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"Best known today as a fine composer, the twelfth-century German abbess Hildegard of Bingen was also a religious leader and visionary, a poet, naturalist and writer of medical treatises. Despite her cloistered life she had strong, often controversial views on sex, love and marriage too - a woman astonishing in her own age, whose book of apocalyptic visions, Scivias, would alone have been enough to ensure her lasting fame. In this classic and highly praised biography - first published by Headline in 2001 - distinguished writer and journalist, Fiona Maddocks, draws on Hildegard's prolific writings to paint a portrait of her extraordinary life against the turbulent medieval background of crusade and schism, scientific discovery and cultural revolution. The great intellectual gifts and forceful character that emerge make her as fascinating as any figure in the Middle Ages. More than 800 years after her death, Pope Benedict XVI has made Hildegard a Saint and a Doctor of the Church (one of only four women). Fiona Maddocks has provided a short new preface to cover these tributes to an extraordinary and exceptional woman."--Publisher's description.… (more)
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I approached this book knowing very little about Hildegard of Bingen. Her views were conservative, even reactionary; she and I would not see eye to eye. I was astounded at the way religious women were treated in those days, and at the prohibitions on manner of dress and friendships. Male clergy had much greater privilege and freedom. Yet Hildegard did not let this stand in the way of sharing her inspiration and divine messages. She enjoys a cult-like following to this day.
Not only did I learn a great deal about this historic figure, I also was constantly surprised by things I "knew," but wasn't initially conscious of. For example, while Hildegard composed music, this was done before the advent of the fixed pitch system (i.e.; a note called "C" which has an associated sound). Music also had to be committed to memory, since musical notation was in its early stages, and very few people would have been able to read it, anyway. Understanding more about the world in which Hildegard lived further enhanced this very interesting book.
The subtitle of the book is "The Woman of her Age" and she certainly was a woman of the age--with all the common thoughts and constraints, but able, because of her visions and
This book seems to give quite a good historical account of her life, her writings, her illnesses, her visions, and her conflicts with her superiors.
A solid book that gives a picture of the society and the church of the time, as well as this incredible woman.