quickly writing to Flagstaff.
August 25, 2023
This book presents the details of Hildegard's life, unpicking all the various writings about her to give the best historical idea we can have of what her life actually looked like. It gives a good view of how her life unfolded and what her religious life would have looked like.
Bizarrely, though, the book hardly covers the content of her visions at all. It instead focuses on the key events in her life (the abbeys she founded, the preaching tours she did, the significant crises in the church politics of the time...) It feels strange not to have had more discussion of her visions themselves, since these are what Hildegard is known for, and what brought her fame in her own day as well as the renewed interest in her now.
The author seems at pains to give the reader a "warts and all" picture of Hildegard. Although I appreciate getting to see the side of her that modern readers might want to gloss over to make her more palatable or relevant to a modern audience (e.g. she is not a feminist, holds class hierarchies as being God-given and is anti-semitic), I almost got the sense that Maddocks didn't actually like or admire Hildegard much at all.
While I'm glad to have read it, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this one.
Bizarrely, though, the book hardly covers the content of her visions at all. It instead focuses on the key events in her life (the abbeys she founded, the preaching tours she did, the significant crises in the church politics of the time...) It feels strange not to have had more discussion of her visions themselves, since these are what Hildegard is known for, and what brought her fame in her own day as well as the renewed interest in her now.
The author seems at pains to give the reader a "warts and all" picture of Hildegard. Although I appreciate getting to see the side of her that modern readers might want to gloss over to make her more palatable or relevant to a modern audience (e.g. she is not a feminist, holds class hierarchies as being God-given and is anti-semitic), I almost got the sense that Maddocks didn't actually like or admire Hildegard much at all.
While I'm glad to have read it, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this one.
August 19, 2022
This book manages to make a gripping tale or set of tales about Hildegard's life, lived so many centuries ago, from patchwork evidence. It helps the reader to relate to her from a modern-day perspective while exploring how different her context would have been and how it may have given rise to her decisions and her attitudes. Also, it's quite amusing how keen the author is to distance herself from 'feminists', which I interpret as trying to avoid the charge, from a male-dominated discipline, that she has an underlying agenda in singling out this particular character from history as her subject.
May 28, 2025
4 ½ 🌟
This book was a wonderful read. So easy to follow, and so witty at times. I found the content so interesting, which was a bit surprising as I’ve never read about nuns in the 12th century before, but honestly I looked forward to reading this book every evening. It was actually so delightfully written.
I particularly found the criticism on viewing St Hildegard as a feminist ‘icon’ interesting, considering she was actually very against any sort of idea women could be less than weak, despite herself being a woman of influence. It reminded me very much so of the Queen Victoria biography I read, where she too was against suffrage, despite so much influence and power being in her hands.
This book was a wonderful read. So easy to follow, and so witty at times. I found the content so interesting, which was a bit surprising as I’ve never read about nuns in the 12th century before, but honestly I looked forward to reading this book every evening. It was actually so delightfully written.
I particularly found the criticism on viewing St Hildegard as a feminist ‘icon’ interesting, considering she was actually very against any sort of idea women could be less than weak, despite herself being a woman of influence. It reminded me very much so of the Queen Victoria biography I read, where she too was against suffrage, despite so much influence and power being in her hands.
September 24, 2023
Terrific and much needed biography of Hildegard of Bingen.
Had Hildegard "lived in any later century, she might not have embarked on such grand projects. The shift of learning, whether theological or scientific, from the monasteries to the universities proved a retrogressive step for women by excluding them from learned discourse.When the enthusiasm for a religious life declined, so did women's opportunities. Moreover, medicine became a separate disclipine, with the monastic medicus replaced by the university physicus."
Had Hildegard "lived in any later century, she might not have embarked on such grand projects. The shift of learning, whether theological or scientific, from the monasteries to the universities proved a retrogressive step for women by excluding them from learned discourse.When the enthusiasm for a religious life declined, so did women's opportunities. Moreover, medicine became a separate disclipine, with the monastic medicus replaced by the university physicus."
January 15, 2021
I picked this book up in 2018 in the castle bookstore in Angers, France. I was struck by the Apocalypse Tapestry on display there, and I wanted to read more about medieval culture. The book is a good read as it describes the life of Hildegard of Bingen, but the writing style isn't the most accessible I have experienced. It loses itself between academic and popular writing and comes up short with readability. Still, I learned much in this read.
June 22, 2022
Well-researched and illuminating! I really enjoyed this biography of Hildegard, which not only conveyed a sense of her personality but also helped me to understand her historical context. The author is not afraid to offer her interpretations of some of the facts of H's life, although she is cautious in all of her conclusions. This was to me a welcome change from other books that simply detail her writings and offer facts.
April 25, 2025
What Hildegard wanted, Hildegard got. Breaking free from anchorite seclusion at the age of forty, she impressed the high and mighty with her technicolour visions and managed to wrangle her own abbey, where the sisters wore their hair loose and silks and crowns were the favoured outfits. She went on preaching tours when women were banned from preaching, composed, wrote, and dabbled in medieval doctoring. Not that she thought other women should be able to do these things. Only Hildegard.
July 9, 2020
A well-researched and presented biography of Hildegard of Bingen, an unusual religious figure, and saint, from the 12th century. I have since come into possession of some of the music from that period attributed to her and it is unusual for its calming and devotional quality. I appreciated getting this glimpse into another time and place and journeying far afield of my usual interests.
April 20, 2021
I have been fascinated by the Mystics who lived in the Middle Ages. I was first drawn to these because of quotations on greeting cards created by Sister Clairvaux, at Assissi Heights in Rochester, MN.
An interesting aside...Hildegard was afflicted by headaches and optical auras. It seems that these led to her visions.
An interesting aside...Hildegard was afflicted by headaches and optical auras. It seems that these led to her visions.
June 26, 2022
Interesting topic and person, absolutely! I just couldn’t get into the writing style, nor was my own interest level sufficient to continue a deep dive such as this (particularly given the lack of primary resources available, which, granted, is noted up front). A lot of gaps there make it challenging to give a definitive picture of the woman, unfortunately! Ergo a DNF at this time.
July 13, 2024
“A broth made from pounded hamster liver and eaten with bread relieves scrofula and swellings, and the pelt is good for clothing. No indication is given as to where a sufficient number of hamsters might be found to make even a modest human garment.”
Hildegard was really out there spouting bullshit and we love her for it.
Hildegard was really out there spouting bullshit and we love her for it.
April 9, 2021
Loved reading this book about an amazing pre-renaissance renaissance woman. Hildegard has become another of my heroes. She did everything! I am also going through a book of daily devotions based on her visions, which is lovely.
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