Abstract

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.