What is Hildegard of Bingen?
Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) was a German Benedictine abbess, Christian mystic, composer, theologian, naturalist, and medical writer whose extraordinary breadth of work made her one of the most influential figures of the medieval period. Born into a noble family in the Rhineland, Hildegard experienced mystical visions from childhood that she later recorded in illuminated theological manuscripts, most notably Scivias (Know the Ways). Her contributions span sacred music—she composed one of the largest repertoires of liturgical songs by a medieval composer—prophetic theology, botanical medicine, and cosmological philosophy. Canonized in 2012 and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI, Hildegard represents a rare integration of contemplative mysticism, artistic creativity, and empirical observation within the Christian monastic tradition.
Origins & Lineage
Hildegard was born in 1098 in Bermersheim, near Mainz, the tenth child of a noble family. At age eight, she was placed in the care of Jutta of Sponheim, an anchoress living in a hermitage attached to the Benedictine monastery of Disibodenberg. Hildegard took monastic vows around 1115 and succeeded Jutta as magistra (leader) of the community in 1136. In 1141, at age 42, Hildegard received what she described as a divine command to record her visions. With the approval of Pope Eugenius III and the theological counsel of monk Volmar of Disibodenberg, she began writing Scivias (completed 1151), a text combining eschatological visions with allegorical theology.
In 1150, Hildegard founded an independent convent at Rupertsberg near Bingen, asserting autonomy from Disibodenberg—a controversial move that demonstrated her formidable political acumen. She later established a daughter house at Eibingen. During this period she composed Liber Vitae Meritorum (Book of Life’s Merits, 1158–1163) and Liber Divinorum Operum (Book of Divine Works, 1163–1173), her most cosmologically ambitious visionary text. Hildegard also wrote Physica and Causae et Curae, encyclopedic works on natural history and medicine that documented hundreds of plants, minerals, and animals alongside therapeutic applications rooted in humoral theory and spiritual correspondence.
Hildegard’s musical legacy includes the Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum (Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations), a collection of approximately 77 liturgical songs characterized by soaring melodic ranges, melismatic phrases, and ecstatic devotional language. She also composed Ordo Virtutum (Play of the Virtues), the earliest known surviving morality play set entirely to music.
How It’s Practiced
Hildegard’s work is not a practice in the conventional sense but rather a body of spiritual, artistic, and medical knowledge that informs contemporary practices across multiple domains. Her visionary theology is studied within Christian mysticism and feminist theology, particularly her concept of viriditas (greenness)—a cosmic life force representing divine creativity, fertility, and spiritual vitality. Her cosmology, which integrates macrocosm and microcosm through the image of the human as microcosmos, influenced medieval and Renaissance thought.
Her music is performed by early music ensembles, Gregorian chant groups, and contemporary sacred music artists who interpret her compositions using historical performance practice or modern arrangements. Recordings by ensembles such as Sequentia and Anonymous 4 have brought Hildegard’s music to global audiences. Her melodies are sometimes incorporated into contemplative worship, sound healing sessions, and interfaith liturgy.
Hildegard’s herbal and holistic medical texts have been revived by herbalists, naturopaths, and practitioners of traditional European medicine. Her writings on spelt, fennel, ginger, and other botanicals are referenced in natural health literature, though her medieval humoral framework differs significantly from modern phytotherapy. Some retreat centers and wellness programs offer “Hildegardian” healing approaches that blend her botanical remedies, fasting practices, and spiritual counsel.
Hildegard of Bingen Today
Contemporary seekers encounter Hildegard through multiple channels. Her music is widely available in recordings and live performances, often presented in cathedral settings or sacred music festivals. Scholarly and popular biographies, including works by Sabina Flanagan and Fiona Maddocks, have introduced her to readers interested in medieval mysticism, women’s spirituality, and the history of science. Hildegard has become an icon within Christian feminist theology, valued for her theological authority and institutional leadership in a patriarchal era.
Retreat centers in Germany, particularly near Bingen and the Abbey of St. Hildegard in Eibingen (founded in 1900 by Benedictine nuns), offer pilgrimages, workshops, and immersion in Hildegardian spirituality. Her feast day, September 17, is observed in liturgical calendars. Online courses and spiritual direction programs sometimes incorporate her visionary texts and practices of contemplative writing or sacred art inspired by her illuminated manuscripts.
Hildegard’s influence extends into integrative medicine, with practitioners citing her holistic view of health as encompassing body, soul, and cosmos. However, modern interpretations often selectively adapt her ideas, sometimes decontextualizing them from their medieval Christian and monastic framework.
Common Misconceptions
Hildegard is sometimes romanticized as a proto-feminist or New Age mystic, obscuring her deeply orthodox Benedictine monasticism and her commitment to papal authority. While she challenged male ecclesiastical figures and asserted her prophetic authority, she operated within—not against—the institutional Church. Her visions, though experiential, were theologically aligned with Augustinian and Neoplatonic traditions.
Her medical writings are occasionally presented as “ancient wisdom” superior to modern medicine, but they reflect 12th-century humoral pathology and should not be uncritically applied. Hildegard herself did not reject the medical knowledge of her time; she synthesized Greek, Roman, and monastic traditions with her visionary insights.
Some assume Hildegard was self-taught or isolated, but she was educated within a literate monastic environment, had access to theological and classical texts, and collaborated with male scribes and theologians. Her autonomy and creativity flourished within, not outside, communal structures.
How to Begin
For those drawn to Hildegard’s mystical theology, begin with Scivias (translated by Columba Hart and Jane Bishop), which offers vivid allegorical visions of salvation history. Barbara Newman’s Sister of Wisdom: St. Hildegard’s Theology of the Feminine provides scholarly context for her symbolic language and Marian theology.
To experience her music, listen to recordings by Sequentia, particularly their Canticles of Ecstasy and Voice of the Blood, which reconstruct her compositions with historical authenticity. Attend a live performance of Ordo Virtutum or seek out Hildegard-focused concerts at early music festivals.
For her medical and naturalist thought, explore Hildegard von Bingen’s Physica (translated by Priscilla Throop) or secondary works that contextualize her botanical knowledge within medieval medicine. Visit the Abbey of St. Hildegard in Eibingen or the Hildegard Forum in Bingen for pilgrimage and interpretive resources.
Engage her ideas through contemplative practices such as visio divina (sacred seeing) with illuminated manuscripts, journaling inspired by viriditas, or integrating her plainchant into personal prayer or meditation.