Hildegard of Bingen

No presente artigo analisaremos o filme Visão: A vida de Hildegarde Von Bingen, 2009, verificando o esforço da cineasta alemã Margarethe Von Trotta para estabelecer um modelo exemplar de feminino a partir da vida da visionária Hildegarde Von Bingen, tendo como pano de fundo a sua carreira ligada à questão do Feminismo. A exemplaridade surge como um dos pontos altos dos filmes de Vida de Santo, ou hagiografia fílmica, por essa razão verificaremos sua estética, estrutura e finalidade. Bem como traçaremos (...) as relações necessárias entre a personagem histórica, sua música, seu pensamento, com o que dela sobressai na obra cinematográfica. Por método, partimos incialmente apenas da obra midiática, decupando-a, estudando sua narrativa, forma estética e estrutura, para só então levantar as questões mais importantes ali colocadas relacionando-as com os fatos sociais. (shrink)

Green Mass is a meditation on—and with—twelfth-century Christian mystic and polymath Saint Hildegard of Bingen. Attending to Hildegard's vegetal vision, which greens theological tradition and imbues plant life with spirit, philosopher Michael Marder uncovers a verdant mode of thinking. The book stages a fresh encounter between present-day and premodern concerns, ecology and theology, philosophy and mysticism, the material and the spiritual, in word and sound. Hildegard's lush notion of viriditas, the vegetal power of creation, is emblematic of her deeply entwined (...) understanding of physical reality and spiritual elevation. From blossoming flora to burning desert, Marder plays with the symphonic multiplicity of meanings in her thought, listening to the resonances between the ardency of holy fire and the aridity of a world aflame. Across Hildegard's cosmos, we hear the anarchic proliferation of her ecological theology, in which both God and greening are circular, without beginning or end. Introduced with a foreword by philosopher Marcia Sá Cavalcante Schuback and accompanied by cellist Peter Schuback's musical movements, which echo both Hildegard's own compositions and key themes in each chapter of the book, this multifaceted work creates a resonance chamber, in which to discover the living world anew. The original compositions accompanying each chapter are available free for streaming and for download at www.sup.org/greenmass. (shrink)

Literacy is, literally, a question not of education but of the letter. More than that, it is the question of the letter in the two senses the word has in English: as a symbol of the alphabet and a piece of correspondence. It is my hypothesis that ecological literacies may learn a great deal from the literalization, or even the hyper-literalization, of the letter and that they may do so by turning to the corpus of twelfth-century Benedictine abbess, polymath, and (...) mystic St. Hildegard of Bingen. After all, Hildegard, who was exquisitely attuned to the vegetal world, which was at the core of her theological and scientific endeavors, corresponded through letters with the leading personalities of her times and also invented a language, called _lingua ignota_ (the unknown language) replete with _ignotas litteras_ (the unknown letters). Who better than her can spell out the senses of ecological literacy? (shrink)

Vorbemerkung: Das Staunen -- Die Scholastik -- Héloïse (um 1099-1164): Die Logik der Liebe -- Mystik als Schau göttlicher Weisheit -- Hildegard von Bingen (1998-1179): "Scivias--Wisse die Wege" -- Die "Querelle du Roman de la Rose" -- Christine de Pizan (um 1364-um 1430): "die Stadt der Frauen" -- Die Aufklärung -- Émilie du Châtlet (1706-1749): "Rede vom Glück" -- Romantik und Neuromantik -- Ricarda Huch (1864-1947): Der Mensch der Zukunft aus dem Geiste der Romantik -- Die Phänomenologie -- Edith Stein (...) (1891-1942): Philosophin der Phänomenologie, Märtyrerin, Heilige -- Philosophie der Pflichten dem Menschen gegenüber -- Simone Weil (1909-1943): Sozialistische Aktivistin, Philosophin, Mystikerin -- Philosophie des Politischen -- Hannah Arendt (1906-1975): Philosophisches Engagement im Zeitalter des Totalitarismus -- Der Existenzialismus -- Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986): Freiheit und Emanzipation -- Philosophie der Verantwortung in einer globalisierten Welt -- Jeanne Hersch (1910-2000): Freiheit und Verantwortung. (shrink)

Sguardo d'insieme -- Armonia delle sfere celesti : Hildegard von Bingen, symphonia -- Il tempo di Dio : Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata Gottes Zeit -- Trasmutazioni : Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Die Zauberflöte -- "Questo bacio vada al mondo intero" : Ludwig van Beethoven, An die Freude -- Viaggio d'inverno : Franz Schubert, Winterreise -- Inni all notte : Richard Wagner, Tristan und Isolde -- L'ultimo rito : Richard Wagner, Parsifal -- Azzurre solitudini : Gustav Mahler, Terza sinfonia -- Universi sonori (...) : Gustav Mahler, Ottava sinfonia -- Orizzonti perduti : Gustav Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde -- Labirinti : Richard Strauss, Also sprach Zarathustra -- Cortei di ombre : Richard Strauss, Metamorphosen -- La terza via : Omaggio a Francesco d'Avalos. (shrink)

힐데가르트의 의학적 사상은 중세시대 많은 공헌을 했다고 평가할 수 있으며, 특히 그 당시 그리스도교라는 전통 안에서 잊혀질 수 있었던 여성의 역할을 복원하는데 큰 기여를 했다. 그녀가 생존했던 중세시대 특성상 여성성의 발견이나 여성의 권리와 역할 확대 등에 관해 직접적으로 다루지는 않았지만, 남성과 여성을 지배와 피지배 관계가 아닌 상호 협력해야 하는 관계로 규정했다는 점에서 여성학자로 규정될 수 있다. 중세시대 여성 활동이 극히 제한적으로 허용되던 당시, 사회적 편견을 극복하고 여성의 역할을 확장시킨 좋은 사례가 될 것이다. 무엇보다 중세시대에 여성이 의료인으로 참여한다는 것은 어려운 상황이었음에도 (...) 여성 신비가이자 수녀원장으로서 영성치유와 자연치료의 선구자 역할을 했다고 생각된다. 그렇다면 힐데가르트는 자연치료사인가, 아니면 주술사인가. 이 글은 자연치료사로서 힐데가르트를 소개하는데 그 목표가 있다. 그 과정에서 중세 대체의학의 선구자로서 힐데가르트가 규정될 것이다. 그렇다면 대체의학을 우리는 어떻게 규정하고 있는가. 대체의학의 의미를 ①우리가 단순히 약물, 외과수술 또는 질환의 치료를 위해 정통적이며 의학적인 절차에 의존하지 않는다는 것, ②건강과 치유에 대한 접근을 지칭하기 위해 사용되는 것, ③인문학적 전통인 신과 연관된 의학이라는 의미로 인간의 심리적이며 영적 건강과 질병에 관심을 지니고 있다는 것에서 규정된다면, 힐데가르트의 자연치료법은 대체의학 범주에 포함 된다고 볼 수 있다. 왜냐하면 힐데가르트의 그것에서 치유란 하느님이 인간에게 준 본래의 힘을 회복하면 얻어질 수 있는 것으로 규정되기 때문이며, 그런 한에서 그녀의 자연치료법은 창조 신학과 우주 철학, 전인적 인간론과 심리학 등과 결부되어 있다고 할 수 있다. 다시 말해서 힐데가르트에게 치유란, 인간과 피조물 간에 연관성, 즉 인간의 영혼과 육체가 조화로운 일치를 추구함과 동시에 인간의 영혼과 육체가 자연현상과 상호 유기적인 연관성을 지니며 그리스도를 따르는 하나의 방식이라 할 수 있다. 그렇기 때문에 힐데가르트의 치유는 신학을 토대로 자연과 인간의 상호 유기적 연관성을 중요시하는 대체의학일 수 있으며, 또한 인간의 질병을 체액이론으로서 자연치료법과 연결시킨 영성치유의 사례라 할 수 있다. (shrink)

Peter Adamson presents a lively introduction to six hundred years of European philosophy, from the beginning of the ninth century to the end of the fourteenth century. The medieval period is one of the richest in the history of philosophy, yet one of the least widely known. Adamson introduces us to some of the greatest thinkers of the Western intellectual tradition, including Peter Abelard, Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, and Roger Bacon. And the medieval (...) period was notable for the emergence of great women thinkers, including Hildegard of Bingen, Marguerite Porete, and Julian of Norwich. Original ideas and arguments were developed in every branch of philosophy during this period - not just philosophy of religion and theology, but metaphysics, philosophy of logic and language, moral and political theory, psychology, and the foundations of mathematics and natural science. (shrink)

ABSTRACTThis article is a meditation, developed in dialogue with the thought of twelfth-century German mystic and saint Hildegard of Bingen, on the various senses of the verge. Besides connoting a temporal and spatial edge, the verge unites such apparently disparate things as virginity and virility, vigor and virtue, veracity and viriditas – Hildegard’s original term for the vegetal principle of “greening green,” allowing for the self-reproduction of all finite existence. I show how, in the shadow of vegetality, the verge sparks (...) a series of sudden reversals in which, figured as “the greenest branch,” Virgin Mary is imbued with a greater strength than the Flower-Child she carries, and plant life is endowed with vigor animating the rest of creation. (shrink)

Mysticism, visions, feminism, music, herbal medicine…Hildegard of Bingen have been identified with these notions. Because she has influenced Christianity until today with her extraordinary visions and various works about God, man, cosmology, music, botany and anatomy. In this study it will be evaluated the life of Hildegard who is one of the remarkable mystics in Christian mysticism history and her effect to Christian mysticism. Studies on the Christian mysticism is very limited in our country. Therefore, this study aims to contribute (...) to Christian mysticism and to provide a source for the researchers who work on this field. This thesis, Hildegard as a Mystic and her Place in the Christian Thought, consists of three chapters. The first chapter is an introduction to mysticism and the Christian mysticism. In this chapter is discussed the basic dynamics of Christian mysticism. Christianity has undergone a mystical transformation with Paul, who intended to move away from Judaism's emphasis on law. This mystical formation began to gain strength with elements such as saint and martyrdom from the 2nd century onwards. In the later period, Christianity has become even more spiritual structure with desert and monastic life. In the first chapter, it is emphasized that Christian mysticism is influenced by Jewish mysticism and Greek tradition and Mystery religions. Therefore, we think that Christian mysticism impressed by the internal dynamics like Paul and the New Testament texts and the external dynamics mentioned above. In this chapter, it is emphasized that Christian mystics usually prefer the word "love" which is a mystical expression when speaking about Jesus. Also, they concentrate on contemplation and evaluate rituals like sacraments in such a manner that mystical. At the end of this chapter, it is stated that Christian mystics usually prefer the word "love" when speaking about Jesus which is a mystical expression. Also, they concentrate on contemplation and evaluation of rituals like sacraments in a mystical manner; therefore we can say that they have a different understanding of religion than from institutional Christianity. In the second chapter, it is evaluated the relationship between the Church and mysticism and the socio-cultural background of the period influenced her thoughts. We can say that Christian Mysticism has begun to mature since the Middle Ages; even though Christianity tended to mysticism in the early period. Living in that period, she can be seen as a remarkable woman when her mystic character is taken into consideration. Even though she spent most of his life in the monasteries, it would be misleading to regard her as the one who is confined within the limits of the monastery since she established close relationships with many important people from the Pope to the Emperor. Thanks to her visions, she was accepted as a consultant or an oracle by the people around her. Also, she travelled to different cities to preach to people and priests, and in these sermons, she both criticized the clergy in some aspects and warns people against heretic movements. Even if she applied different rules in the monasteries and criticized the church authorities on some issues, she often paid attention to stay at the limits of orthodoxy and to defend the Catholic faith. Another remarkable aspect of Hildegard is that men and women are equally responsible for the first sin. The fact that she says Adam's ate the forbidden fruit due to Eve's love, that women are closer to Godly knowledge, and that she is appointed by God because of males unable to fulfil responsibility is noteworthy. Hildegard was not recognized as a heretic because of her aristocratic relatives who supported and power of visions. During this period, Christians began to fight against groups that were considered heretical by the Church and she lived at a time of Crusades. In other words, this age was a period which the Jews and Muslims were defined as heretics and infidels. This attitude affected other mystics. For example, Clairvaux Bernard in spite of as a mystic organized the Crusades and gave sermons to support it. Similarly, she did not remain indifferent to these developments and developed a rather harsh perspective against the members of the religious groups called "other “. The aim of our study is to reveal that Hildegard, a mystic in the Middle Ages, did not follow a different policy from the Church such an in religious and sociology atmosphere. In this chapter, we try to emphasize that the Church in the Middle Ages generally supported to mystics, though sometimes they struggled them. Because it is accepted that mystics and monasteries have empowered the Church by doing missionary and struggled against heretics. But we should also remember that there is a struggle for sovereignty among the Church and the mystics and the Church has accepted some mystics as heretics. We can state that she intuited this danger and tried to keep herself within the boundaries drawn by the Church. Hildegard has influenced Christianity until today with her extraordinary visions and different works such as God, man, cosmology, music, botany and anatomy. In addition, she especially generated thoughts about the human-Jesus-God relationship, universe, spirit, satan and the salvation of the world. What makes Hildegard different is that to describe some of God's attributes in a feminine way like God's wisdom and mercy, to explain nature, God's attributes and virtues in a connection with each other manner. At the end of this chapter is discussed Hildegard's contribution to Christian thought. For example, she supported her visions with paintings, thus contributed to the development of Christian illustration art. We can also say that her symphonies have contributed Church music and her cures it has been followed even today which is called herbal medicines. Besides these, it is made a film about her, also St. Rupert and St. Disibod monasteries has nearly recognized as a pilgrimage site nowadays. On the other hand, we can see that Hildegard's views about women are accepted by feminists and that they use the phrase for her "women's rights advocate of the Middle Ages". However, we believe that this statement is a misnomer. We can see this when we approach the works of Hildegard with a holistic reading. We think that this statement is also an anachronistic approach because feminists try to find a witness themselves from the Middle Ages. In the third and last section, we have tried to examine Hildegard's contribution to Christian mysticism and Catholic theology in terms of God, world, human, salvation. She was in close contact with the Pope and Bernard, it shows that she developed a theology on the line of the Church. Part of this theology was the perception of "others". For example, the pagan danger that Hildegard frequently expressed in her works, it aimed to reduce the impact of Christianity and paganism. Although Christianity became widespread during this period, it is possible to say that the Church and mystics such as Hildegard fought against the revival of paganism. She has more positive thoughts about Jewish heritage because Christianity depends it on theological and historical ties. However, Hildegard harshly criticized the Jews because they did not accept Jesus and crucified him. On the other hand, she believes that Judaism and Christianity are separated about mercy. According to her, Jesus eased the hardship of religious law. Thus, she pointed out that Jesus overhauled Judaism and the Old Testament which emphasized law. According to Hildegard, one of the differences between Judaism and Christianity is that Judaism is a world-oriented religion, but Christianity gained spirit through asceticism and monastery. Another group that Hildegard mentioned in her letters and visions is heretics. Although she did not mention precisely, it is clear that the features of this heretical group are Cathars. She often mentioned about the danger of Cathars, whose activities had increased in Europe. She warned the priests and the people of the danger of Cathars in the sermons tours. Hildegard accepted the rise of the Cathars as the devil coming out of the bottomless pits and warned the Church for their destruction. Emperor Friedrich supported the Crusades like Bernard and he died during these expeditions. We can say that she is not completely unaware of the Muslims because of these relationships. The thesis ends with "Conclusion" which includes the findings of the study. Additionally, the study is enriched maps, figures and pictures which including cities, monasteries and visions of Hildegard. (shrink)

Adamsom offers a lively and accessible tour through 600 years of intellectual history, offering a feast of new ideas in every area of philosophy. He introduces us to some of the greatest thinkers of the Western tradition including Abelard, Anselm, Aquinas, Hildegard of Bingen, and Julian of Norwich.

Name der Zeitschrift: Das Mittelalter Jahrgang: 21 Heft: 2 Seiten: 381-399.

Hildegard of Bingen’s mystical and cognitive experience uniquely combines the visual and auditory dimensions of the knowledge, in her own account, revealed to her by divine wisdom. According to Hildegard, the hidden meaning of her visions was communicated to her by a voice from the sky; thus the auditio allows her to understand the uisio, while the uisio allows her to remember the message of the auditio. Moreover, as we shall see, the Rhenish magistra apparently finds pleasure in the knowledge (...) of the natural world, an intellectual pleasure about which she does not speak directly but which is clearly shown in her works. In this paper, on the basis of Hildegard’s definition of scientia, I will try to determine what she understands by ‘knowledge’ and use her notion of praescientia Dei as a measure for the analysis of the distinct visions of the universe set out in two of her works, the Sciuias and the Liber diuinorum operum. There we can see that, despite the divine inspiration to which she attributes her wo... (shrink)

Two major lines of argument support the notion that Hildegard of Bingen’s metaphysics is peculiarly gynocentric. Contra the standard commentary on her work, the focus is not on the notion of viriditas; rather, the first line of argument presents a specific delineation of her ontology, demonstrating that it is a graded hierarchy of beings, many of which present feminine aspects of the divine, and all of which establish the metaphysical notion of interpenetrability. The second line of argument specifically contrasts her (...) thought to that of Aquinas and Meister Eckhart, noting areas of similarity and difference. It is concluded that the visionary origins of Hildegard’s work may have to some extent precluded our understanding of it, and that her work merits consideration not only philosophically and theologically but from the standpoint of its early presentation of a gynocentric worldview. (shrink)

Elisabeth Gössmann es una de las pioneras de la investigación teológica hecha por mujeres en Alemania. Codiscípula, junto con Joseph Ratzinger, del teólogo Michael Schmaus, quien ha dado los impulsos para un nuevo abordaje histórico al dogma, Elisabeth Gössmann, a pesar de estudios valiosos sobre la mariología medieval y sobre la analysis fidei en la Suma Halensis, no pudo, por ser mujer, ser habilitada en teología dogmática en la Facultad de Teología de München, al comienzo de los años 60. Ella (...) enseñó dogmática en diferentes universidades en Tokio, y después de su habilitación en filosofía, también en la Universidad de München. Es especialista en la teología medieval, y empieza, en los años 60, en tiempos del Concilio Vaticano II, a investigar el tema de la imagen de la mujer en la tradición de la fe cristiana. Hasta comienzo del siglo XXI, ella publica diferentes estudios sobre la imago Dei referente a las mujeres. Destaca sobre todo su obra sobre Hildegard von Bingen. (shrink)

This article presents the medieval thought of Hildegard of Bingen, which seems to be very topical at this time of ecological crisis. In a prophetic way, this outstanding, European, medieval figure saw the challenges that civilized humankind faces in our time. In her works we find the roots of such popular ideas as a holistic view of the world and sustainable development. According to Hildegard of Bingen, original harmony between God, mankind, and the world is upset by irresponsible human deeds. (...) Hildegard points out that mankind, which is the first victim of its own deeds, is able to recognize a critical situation and take steps to overcome the crisis. Hildegard of Bingen’s work expresses optimism about mankind’s ability to change its attitude towards nature This optimism is derived from the spiritual and intellectual skills of mankind. (shrink)

Entre la abadesa medieval alemana Hildegard von Bingen (siglo XII) y la monja clarisa chilena de fines del siglo XVII sor Úrsula Suárez existe una gran distancia histórica y cultural. Sin embargo, algo las aproxima enérgicamente, tal y como si hubieran sido hermanas del mismo claustro. Y esta aproximación no consiste en la vestimenta de hábitos o la proclamación de votos de pobreza, obediencia y castidad, si no que es, por sobre todo, la peripecia que ambas tuvieron que realizar para (...) poder relatar sus experiencias espirituales: pedir el permiso de una figura masculina en el caso de Hildegard, y someterse a la obediencia de esta misma figura en el caso de Úrsula. En este trabajo me propongo exponer cómo los discursos de las monjas que han escrito se subordinan a la aprobación de un modelo de poder y autoridad. Among the medieval German abbess Hildegard von Bingen (XII Century) and the Chilean late seventeenth century Clarisse Sister Ursula Suárez there exists a great historical and cultural distance. However, something strongly approximates them as if they were sisters of the same cloister. And this approach is not the clothing habits or the proclamation of vows of poverty, obedience and chastity, but it is, above all, the adventures that both had to live through in order to describe their spiritual experiences: ask permission of a male figure in the case of Hildegard, and submit to the obedience of this same figure in the case of Ursula. In this paper we propose to show how the discourses of the nuns who have written are subordinated to the approval of a model of power and authority. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Frühmittelalterliche Studien Jahrgang: 47 Heft: 1 Seiten: 185-208.

Waarom komen vrouwelijke denkers in curricula, filosofische cursussen en overzichtswerken zo weinig aan bod? Door de eeuwen heen hebben talloze vrouwen zich weliswaar verdiept in een veelheid aan filosofische thema's, maar vaak zijn deze denkers onzichtbaar gebleven. Van de twaalfde-eeuwse filosofe Hildegard van Bingen zullen de meesten wel hebben gehoord, maar wat van haar tijdgenote Mechtild van Magdeburg? Uit recentere tijden is Hannah Arendt inmiddels wereldberoemd, maar de namen Gloria Anzaldúa en Werewere Liking zullen misschien alleen de specialisten bekend in (...) de oren klinken. Uitgesloten van officiële onderwijsinstellingen namen vele vrouwelijke denkers hun toevlucht tot andere vormen van filosofie bedrijven, zoals briefwisselingen. En dat levert een onschatbare rijkdom aan filosofische bronnen op, zoals dit boek laat zien. Werk van 69 vrouwelijke denkers uit 25 eeuwen wordt bij elkaar gebracht. (shrink)

É corrente se afirmar que antes da Modernidade não há registro de mulheres na construção do pensamento erudito. Que, se tomarmos, po exemplo, a Filosofia e a Teologia, que foram as duas áreas do conhecimento que mais produziram intelectuais, durante a Idade Média, não encontraremos aí a presença de mulheres. Entretanto, apesar de todas as evidências, se vasculharmos a construção do Pensamento Ocidental, veremos que é possível identificar a presença de algumas mulheres já nos tempos remotos, na Antiguidade Clássica e (...) na Patrística (ou Alta Idade Média). Mas é na Escolástica (Baixa Idade Média) que encontramos as primeiras Pensadoras, responsáveis por um sistema autônomo, distinguindo-se como fecundas escritoras, donas de obras tão profundas e importantes quanto as produzidas pelos homens de seu tempo, com os quais muitas vezes dialogaram em pé de igualdade. Dentro desse maravilhoso universo feminino de intelectuais, destacamos, na Escolástica, a figura de Hildegarda de Bingen (1098-1165), da qual trataremos um pouco neste artigo. It is common to say that before modernity there is no record of women in the construction of classical thought. What if we take, for example, to philosophy and theology, which were the two areas of knowledge that produced more intellectuals during the Middle Ages, we find there the presence of women. However, despite all the evidence, if we search the construction of Western Thought, we see that it is possible to identify the presence of some women already in ancient times, in Classical Antiquity and Patristics (or Middle Ages). But it is in Scholastic (Middle Ages) we find the first thinkers, responsible for an autonomous system, especially as fertile writers, owners of works so profound and important as those produced by men of his time, who often conversed on an equal footing. In this wonderful universe of female intellectuals, highlight, in Scholastic, the figure of Idelgarda of Bingen (1098-1165), which is discussed a bit in this article. (shrink)

Current efforts to think holistically about mental disorder may be assisted by considering the integrative strategies used by Hildegard of Bingen, a twelfth-century abbess and healer. We search for integrative strategies in the detailed records of Hilde-gard’s treatment of the noblewoman Sigewiza and in Hildegard’s more general writings. Three strategies support Hildegard’s holistic thinking: the use of narrative approaches to mental illness, acknowledging interdependence between perspectives, and applying principles of balance to the relationships between perspectives. Applying these three strategies to (...) the present-day conceptualization and treatment of mental disorder could move us toward a more thoroughly integrated understanding of the field. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Hildegard: Medieval Holism and ‘Presentism’—Or, Did Sigewiza Have Health Insurance?Jerome L. Kroll (bio)Keywordsholistic healing, presentism, Hildegard of Bingen, medieval medicineSuzanne Phillips and Monique Boivin have published an article examining Hildegard of Bingen’s (1098–179) treatment and cure of Sigewiza, a possessed woman. The purpose of their article is to demonstrate Hildegard’s holistic, or biopsychosocial, approach to healing as a model that we in the twenty-first century have lost but would (...) do well to recover. Several questions come to mind:What is Hildegard’s model?Have we lost it?Is it something we wish to emulate?The basics of the case history is that a noblewoman, Sigewiza, is ill or possessed of an evil spirit. Attempts by her local abbot and community to send her on pilgrimages or otherwise to cure or exorcise her, even with Hildegard’s recommendation, have only short-lived success, after which Sigewiza’s illness or demon returns. Finally, the abbot asks Hildegard to take the noblewoman into her Benedictine monastery, and after a suitable time and various interventions, Sigewiza is permanently (presumably) cured. The arduous process of effecting this cure has left Hildegard weak and ill herself, a pattern of poor physical health from which Hildegard suffered all her life.Phillips and Boivin claim that this is an early example of conceptualizing and utilizing a bio-psychosocial model to treat a complex illness. Hildegard, well known for her medical and pharmaceutical knowledge, applies the proper dietary changes to correct Sigewiza’s humoral (biological) imbalance. She treats the psyche and its partner, the soul, by long hours of discussion with Sigewiza and verbal duels with her demon, as well as by exorcising the demon, and she includes the social aspects of treatment by bringing Sigewiza into the Benedictine community of sisters as a participating member. Which of these three modalities may be sufficient for a cure depends upon the medieval literary genre in which the case appears. If in a medical text, then the proper dietary treatment and application of compounds to neutralize and correct the offending humoral imbalances would be the therapeutic agents. In medieval hagiography, [End Page 369] the biological modality is never sufficient and often ridiculed, because the entire thrust of the text is to demonstrate the futility of medical (secular) ministrations and the effectiveness of saintly intervention in producing a cure, whether or not exorcism is technically part of the process. In Sigewiza’s case, perhaps because of the stubbornness of the possessing demon or because of other factors attached to Sigewiza’s condition, the three (biopsychosocial) modalities are utilized. It seems that Sigewiza has a treatment-resistant illness.The narrative follows a familiar topos in saint’s lives (Kroll and Bachrach 2005). Attempts to cure a demoniac by prayers, pilgrimages, intercessions of other local saints or reputedly holy persons, and sometimes by physicians (when available) are to no avail. The sufferer is brought, amidst great fanfare and public attention (a media event), to the holy woman who is the central figure of the particular Vita, and the sufferer is promptly, or protractedly, cured. In such an account, the holiness of the holy woman is further demonstrated and her reputation, shrine, and influence are duly extended and enhanced. The holy person, with humility, attributes the intercession and cure to the power of God, or Jesus or Mary or a particular patron saint, but the crowd of onlookers and the audience of the Vita understand that God (or Jesus or Mary) has in fact granted the miracle cure as a way of demonstrating the holiness of this holy person in contrast to those who previously tried to cure the ill person. The abbot who ‘referred’ Sigewiza to Hildegard, and the previous saints’ shrine to whom Sigewiza was brought, although generally acknowledged as being of fine character or respectability, had to suffer the ignominy of their petitions being rejected to dramatize the special regard in which Hildegard is held.Although we can say that the “purposes” for which Hildegard’s hagiographer includes such anecdotes is to demonstrate her holiness and her importance in God’s eyes, this does not stop us, nine centuries later, from using such... (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Hildegard and HolismSuzanne M. Phillips (bio) and Monique D. Boivin (bio)Keywordsbiopsychosocial, integration, medieval, mental illnessWe appreciate the careful and enriching commentary offered by Kroll and by Radden on our paper about holistic views of mental illness in the writings of the twelfth-century abbess and healer Hildegard of Bingen. Both reviewers are well-established figures in the study of historical perspectives on mental illness, an area that we have just begun (...) to explore. We are glad for the opportunity to respond to their observations and thereby to continue the dialogue.First, we would like to clarify our purpose in preparing this paper. Nowhere do we claim that Hildegard used a biopsychosocial model of mental illness, either in addressing the needs of the particular case of Sigewiza, or more generally in her writings on illness and health. In fact, we agree with Kroll (2007, 370), when he states that Hildegard did not use a biopsychosocial model. We use the term “biopsychosocial” only three times in the paper, always by contrast with what we see in Hildegard’s writings. The present-day biopsychosocial model focuses on getting a range of perspectives on the table, encouraging the consideration of biological, psychological, and social issues when thinking about mental illness. This is a good thing, but we argue that it does not go far enough. Specifically, there has been insufficient attention to ways these perspectives might interact.How, then, might we describe Hildegard’s way of conceptualizing mental illness? In place of the label “biopsychosocial model,” Kroll suggests that Hildegard’s approach could be described as a “religious model” (p. 372). Here we disagree. By our reading, Hildegard’s description of mental illness involves religious components, certainly, but also humoral, astrological, interpersonal, community, and intrapsychic components. Radden correctly notes that we are not so much interested in the particular components as we are in their interactions. We are attracted to Hildegard’s writings because she attends to these interactions. Our students, like Kroll’s (p. 371), are curious about mind–body relationships, which represent one example of the interplay between components. Our concern is that the current biopsychosocial model often fails to satisfy our own, and our students’, interest in the nature of those interactions. Our hope is that Hildegard’s writings might help us to think more richly about the interactions.As Radden (2007, 373) points out, present-day psychiatrists and psychologists do in fact use mul-ticausal accounts of depression. And we agree that such accounts need not be reductionistic (Kroll, 371). But we also recognize that psychology and psychiatry have well-established reductionist (more specifically, materialist) habits. To borrow [End Page 377] Kroll’s phrase, the biological model threatens “to swallow all other models” (p. 371). We must guard against such reductionism, given the habits of our disciplines. As we noted, McHugh and Slavney (1998) respond to that threat by building walls between the perspectives, suggesting that we might use different perspectives when thinking about different sorts of problems. We think that there ought to be more synthetic, holistic ways of responding to that threat, and we are hopeful that Hildegard’s writings can help us to develop those.At a basic level, we see Hildegard asking different questions than people ask today. On the first page of his commentary, for example, Kroll poses the question of “which of these three modalities [bio-, psycho-, social] may be sufficient” (p. 369) in the particular medieval text. We found that the sufficiency of one modality or another does not concern Hildegard. We are not able to speak to the general point that Kroll raises, that one or another element is emphasized depending on the goal of the medieval text; we can report our experience in reading Hildegard, where we found no sense in which one or another component is privileged. Even though Hildegard operated within a thoroughly religious context, we did not find examples of her subsuming other factors under religion. Everything interacts with spiritual concerns, to be sure, but everything also interacts with the biological, and with the interpersonal, and with the astrological. Although it may seem odd to us post-Darwinian thinkers, Hildegard’s model is essentially... (shrink)

Current efforts to think holistically about mental disorder may be assisted by considering the integrative strategies used by Hildegard of Bingen, a twelfth-century abbess and healer. We search for integrative strategies in the detailed records of Hilde-gard’s treatment of the noblewoman Sigewiza and in Hildegard’s more general writings. Three strategies support Hildegard’s holistic thinking: the use of narrative approaches to mental illness, acknowledging interdependence between perspectives, and applying principles of balance to the relationships between perspectives. Applying these three strategies to (...) the present-day conceptualization and treatment of mental disorder could move us toward a more thoroughly integrated understanding of the field. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Sigewiza’s CureJennifer H. Radden (bio)Keywordsbiopsychosocial model, Hildegard of Bingen, associationist presuppositions, causation, power of suggestionSuzanne Phillips and Monique Boivin provide us with a sympathetic and compelling account of how the various elements of Hildegard’s sophisticated amalgam of ritual, magic, religion, dietary and other medical remedies, caring, and community, formed a seamless cure for Sigewiza’s affliction. Whether Hildgard’s approach reflects an early instance of the biopsychosocial “model” is a separate (...) claim, and may be challenged. But that her ministrations somehow effected a cure in this case seems—if not without a doubt, then very likely.Descriptions of Sigewiza’s condition, with its “clumping together of blackness and steam” caused by a “constellation of humors,” echo those of other medieval writers speaking of the humoral disorder of melancholia—at that time an encompassing category for a range of symptoms and syndromes that would today be assigned as different mental disorders. In these descriptions a variety of explanations for mental illness are quite typically introduced, including biological, social, supernatural, dietary and astrological ones. Phillips and Boivin take care to point out that Hildegard was not offering her remedies as alternatives, but rather proposing them as at work jointly and in a range of causal directions, exhibiting mutual influence, and feedback loops. As these authors say, multiple explanations “were often held simultaneously... in reference to a specific case” (Phillips and Boivin 2007, XX). And the factors that might cause the system to move out of balance are many: food, emotions, the soul, the mind, actions, and spiritual forces. So although deeds may cause bodily changes and their psychological accompaniments, “problems in the diet might affect the humors which would then have psychological effects, which demons might... use as opportunities to cause further trouble in the spirit, mind, and body” (Phillips and Boivin 2007, 365).What first struck me about Hildegard’s description of these many distinct causes interacting in complex ways is its compatibility with the multi-causal accounts of depression (and other mental disorder) frequently proffered in our own time. Daily habits (e.g., diet, sleep and exercise regimes), genetic predispositions, including biological states of fragility, external events, experiences of loss, social roles, and cultural beliefs—not to mention spontaneous recovery, and placebo effects—are all regularly implicated in the onset and course of conditions such as depression.Still, the similarity to these modern causal accounts may be somewhat misleading and we must beware of overstating it. In favoring and pressing on Hildegard’s holistic understanding, moreover, Phillips and Boivin perhaps insufficiently emphasize significant dissimilarities between Hildegard’s and our contemporary accounts.It is the interaction between the various elements making up Sigewiza’s cure that is most noteworthy [End Page 373] in this account, as Phillips and Boivin recognize. Yet that relationship itself seems in some ways surprisingly problematic: difficult for us to make sense of, and profoundly unmodern. Granted, we think we see the way these approaches probably influenced how Sigewiza felt and responded; but it is not so clear how Hildegard saw things. Like a lot of thinking in medieval times, Hildegard’s account provides us with glimpses of an understanding of the world that today looks prescientific and in that respect, almost precausal. (So, to the extent that the biopsychosocial model is understood as a causal one, the case of Sigewiza may exemplify it only inexactly.)It is not merely the range and type of causes, including supernatural and astrological ones, in accounts such as Hildegard’s that distinguish it from today’s analyses. It is also the reliance of such accounts on what seems to be a different metaphysics, one of associations or qualities.Associationist presuppositions can be found in accounts of health and illness from before, during, and long after, Hildegard’s time. Three examples of this pervasive, but puzzling thinking serve to illustrate. The melancholiac’s perceived swarthiness and darkened skin color—regularly noted from the time of the Greek physicians and an established part of the medieval iconography in images of melancholy—were not, or not primarily, thought to be a causal result of the darkness of his bile, as one might suppose. Instead, this coloring seems... (shrink)

Overviews -- Hildegard of Bingen -- Anne Conway -- Mary Astell -- Mary Wollstonecraft -- Harriet Taylor Mill -- Edith Stein -- Simone Weil -- Simone de Beauvoir -- Conclusions.

Hildegard of Bingen was one of the most remarkable women of her day. From early childhood she experienced religious visions, and at the age of eight she entered a cloistered religious life in the Benedictine monastery of Disibondenberg. Eventually she not only became abbess of the community, but presided over the establishment of an important new convent near Bingen. All but forgotten for hundreds of years, Hildegard was rediscovered in the 1980s and since then her visionary writings have been widely (...) read and studied. Even more surprisingly, music that she composed has been performed and recorded to great acclaim. She has come to be seen by some as a proto-feminist icon -- a woman of great accomplishments who made her own way in a man's world and exerted extraordinary influence over some of the most powerful figures of her time. Much of Hildegard's correspondence has been preserved. It reveals that for more than 30 years this cloistered nun was an unflinching adviser and correspondent to all levels of church and society, from popes and kings to ordinary lay persons, from Jerusalem to England. With the 2004 OUP publication of Volume III of Joseph Baird and Radd Ehrman's translation, the complete correspondence became available for the first time in English. For this new abridgement, Baird has selected 75 of the most interesting and revealing of the letters from Volumes I, II, and III. Freed from the organizational restraints of the Latin edition of the letters, he has arranged them in roughly chronological order and provided greatly expanded, accessibly written introductory notes that contextualize the letters and explain their significance. As a result, this fascinating collection serves as a kind of life in letters that makes an ideal introduction ot this exceptional woman, her world, and her work. This book is the first to give a thorough and definitive illlumination of the personal life of Hildegard of Bingen as viewed through the defining lens of her personal correspondence: her early, hesitant bid for recognition of her spiritual gifts; her courageous, and ultimately futile, fight to retain the companionship of her close personal friend and the poignant outcome of that struggle; her vehement defiance of the male hierarchy in her bid to establish her own communities under her personal governance; her impudent challenge to contemporary conservatives views by the dress and customs she established in her community; her paean of praise for the power of music; and her adamant refusal, even at the advanced age of eighty, to give in to the demands of the male authorities even in the face of excommunication. (shrink)

This work analyses a number of texts of the medical book Physica, by Hildegarde of Bingen, in which we can see some relatiosships between the natural medicaments that operate on the body on certain psychophysical morbid states produced by diabolical influence. These texts show an anthropological tendency that guides to a more integrating vision of the relationships soul-body as constitutive elements of the human personality.

Este estudio es una revisión de los principales problemas que plantea la lectura de un libro de visiones como el Liber divinorum operum de Hildegard de Bingen. Autoría, recepción y tradición profética, por una parte, y las relaciones entre 'imagen visionaria' y texto, 'revelación' y conocimiento, son algunos de los asuntos problemáticos que surgen de inmediato en la consideración de obras como el Liber divinorum operum, la obra cosmológica y profética más madura de esta autora. Además de proponer posibles caminos (...) de lectura e interpretación de esta obra, es imprescindible situar la obra de Hildegard en el contexto intelectual, político y eclesiástico en el cual ella influyó a través de sus cartas, su obra científica y, por cierto, su escritura explícitamente visionaria y profética. En este sentido hay que observar que, si bien su influencia fue, en definitiva, más restringida que la del abad Joaquín de Fiore y su pensamiento sobre las Tres Edades de la Historia de la Salvación, se puede considerar que la figura de Hildegard fue una de las más importantes y reconocidas en el ámbito del pensamiento profético y apocalíptico de la Edad Media. (shrink)

Hildegard von Bingen, ¿una competente teóloga? Dicha pregunta atraviesa los numerosos estudios teológicos que abordan la imponente obra de la abadesa del siglo XII, que se puede considerar una "mística dogmática". En el presente trabajo interesa aquello que aporta el Liber vita meritorium, a partir de aquellos ejes que articulan el movimiento propiamente circular, que da origen a una racionalidad vigorosa, según la cual la razón humana llega al límite de su propio ímpetu, allí donde se encuentra ante el dilema: (...) o doblegarse sobre sí misma o trascender a una plenitud desconocida. Tal disyuntiva no constituye la interrogante propiamente tal de la presente investigación. La cuestión fundamental, más bien, es ¿qué hace doblegarse o trascender a dicha razón? ¿Será Dios mismo, Su Santo Espíritu?, es decir, ¿la "santidad de Dios", o la privación de Su Espíritu en el hombre explicará la respuesta al dilema de su razón? Hela, aquí, la incógnita que se pretende indagar. (shrink)