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Hildegard of Bingen's Medicine
Hildegard of Bingen, a major twelfth-century mystic and prophet, began having divinely inspired visions at the age of six. These visions continued throughout her life and were the source of highly honored information on healing through a multidimensional approach to the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Widely accepted by physicians and religious healers of her time, Hildegard’s work was lost over the centuries, and has only recently been reborn through the work of the authors of this book. Hildegard of Bingen’s Medicine is a groundbreaking contribution to medicine and healing. It contains translations of Hildegard text which reflect the high point of medieval, alchemical, and healing science. In addition, these translations are commented upon by authors who have worked clinically with Hildegard’s wisdom for thirty years. Many will find this book to contain profound, long lost spiritual teachings. Hildegard’s deep understanding of nature--trees, herbs, and animals--inspires a new vision of balance and planetary attunement.
180 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 26, 2013
Whether or not you believe that Hildegard's knowledge of the human body was received from God or not, this book makes a very compelling argument for holistic medicine, including spirituality. The authors of this book continually returned to the idea that humans are made from the same substances as the natural world around us, so it stands to reason that the closer we remain to nature through diet, lifestyle, and healing, the much better our quality of life will be. It is amazing that Hildegard's twelfth century revelations from God can now be backed up by "modern" medicine. This book was a quick yet compelling read for anyone interested in an alternative to the pills and invasive treatments of twenty-first century medicine.
January 9, 2025
Ultimately a very good book, giving an insight into ancient remedies and cures for nearly everything.
Hildegard von Bingen was well ahead of her time, and even her understandings of cancer and in line with modern medical science.
The book though was badly laid out and sometimes darted about too much (see chapter 8 for this, this is later, as above) and it was a bit tedious. Some things weren't explained at the first example (e.g. Hildegard's four kitchen poisons - which were only explained on page 128).
Having said that, it is very much food for thought and can help one see through the mire of modern medicine at more holistic remedies which are aimed at an entire lifestyle/body shift to bring the humours back together.
"One can find relief from pain in many ways, including modern medicine. The spiritual equivalent of the illness must be addressed for a true healing. Every affliction has a meaning: What does God want to tell us with this illness?" p.xxii
"Hildegard's approach is comparable to the conviction of Paracelsus that all sickness must be curable, when he said that: 'God does not allow a sickness to be unless there is also a remedy for it.' We must only look. According to Hildegard, not cancer, but migraine and asthma are the most incurable illnesses. And cure here means a complete removal of the very roots, and not just the suppression of some symptoms." p.144
"The demand for exact scientific proof of effectiveness is unfortunately, for many people today, absolutely necessary, because science has become a pseudo-religion. In spite of the face that must of the exact scientific knowledge of today will become the errors of tomorrow, the label 'scientifically proven' has become the sales argument of the pharmaceutical industry, and also of many doctors." p.129
Hildegard von Bingen was well ahead of her time, and even her understandings of cancer and in line with modern medical science.
The book though was badly laid out and sometimes darted about too much (see chapter 8 for this, this is later, as above) and it was a bit tedious. Some things weren't explained at the first example (e.g. Hildegard's four kitchen poisons - which were only explained on page 128).
Having said that, it is very much food for thought and can help one see through the mire of modern medicine at more holistic remedies which are aimed at an entire lifestyle/body shift to bring the humours back together.
"One can find relief from pain in many ways, including modern medicine. The spiritual equivalent of the illness must be addressed for a true healing. Every affliction has a meaning: What does God want to tell us with this illness?" p.xxii
"Hildegard's approach is comparable to the conviction of Paracelsus that all sickness must be curable, when he said that: 'God does not allow a sickness to be unless there is also a remedy for it.' We must only look. According to Hildegard, not cancer, but migraine and asthma are the most incurable illnesses. And cure here means a complete removal of the very roots, and not just the suppression of some symptoms." p.144
"The demand for exact scientific proof of effectiveness is unfortunately, for many people today, absolutely necessary, because science has become a pseudo-religion. In spite of the face that must of the exact scientific knowledge of today will become the errors of tomorrow, the label 'scientifically proven' has become the sales argument of the pharmaceutical industry, and also of many doctors." p.129
July 7, 2019
This book is broadly terrible. I got it because I admire Hildegard von Bingen’s music and place in history as a prominent woman - one of the earliest known female composers and a famous mystic and abbess - and because I’m interested in natural and traditional medicine. I took notes, which should help you decide whether or not you’d get anything out of this book:
Atheists are isolated from god and probably all dead
There are few eye problems that can’t be fixed by tying soggy bread to your eyes overnight
If you can’t hear, put rocks in your ears
Disco perforates the liver like Swiss cheese
Doesn’t give recipe for flu powder just uses? It’s two chapters later in the heart chapter.
Almonds are good for “empty brains”
“Diarrhoea egg” is not a good name for anything especially not something you want me to eat
Hildegard was obsessed with spelt, hated barley
“Though Hildegard is silent on turkey” as if she had access to them but had no opinion. Really casts doubt on the idea that god intended for everyone across the world to all eat a certain way.
Strawberries, peaches, plums and leeks are poisonous
Hildegard apparently had an opinion on French fries.
Loud mouthed inappropriate laughter causes liver disease
The moon illuminates the stars.
The Fall was mainly about the gallbladder. It used to be we had a shining crystal-clear gallstone of the knowledge of God but it became liquid. Now it overflows into our blood and makes us rude and sad, and we fear god which I always thought we were meant to but here it’s a bad thing. The devil hoarded up black bile in Adam for this reason. I don’t recall any of this in Genesis but perhaps it’s that atheism has rotted my eyes and brain.
Fasting gives you the healing fear of god, which must be the good one.
Cure jaundice by drinking water that had a diamond in it.
The cure for depression is joining a monastery or becoming a hermit. But also spelt porridge.
There is sensible stuff like how talking about your worries helps, and how healthy lifestyle and patience help most chronic conditions. And that stress is deadly.
Asians always smile just to be polite but it also stops them being mentally ill. You’d think if even one of those three things were true someone else would have noticed.
There is a recipe for “nerve cookies” which is just totally normal spiced biscuits. Biscuits and other sweet foods soothe my nerves too but I didn’t need for god to tell me so specifically and I’m surprised Hildegard did.
Good description of trauma: “if the human soul feels that its body is menaced, then the heart, the liver and the vessels constrict. Hereby a sort of ‘cloudiness’ will arise from the heart [the blood becomes sour] and envelop the heart in darkness. This is how humans become sad.” This kind of stuff is nestled in amongst all the outright nonsense. It’s not groundbreaking either, just interesting historically to see such an old description of something we wrongly think was only understood recently.
Hildegard advises wine for sadness (and as far as I can tell for pretty much everything). I mean, it does work, but...
Blue chaceldony physically prevents anger. 100%, it doesn’t help it or make it hard, you literally cannot get angry wearing one?
Menstruation prevents gout
Eating gold cures everything, even AIDS
Quince is the cure for all arthritis. At least this is a tasty cure that can’t kill you
Badger fur is good for you (not for the badger though)
Arthritis leads to psychosis unless you ruin a sauna by pouring oat milk everywhere
They think more people die of cancer than infectious diseases today because there is more cancer.
Bloodletting prevents cancer
Militant atheists have the most cancer followed by tolerant atheists.
Yarrow will help with cancer surgery but for a real cure you need eel gall, ivory and vulture beak. They edited out Hildegard’s whale meat cures for ethical reasons but go ahead and munch on ivory.
Coffee is a poison as are spirits (but not when they are tinctures?) but drink as much wine as you can get down you.
——
My summary is that to be healthy you have to be a very devout monk or nun who drinks a lot of wine. It comes across like the precursor to those articles in newspapers where someone has turned 100 and they ask them their secret. Their secrets are contradictory and often clearly unhealthy but they aren’t lying that those ways of life got them to 100. Hildegard lived to be old, but I don’t think that means her advice is necessarily worth following.
I don’t think this book is very useful but it was interesting both as a look at Hildegard’s beliefs about health and those of the authors. There are a small handful of things I actually aim to put into practise (not counting constantly eating spelt, which I was already a fan of) but I had much higher hopes.
Atheists are isolated from god and probably all dead
There are few eye problems that can’t be fixed by tying soggy bread to your eyes overnight
If you can’t hear, put rocks in your ears
Disco perforates the liver like Swiss cheese
Doesn’t give recipe for flu powder just uses? It’s two chapters later in the heart chapter.
Almonds are good for “empty brains”
“Diarrhoea egg” is not a good name for anything especially not something you want me to eat
Hildegard was obsessed with spelt, hated barley
“Though Hildegard is silent on turkey” as if she had access to them but had no opinion. Really casts doubt on the idea that god intended for everyone across the world to all eat a certain way.
Strawberries, peaches, plums and leeks are poisonous
Hildegard apparently had an opinion on French fries.
Loud mouthed inappropriate laughter causes liver disease
The moon illuminates the stars.
The Fall was mainly about the gallbladder. It used to be we had a shining crystal-clear gallstone of the knowledge of God but it became liquid. Now it overflows into our blood and makes us rude and sad, and we fear god which I always thought we were meant to but here it’s a bad thing. The devil hoarded up black bile in Adam for this reason. I don’t recall any of this in Genesis but perhaps it’s that atheism has rotted my eyes and brain.
Fasting gives you the healing fear of god, which must be the good one.
Cure jaundice by drinking water that had a diamond in it.
The cure for depression is joining a monastery or becoming a hermit. But also spelt porridge.
There is sensible stuff like how talking about your worries helps, and how healthy lifestyle and patience help most chronic conditions. And that stress is deadly.
Asians always smile just to be polite but it also stops them being mentally ill. You’d think if even one of those three things were true someone else would have noticed.
There is a recipe for “nerve cookies” which is just totally normal spiced biscuits. Biscuits and other sweet foods soothe my nerves too but I didn’t need for god to tell me so specifically and I’m surprised Hildegard did.
Good description of trauma: “if the human soul feels that its body is menaced, then the heart, the liver and the vessels constrict. Hereby a sort of ‘cloudiness’ will arise from the heart [the blood becomes sour] and envelop the heart in darkness. This is how humans become sad.” This kind of stuff is nestled in amongst all the outright nonsense. It’s not groundbreaking either, just interesting historically to see such an old description of something we wrongly think was only understood recently.
Hildegard advises wine for sadness (and as far as I can tell for pretty much everything). I mean, it does work, but...
Blue chaceldony physically prevents anger. 100%, it doesn’t help it or make it hard, you literally cannot get angry wearing one?
Menstruation prevents gout
Eating gold cures everything, even AIDS
Quince is the cure for all arthritis. At least this is a tasty cure that can’t kill you
Badger fur is good for you (not for the badger though)
Arthritis leads to psychosis unless you ruin a sauna by pouring oat milk everywhere
They think more people die of cancer than infectious diseases today because there is more cancer.
Bloodletting prevents cancer
Militant atheists have the most cancer followed by tolerant atheists.
Yarrow will help with cancer surgery but for a real cure you need eel gall, ivory and vulture beak. They edited out Hildegard’s whale meat cures for ethical reasons but go ahead and munch on ivory.
Coffee is a poison as are spirits (but not when they are tinctures?) but drink as much wine as you can get down you.
——
My summary is that to be healthy you have to be a very devout monk or nun who drinks a lot of wine. It comes across like the precursor to those articles in newspapers where someone has turned 100 and they ask them their secret. Their secrets are contradictory and often clearly unhealthy but they aren’t lying that those ways of life got them to 100. Hildegard lived to be old, but I don’t think that means her advice is necessarily worth following.
I don’t think this book is very useful but it was interesting both as a look at Hildegard’s beliefs about health and those of the authors. There are a small handful of things I actually aim to put into practise (not counting constantly eating spelt, which I was already a fan of) but I had much higher hopes.
April 4, 2009
Hildegard was so far ahead of her time.
March 4, 2021
This book had a lot of great information, but because of the dismissal of mental illnesses, insistence on fasting (if you do it for religious purposes, that’s cool, but it can actually be damaging to your health if done in certain ways), and insistence that Hildegard only discovered what she did because of god, I cannot in good faith give it more than two stars.
I can understand viewing her knowledge as divinely inspired, but writing off all of her medical knowledge as “oh she could only do this because Jesus” is dismissive of how smart she was. These references also felt like they were shoehorned in every so often and this seemed more preachy than anything.
If you do read this book, I’d suggest skipping chapters 11, 14, and 15. (Chapter 14 isn’t a bad chapter, but it basically boils down to the necessity of detecting cancer early, which doesn’t really need a whole chapter.)
I can understand viewing her knowledge as divinely inspired, but writing off all of her medical knowledge as “oh she could only do this because Jesus” is dismissive of how smart she was. These references also felt like they were shoehorned in every so often and this seemed more preachy than anything.
If you do read this book, I’d suggest skipping chapters 11, 14, and 15. (Chapter 14 isn’t a bad chapter, but it basically boils down to the necessity of detecting cancer early, which doesn’t really need a whole chapter.)
February 27, 2019
честно аз прочетох, "медицината на св. хилдегард за жени"
клаус шулте-юбинг, но като не можах да я открия тук, отбелязах тази, та де не ми се губят бройките! ;)
една добра книга относно алтернативни методи за лечение на някои по- леки болежки, както и добри практики за облекчаване на страданията от сериозните, които да се ползват заедно с лечението.
интересен, факт е, че вероятно манастирите са разполагали с някои трудове от източната медицина, защото игуменката хилдеград ползва обозначенията характерни за там, на храните- топла, студена, влажна, суха...
с други думи, още едно доказателство, че средновековието не е било чак толкова мрачно, както го описват в последващите го епохо и жените са имали и възможност за развитие и талант.
клаус шулте-юбинг, но като не можах да я открия тук, отбелязах тази, та де не ми се губят бройките! ;)
една добра книга относно алтернативни методи за лечение на някои по- леки болежки, както и добри практики за облекчаване на страданията от сериозните, които да се ползват заедно с лечението.
интересен, факт е, че вероятно манастирите са разполагали с някои трудове от източната медицина, защото игуменката хилдеград ползва обозначенията характерни за там, на храните- топла, студена, влажна, суха...
с други думи, още едно доказателство, че средновековието не е било чак толкова мрачно, както го описват в последващите го епохо и жените са имали и възможност за развитие и талант.
September 30, 2020
A very interesting read if you find Hildegard fascinating, which she clearly was. A mix of practical and impractical medical advice and a must-read for modern herbalists. Hildegard was ahead of her time in so many ways, and this book proves it.
That said, I gave it one less star than I intended to for an out-of-nowhere weirdly racist comment, not from Hildegard herself but from one of the writers of the book, in the chapter on Nerves (page 83). I think it was meant as a compliment toward Asian people but it was seriously cringe. Just left a weird taste in my mouth and was really unnecessary. The rest of the book was completely fine; why did they have to add that?
That said, I gave it one less star than I intended to for an out-of-nowhere weirdly racist comment, not from Hildegard herself but from one of the writers of the book, in the chapter on Nerves (page 83). I think it was meant as a compliment toward Asian people but it was seriously cringe. Just left a weird taste in my mouth and was really unnecessary. The rest of the book was completely fine; why did they have to add that?
January 18, 2025
Wonderfully written and should definitely be read alongside Hildegard's Physica. It clears up some hard to understand concepts on medieval medicine and helps to apply them to the modern day.
I have several tabs on the book for cold and flu, vomiting, and diarrhea remedies. If any of those should strike I will run to this book and test out Hildegard's medicine!
OPN St Hildegard!
I have several tabs on the book for cold and flu, vomiting, and diarrhea remedies. If any of those should strike I will run to this book and test out Hildegard's medicine!
OPN St Hildegard!
January 19, 2023
I found it interesting to read this book about Hildegard's medicine which she apparently received from God and had not from experience treating real people. While it was enjoyable from a historical perspective I would caution against taking this as medical advice without consulting a physician.
February 17, 2025
Genius well ahead of her time
May 20, 2013
This book is more of a cliff notes than the actual writings of Von Bingen. There are odd Bible quotes thrown in here and there that seem irrelevant. The book was poorly written and quickly lost my attention.
July 26, 2011
Hildegard, an interesting person, but I think the doctors who wrote this book are a trifle nuts to be utilizing medieval medicine... just a thought.
September 25, 2015
I've read a lot of books on health and nutrition. This one is very unique. A little crazy. I'll keep it for reference.
April 28, 2015
Fascinating and a topic I'm very interested in. This book left me wanting to read more!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews