Hildegard of Bingen

NAME Hildegard of Bingen (born Hildegard von Bermersheim)

WHAT FAMOUS FOR A 12th-century German Benedictine nun renowned as a mystic, theologian, composer, writer, healer, natural scientist, and visionary. She is one of the most remarkable polymaths of the Middle Ages and was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

BIRTH Hildegard was born in the summer of 1098 in Böckelheim (now Bermersheim), West Franconia, in the Rhineland region of what is now modern-day Germany. She was born into the Holy Roman Empire during a period of significant religious and political transformation, just 44 years after the East-West Schism of 1054 and living through the reforms of the First Lateran Council in 1123.

FAMILY BACKGROUND Hildegard was born into a noble family of the free lower nobility. Her parents were Mechtild of Merxheim-Nahet and Hildebert of Bermersheim. Her father served as a soldier in the service of Meginhard, Count of Spanheim. 

She was traditionally considered the youngest and tenth child in her family, though records confirm only seven older siblings. As was customary for the tenth child in noble families, she was dedicated to the church from birth. 

Her mother was well-born, and the family held sufficient social standing to arrange for Hildegard's education within the monastic system.

CHILDHOOD From early childhood, Hildegard was described as sickly and weak, afflicted with headaches that accompanied her visions. She began experiencing mystical visions at the age of three, seeing "Shade of the Living Light" that she would later describe in her writings. 

Due to her fragile health and perhaps because of these extraordinary experiences, her parents made the significant decision to dedicate her to religious life. At age seven or eight, she was placed in the care of Jutta of Sponheim, an anchoress at the Benedictine monastery of Disibodenberg. This early enclosure represented a radical commitment to spiritual life, as she was not simply enrolled as a novice but was enclosed in a cell with Jutta and a servant, living according to the Benedictine rule from childhood.

EDUCATION Hildegard's education was conducted entirely within the monastic system under the tutelage of Jutta of Sponheim, who was herself the daughter of a local count. Jutta taught Hildegard to read, write, and understand Latin, providing her with the foundation for her future scholarly work. The education was rigorous and followed Benedictine traditions, emphasizing scripture, liturgy, and religious texts. 

Hildegard later described her learning as coming through divine illumination rather than formal study, stating that her visions provided her with understanding of scripture and theology. The monastery's library gave her access to a wide range of texts that informed her later scientific and medical writings.

CAREER RECORD 1106 (Age 8): Enclosed with Jutta of Sponheim at Disibodenberg.

1136 (Age 38): Upon Jutta's death, Hildegard was unanimously elected Mistress (magistra) of the women's community at Disibodenberg, inheriting a position of leadership.

Post 1140: Became a renowned writer and composer, producing major works of visionary theology, natural history, and liturgical music

c. 1147-1150: Founded her own independent monastery for her nuns at Rupertsberg near Bingen, defying the opposition of the monks at Disibodenberg 

c. 1165: Founded a daughter house for her nuns at Eibingen on the opposite bank of the Rhine 1150s-1170s: Undertook four major preaching tours (prophetic journeys) throughout Germany, speaking to clergy, nobles, and laypeople 

APPEARANCE Historical records provide limited specific details about Hildegard's physical appearance. Contemporary accounts describe her as having been sickly from birth, suggesting a delicate constitution, but specific features such as height, hair color, or facial characteristics were not recorded in surviving sources. 

Later illuminations, like those found in the Rupertsberg manuscript of Scivias, depict her as a small, strong-featured woman, often shown seated and writing, with a hand to her head, symbolizing the reception of visions.

Illumination from Hildegard's Scivias (1151) showing her receiving a vision and dictating to teacher Volmar

FASHION As a Benedictine abbess, Hildegard wore the traditional monastic habit of her order, consisting of simple, unadorned woollen garments. The Benedictine rule emphasized poverty and simplicity, requiring coarse cloth without expensive dyes or elaborate decoration.

However, her community at Rupertsberg was noted for its lavish appearance and clothing on feast days. The nuns wore white vestments with silk veils and ornaments, which was highly unusual for an enclosed community. She defended this practice, arguing that it symbolized the purity and innocence of their lives before God

CHARACTER Hildegard of Bingen possessed a strikingly outspoken and determined character, underpinned by both spiritual intensity and profound discipline.

She masterfully paired a deep personal humility with formidable moral and prophetic authority. This confidence allowed her to become intellectually fearless, and she did not hesitate to confront powerful figures, including popes and emperors, when she believed divine truth or proper religious conduct was at stake.

In an era that severely limited women's public roles, Hildegard displayed rare intellectual confidence and sharp administrative skill, successfully founding and leading two independent convents.

Her fierce loyalty to her principles and community was vividly demonstrated late in life when she stood against church officials, refusing to exhume the body of an excommunicated man buried in her convent's cemetery.

Her extensive writings showcase a mind that seamlessly fused mystical spirituality with careful observation of the natural world (e.g., her treatises on medicine and herbs). Within her convent, she upheld exacting standards, even attempting to limit admission to women of noble birth to maintain social harmony and prevent internal divisions.

SPEAKING VOICE Her reputation as a powerful orator who undertook lengthy preaching tours suggests she had a strong, authoritative, and compelling voice.

SENSE OF HUMOUR There is little direct evidence of a modern "sense of humor." However, her writing demonstrates wit, vivid metaphor, and sometimes sharp sarcasm when criticizing clerical corruption, showing a keen awareness of human folly.

RELATIONSHIPS Hildegard's most significant personal relationship was with Richardis von Stade, a fellow nun who served as her close friend and personal assistant during the composition of Scivias. When Richardis was elected abbess of a distant convent in 1151, Hildegard vigorously opposed the appointment, writing desperate letters to multiple church officials, the Pope, and Richardis herself, insisting it was "not God's will" for them to be separated. Despite Hildegard’s passionate resistance, Richardis von Stade was ultimately transferred from Rupertsberg to become abbess of Bassum around 1151. 

About a year after the transfer, Richardis died at Bassum on October 29, 1152. Her brother, Count (and later Archbishop) Hartwig of Bremen, wrote to Hildegard to inform her that Richardis had died and had made a “good Christian end” (i.e. died reconciled and devout), fulfilling the Christian duty of reporting her sister’s pious death. Hildegard’s reply expresses profound grief, affirms that she cherished Richardis with “divine love,” and assures Hartwig that she is confident of Richardis’ salvation, confirming the substance of the account you quoted. (1)

St. Hildegard receives a supernatural communication in the presence of her confessor and Richardis

Her lifelong secretary and collaborator Volmar of Disibodenberg was a monk who helped transcribe her visions and validated her work to the wider world.

Other important relationships included her correspondence with Bernard of Clairvaux, who supported her visionary experiences, and her exchanges with popes, kings, and emperors who sought her counsel.

MONEY AND FAME As the abbess of a noble convent, she was responsible for managing substantial land and wealth acquired through endowments and gifts from noble families. She successfully managed the financial independence of Rupertsberg.

Hildegard achieved remarkable fame during her lifetime, unusual for a woman of her era. She did not seek wealth, adhering to monastic vows of poverty, but her reputation brought significant resources to her convents. As her prophetic visions gained recognition through the endorsement of Pope Eugenius III, nobles and clergy sought her advice, likely providing donations and support for her communities. 

Her fame was based on her perceived divine authority rather than personal ambition, and she used her influence to support Church reform and admonish institutional corruption, particularly simony. 

Hildegard's canonization in 2012 and declaration as a Doctor of the Church in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI reflect her enduring legacy.

FOOD AND DRINK Raised on a frugal monastic diet from childhood, Hildegard's approach to food and drink was both practical and theological. Her medical works, particularly Causae et Curae and Physica, extensively documented the medicinal properties of various foods, herbs, and spices. 

She viewed nutrition as essential to maintaining the balance of the four humors and emphasized the healing power of natural ingredients. Her writings include detailed instructions on diet for health, addressing how different foods affect the body's balance. 

Hildegard advocated for a diet based on spelt (dinkel), which she called the "best grain," and recommended wine (properly diluted) for medicinal use

The monastic rule would have limited her consumption to simple, seasonal fare, but her scientific observations covered a wide range of dietary substances and their effects on human health.

MUSIC AND ARTS She composed more than 70 sacred works, including antiphons and hymns. The Symphonia is a collection of 77 liturgical songs, and she also created Ordo Virtutum, an early morality play that stands as the only surviving medieval musical drama with both text and music composed by the same author. 

Her musical style is characterized by soaring melodies that expand the boundaries of traditional Gregorian chant, featuring a range that can exceed two octaves. She wrote both the words and music for her compositions, an unprecedented achievement that creates a close alliance between text and melody. Her music is monophonic, consisting of single melodic lines, but demonstrates extraordinary melodic variety and rhetorical power. 

She also supervised miniature illuminations in the Rupertsberg manuscript of Scivias, contributing to visual arts through the artistic decoration of her visionary works.

LITERATURE Hildegard's literary output was vast and diverse. Her three major visionary theological works—Scivias (1142-1151), Liber Vitae Meritorum (1158-1163), and Liber Divinorum Operum (1163-1174)—established her as a significant theological voice. She authored extensive medical treatises (Physica and Causae et Curae), scientific works on natural history, and over 300 letters to religious and political leaders across Europe. Her writings integrate poetry, allegory, and systematic theology, articulating complex philosophical concepts through vivid visionary imagery.

Hildegard invented a constructed language called Lingua Ignota, complete with its own alphabet, demonstrating her linguistic creativity. 

NATURE Hildegard viewed nature as infused with divine life force, which she called "Viriditas" (“greening power”). Plants, stones, animals, and the human body were all spiritually interconnected in her worldview.

Her medical works describe the human body as a microcosm of the cosmic macrocosm, with the four humors corresponding to the four elements of the universe. 

She emphasized the healing properties of herbs, plants, and precious stones, documenting nearly 300 species. 

PETS Her scientific writings in Physica and Causae et Curae demonstrate extensive knowledge of animal behavior and health. She includes instructions for veterinary care, including bleeding techniques to keep animals healthy, showing her concern for animal welfare within the monastery's agricultural operations. Her holistic worldview extended to all creatures, viewing them as part of the interconnected divine creation, but specific personal relationships with pets are not documented in surviving sources.

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Hildegard's life was centered on the Benedictine Rule, which precluded organized sports. Her "hobbies" were her vast intellectual pursuits: composing music, writing theological and scientific treatises, and corresponding with the powerful of Europe.  Physical recreation would have been limited to walks within monastic grounds and the practical labor required by the Benedictine rule of prayer and work.

SCIENCE AND MATHS She was a serious natural scientist by the standards of the Middle Ages. Physica and Causae et Curae demonstrate a systematic, empirical approach to categorizing natural objects and observing the effects of illness and treatment. While not a mathematician in the modern sense, her cosmic visions (Liber Divinorum Operum) contain elaborate numerical and geometrical symmetries, reflecting medieval symbolic cosmology. 

The Universal Man, Liber Divinorum Operum of St. Hildegard of Bingen

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Hildegard’s philosophy and theology did not begin in a library so much as in a blaze of light. From her visions flowed viriditas—that irrepressible greening power of God that keeps the universe from drying up and blowing away. Creation, in her view, was not a static exhibit but a living thing, pulsing with divine sap. In Scivias, Liber Vitae Meritorum, and Liber Divinorum Operum, she stitched together theology, cosmology, and natural science with the confidence of someone who had actually seen how it all fits.

Human beings, she said, stand rather precariously in the middle of things—tiny universes balancing between earth and heaven, mud and glory, microcosms wobbling beneath the weight of a vast and attentive macrocosm. God, in Hildegard’s telling, was not distant or abstract but intimately involved, continuously propping up creation like a patient parent who refuses to let the whole thing collapse.

Her theology placed firm emphasis on God’s omnipotence and the salvation of humankind, with particular attention given to the work of the Holy Spirit and the cultivation of the virtues. This emphasis came into sharp focus between November 1147 and February 1148, when a synod was convened at Trier and Pope Eugenius III was made aware of Hildegard’s writings. The moment proved decisive. On hearing excerpts from Scivias, the pope granted her formal approval to record and circulate her visions as revelations inspired by the Holy Spirit—an ecclesiastical green light that bestowed instant authority on her work and transformed a cloistered visionary into a recognised prophetic voice.

Her theology also gave centre stage to Divine Love (Caritas) and Wisdom (Sapientia), portrayed unapologetically as female figures—warm, authoritative, and utterly indispensable. She had little patience for the idea that women were theological afterthoughts, dryly observing that while woman may be made from man, no man has ever managed without a woman since. Redemption, for Hildegard, was not an escape from the world but its healing, the restoration of greenness where things had gone brittle.

Above all, she insisted that the spiritual and material worlds were not rivals but partners in a divine dance. God was not merely watching creation from a safe distance but actively sustaining it, moment by moment, leaf by leaf, soul by soul—ensuring that, against all odds, the universe remained gloriously, stubbornly alive.

POLITICS Hildegard was deeply engaged in the turbulent politics of 12th-century Europe, using her prophetic authority to influence religious and political leaders. She corresponded extensively with popes, bishops, kings, and emperors, counseling against heresies and political behavior that contradicted Church teachings. Her letters addressed the major issues of her time, including the Investiture Controversy and Church reforms following the First Lateran Council. She condemned simony and institutional corruption while encouraging rulers to return to proper Catholic practice. 

She used her divine authority to directly criticize Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, warning him against his schismatic policies toward the Pope. 

Her political influence derived from her perceived divine authority, allowing her to admonish even the most powerful figures when she believed they erred. She played a crucial role in maintaining Catholic Church influence as a political institution during a period of significant conflict between secular and ecclesiastical powers.

Her four preaching tours were politically radical, as they allowed a woman to address mixed crowds of men and women on religious and ethical matters, an almost unheard-of public role for a woman in the 12th century. (2)

SCANDAL Hildegard's most significant scandal occurred in the final year of her life when she defied church authorities by providing sanctuary to a young man who had been excommunicated after being abused by the church. When he died in her care, she insisted on burying him in the convent cemetery, believing he had been reconciled to the church on his deathbed. Church authorities demanded the body be exhumed from consecrated ground, but Hildegard refused, leading to her convent being placed under interdiction. This act of defiance demonstrated her willingness to challenge institutional authority when she believed it contradicted divine justice. 

MILITARY RECORD Hildegard of Bingen's writings are suffused with martial and apocalyptic imagery, reflecting the violent political and ecclesiastical conflicts of the 12th century. In her visionary works she frequently describes battles between virtues and vices, Christ and Antichrist, and good and evil, drawing on literal warfare as a metaphor for spiritual struggle. In some visions, personified Virtues appear as armored knights wielding weapons and shields, engaging in combat against the Devil and injustice; this symbolic “spiritual warfare” is the closest Hildegard comes to any association with war.​ (3)

Hildegard also commented on the political misuse of power and war in her letters, criticizing secular rulers for interfering in ecclesiastical affairs and weakening the Church, and condemning abuses that she believed contributed to moral and social disorder.​

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS From childhood, Hildegard was described as physically fragile and frequently ill. Medieval biographical accounts and her own writings note that she was “sickly” from birth, beset by recurrent physical weakness and episodes of intense visual phenomena that she later interpreted as visions. Modern neurological interpretation, including Oliver Sacks’s analysis, has suggested that many of her visions resemble migraine aura, with scintillating, fortification-like visual patterns and associated headaches.​ 

Despite this fragile constitution, she lived to be about 81 years old, an advanced age for the 12th century, indicating a degree of resilience and careful self-regulation of life and work. In her later years she wrote that she lay “for almost three years on a bed of illness,” yet continued dictating and overseeing her final major work, Liber Divinorum Operum.​

As a physician and natural philosopher, Hildegard developed a holistic medical system that linked bodily health, mental balance, and spiritual life. In Physica and Causae et Curae she described numerous conditions—such as leprosy, rabies, various skin diseases, gout, arthritis, rheumatism, infertility, epilepsy, and mental disturbance—and proposed treatments using herbs, dietary adjustments, baths, and procedures such as bloodletting and cupping. She understood disease as a disturbance of the normal “process” of nature, not an independent force, and emphasized restoring balance of heat, cold, moisture, and dryness in the body.​ (4)

Hildegard consistently recommended moderation, adequate rest, and appropriate exercise, anticipating many principles of preventive medicine. She tied health to the Benedictine rhythm of ora et labora (“pray and work”) and warned that both overwork and idleness could harm the body and spirit. She considered food as medicine, prescribing a diet based especially on spelt, vegetables, fruits, and herbs, with meat and dairy as moderate additions, and using specific spices such as bertram and galangal to strengthen the body and uplift mood.​

HOMES Hildegard’s life unfolded almost entirely within monastic communities along the Rhine, though the communities themselves changed over time.

Her early religious life began at the Benedictine monastery of Disibodenberg, where as a child she was enclosed with the anchoress Jutta of Sponheim in a small cell attached to the monastery. There she lived, prayed, and was educated according to the Benedictine Rule, eventually becoming magistra (leader) of the women attached to the male monastery after Jutta’s death.​

Around mid‑century, prompted by visions and by conflict with the abbot of Disibodenberg, Hildegard sought to establish an independent house for her community of women. In 1150, after strong resistance from her abbot and a dramatic period of immobilizing illness on Hildegard’s part, she and about eighteen nuns moved to Rupertsberg, near Bingen, at the mouth of the Nahe River, where she founded her first autonomous monastery. Rupertsberg became her principal home for the rest of her life. The convent church and buildings there were consecrated under the patronage of the Virgin Mary and local saints, and Rupertsberg soon attracted many noble women and became a prestigious burial site for local elites.​

As vocations increased, Hildegard founded a second monastery at Eibingen, across the Rhine from Rupertsberg, around 1165. She herself remained abbess of both houses, crossing the Rhine twice weekly to supervise the daughter house. Eibingen, initially an Augustinian foundation, was re-established by Hildegard as a Benedictine community that, unlike Rupertsberg, was not limited to noble women.​

After Hildegard’s death, Rupertsberg continued but was eventually destroyed by Swedish troops in 1632 during the Thirty Years’ War, forcing the nuns to flee. Her relics and some manuscripts, including Scivias, were transferred in 1641 to the church at Eibingen, where they remain a focus of pilgrimage. The later parish and pilgrimage church of St. Hildegard in Eibingen preserves structures and walls dating back to her time and houses a richly decorated shrine with her remains.​

TRAVEL While Hildegard’s base was monastic, her later life was marked by unusually extensive travel for a medieval woman, especially an abbess. From about 1158, when she was around 60 years old, she embarked on a series of four major preaching tours through the German-speaking regions of the Holy Roman Empire—an extraordinary activity for a woman in her era.​

On her first tour (c. 1158), she travelled along the Main River, visiting cities such as Mainz, Wertheim, Würzburg, Kitzingen, Ebrach, and Bamberg. She preached in churches and cathedrals, visited monasteries, and addressed both clergy and laity, condemning moral laxity and calling for reform.​

Her second tour (around 1160) took her to Trier, where she undertook the highly unusual step of preaching in public, outside a monastic setting, followed by public sermons in Metz and other locations along the Mosel. Here she especially attacked the negligence of clergy who failed to “blow the trumpet of God’s justice.”​

During her third tour (c. 1161–1163), Hildegard travelled north along the Rhine to Cologne and Werden on the Ruhr, preaching against heretical movements, especially the Cathars, and addressing the dangers of doctrinal error and ecclesiastical corruption.​

Her fourth tour (c. 1170–1171) took her into Swabia, where she continued to address clergy and laity, outlining her vision of the Church and warning of impending judgment if reform did not occur.​

These journeys were not mere devotional pilgrimages; they were deliberate interventions in the spiritual and political life of the Empire. Her letters and hagiographical accounts confirm that she travelled in order to secure protectors for her monasteries, disseminate her visions, and confront both secular and ecclesiastical authorities with prophetic admonitions.​

DEATH Hildegard of Bingen died on September 1, 1179, at about 81 years of age, at her monastery of Rupertsberg near Bingen. In the years leading up to her death, her health had significantly declined; she wrote of being confined to bed by illness for extended periods, though she continued to dictate letters and oversee her communities as far as possible.​

Hildegard was buried at Rupertsberg, either in the convent cemetery or within the church, depending on the source; in any case, her tomb quickly became an object of local veneration. When Rupertsberg was destroyed in 1632 during the Thirty Years’ War, her relics were transferred—first to Cologne and then, by 1641, to the church at Eibingen, where they are still preserved and honoured.​

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Hildegard’s extraordinary life and work have inspired numerous modern portrayals in film, literature, theatre, music, and popular culture.

The most widely known screen portrayal is the feature film Vision – Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen (Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen), directed by Margarethe von Trotta and released in 2009, starring Barbara Sukowa as Hildegard. The film focuses on her monastic leadership, visionary experiences, conflicts with ecclesiastical authority, and her close relationship with Richardis von Stade.​

She has been the subject of several documentary films and television programmes, including a 1994 BBC documentary in which Patricia Routledge portrayed her, the feature documentary The Unruly Mystic: Saint Hildegard (2014), and more recent projects such as the film Hildegard Speaks (2025), in which Dr. Annette Esser embodies Hildegard along the Hildegard Pilgrimage Way in Germany, presenting her teachings and experiences to contemporary audiences.​​

In the realm of theatre and music theatre, Hildegard has inspired works such as the play Artemisia and Hildegard by feminist playwright Carolyn Gage and the off‑Broadway musical In the Green by Grace McLean, which explores Hildegard’s early life and formation as a mystic and abbess.​

She has also appeared in fiction and popular literature. The 2012 novel Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen by Mary Sharratt offers a fictionalized biographical account of her life. In children’s and young adult literature, she is referenced in The Baby‑Sitters Club #101: Claudia Kishi, Middle School Drop-Out, in which a character dresses as Hildegard for Halloween, reflecting her entry into popular awareness.​

In modern non‑fiction and scholarship aimed at wider audiences, Oliver Sacks devoted a chapter to Hildegard’s visions—interpreted as likely migraine aura—in his influential book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, bringing her to the attention of readers interested in neurology and the history of perception.​

Her music has been widely recorded and performed, making her one of the most recorded composers of medieval sacred monophony, and modern ensembles and labels frequently build programmes and albums around her chants and the Ordo Virtutum.​

ACHIEVEMENTS One of the earliest known female composers

Author of influential theological and scientific texts

Advisor to popes and emperors

Pioneer of holistic medicine

Canonised saint and Doctor of the Church

Enduring symbol of medieval female intellectual power

Sources: (1) Catholic magazine (2) Voice of the Living Light: Hildegard of Bingen and Her World by Barbara Newman (3) Medievalists (4) Hektoen