Book Description
Hildegard of Bingen, twelfth-century German nun, mystic, prophet and political moralist, was widely consulted as an oracle and wrote prolifically on doctrinal matters, as well as on secular matters like medicine, She publicly preached monastic reform, founded two nunneries, and was embroiled in the politics surrounding popes and anti-popes.

Scivias, her major religious work, consists of twenty-six visions, which are first set down literally as she saw them, and are then explained exegetically. A few of the topic covered in the visions are the charity of Christ, the nature of the universe, the kingdom of God, the fall of man, sanctification, and the end of the world. Special emphasis is given to the sacraments of marriage and the Eucharist, in response to the Cathar heresy. As a group the visions form a theological summa of Christian doctrine. At the end of the Scivias are hymns of praise and a short play, probably an early draft of Ordo virtutum, the first known morality play. Hildegard is remarkable for being able to unite " vision with doctrine, religion with science, charismatic jubilation with prophetic indignation, and longing for social order with quest for social justice." This volume elucidates the life of medieval women, and is a striking example of a special form of Christian spirituality. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Outstanding female prophet
Hildegard was one of the most famoust mystics of the medieval period.A rarity amoung women of that time, she conversed with learned theologians and even the pope, was given considerable autonomy to learn and teach, and was a very gifted writer, poet, theologian, mystic, and scientist.

Hildegard's visions, which are included in this collection, form a larger set of works of hers which include poems, songs and music, and various encyclopedias.Hildegard was a very learned woman for her time.

Her visions are very complex and involve many elements and themes.Some deal with classic theological motifs from the medieval period, such as the Church, Christ, heaven and hell, the last judgement and the fall.Others deal with the relationship between man (the microcosm) and the universe, while others deal with the mysteries of the Triune God and God's prescence in nature.

Most striking in Hildegard's visions is the intimate connection between man, God, and the creation.Mathew Fox rightly said Hildegard is a creation mystic; for her, the divine spirit fills and energises the universe, and the Earth itself is seen in terms as our mother and as sacred.Hurting creation is in fact a way we hurt ourselves, an ecological ethic which can certainly say a lot to us in this time, where our greedy carelessness towards the world and its resources threatens to imperil our very survival as a species.Hildegard also quite rightly and perceptively understands the goodness of creation in terms of the goodness of God, whose abundance is given to us freely out of love.Our sin in Hildegard's system very much boils down to our selfish tendency to only see ourselves and our wants, rather than our relationship with the creation and the creator.In this way, Hildegard speaks to us today as the prophet, who warns us of the spiritual and material destruction and doom that will come to us if we continue to live in our wicked ways; demythologized and interpreted in our context, this can be read as a prophecy to our own destruction if we do not turn from our sinful selfishness which manifests itself in the reckless way we hurt and exploit other people and the environment merely to sate our own desire.

Hildegard's work is filled with beauty and colour and is greatly enjoyable also as fine art, and indeed, Hildegard is as much a great artist as she is a prophet and mystic.

This collection of her works is quite good and takes us through the main cycles of prophetic visions.

Hildegard of Bingen: Scivias
Rather astonishig how it pulls old testament and new together making excellent sense of items that formerly seemed to make little sense.It told me things I was not even aware of dealing with my own Catholic faith.

A Deep Spiritual Book and to Increase Faith in God.
This book is very deep.I have found it to be an inspiration to live a better andmore holy life.To love others increasingly.
God shows his control of the world, yet, we believe we have control, we do to an extent.A profound book ready to get you on track with faith in HIM.

Highly Recommended !

An approachable translation
Hildegard von Bingen, one of the prominent German mystics in the Middle Ages, stands as an anomaly amidst the whole host of Christian mystics. One reason to account for this is the fact that instead of advocating reform of the church in a confrontational manner, she often deflects it by recourse to God's voice. The voice that speaks in Scivias is more often than not the 1st person voice of God, and the persona of Hildegard the receptor of the visions occupies technically the position of a third person glossator and observer. On top of that, the chief focus of her 'reform' is of 'ordo virtutuum', a reform that works from within as opposed to the outright opposition(or confrontational gestures) offered by English Lollards in their translation of the Latin Vulgate into the vernacular Middle English tongue, or the Beguines' usurpation of the Catholic church's monopoly to Biblical interpretation.

Another reason to account for her special status as a medieval mystic is the absence of any so-called phenomenon of stigmata, trance-like swoonings, fleshly ecstasies like those of Margery Kempe or Teresa D'Avila. Hildegard received these purported visions without the influence of drugs and she transcribed them in a state of clarity unlike any other female mystics of her time.

What I appreciated about this edition was that they placed the pictorial depiction of her visions side by side with her writings and expositions of their meanings. The pity however is that these pictures(illustrated plates in the original medieval manuscripts) are not coloured, and one suffers from disappointment since he is not able to re-construct exactly the details(right down to the colour and shade Hildegard mentions) as in the original. Barbara Newman's introduction was extremely helpful, owing to her academic expertise in the field of medieval mysticism. Personally speaking, I bought this for the sake of an academic paper, but anyone else who is interested in the background of medieval mysticism and esoteric wisdom will find Newman's introduction enlightening and useful to set the whole work in the right context.

A book of wisdom a Christian should not ignore
Scivias is a book that unfortunately is not very well known. This is a work a Christian should not ignore, as well as all the work of St. Hildegard von Bingen. The whole book shows that this is really heavenlyinspiration, no doubt that Saint Hildegard had the gifts of the HolySpirit, since she had the gifts of prophecy, healing, etc. She is one ofthe most amazing persons born in the world. ... Read more

Book Description
Medieval saint, mystic, healer, and visionary--Hildegard von Bingen has made a comeback. She is now popular in natural healing circles, in medieval and women's studies, and among those interested in investing the everyday with the spiritual. Hildegard's Healing Plants is a gift version and new translation of the "Plant" section of Physica, Hildegard's classic work on health and healing. Hildegard comments on 230 plants and grains--most of which are still grown in home gardens and sold at local health food stores. In one of many entries on women's health, Hildegard writes, "Also if a pregnant woman labors much in childbirth, let someone cook pleasant herbs, such as fennel and assurum, in water with fear and great moderation, squeeze out the water, and place them while they are warm around her thighs and back, tied gently with a piece of cloth, so that her pain and her closed womb is opened more pleasantly and easily." Whether read for the sheer enjoyment of Hildegard's earthy, intelligent voice ("Let a man who has an overabundance of lust in his loins cook wild lettuce in water and pour it over himself in a sauna") or for her encyclopedic and often still relevant understanding of natural health, Hildegard's Healing Plants is a treasure for gardeners, natural healing enthusiasts, and Hildegard fans everywhere. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A natural healing manual by a woman
Before echinacea and homeopathy there was Hildegard and her medieval herb remedies. Hildegard's Healing Plants provides a natural healing manual by a woman who used herbs around her convent in the early 1100s. Listings from her medieval Physica book provide reviews of the various herbs and their properties.

A slice of a great woman's mind
Hildegard Von Bingen was a mystic, a musician, a moralist,as well as a poet, playright, and prophet.She added a little science in there, too, and some believe she must have been a physician.She follows the tradition of the time in that created things are composed of four elements: hot or cold, and wet or dry.She then goes on to tell the medicinal uses for over 200 plants.From aloe to oats to valerian, even an opinion on St. John's wort, it is amazing that the same plants continue to be a part of natural healing over 800 years after this book was written. That alone makes the book very interesting... ... Read more

Book Description
Twelfth-century Rhineland mystic Hildegard von Bingen records her exquisite encounter with divinity, producing a magnificent fusion of divine inspiration and human intellect. Hildegard von Bingens Mystical Visions is perhaps the most complete and powerful documentation of mystical consciousness in recorded history. Now after 800 years, these visions are again available for those seeking to reawaken mystical consciousness. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

incomplete
I was disappointed to see that not all Hildegarde's visions have been translated and included.The editing seems primarily to eliminate those visions popularly believed to refer to the future "end times".Almost the entire section of "vision eleven", dealing with that subject, has been edited out.
The book is definitely useful as a reference for the character of St. Hildegarde, and the "language" of dreams & visions, however I was, as I said, disappointed with what seems to be a "censoring" of the material.

An Awesome, thought provoking book
I don't remember reading a book before that provoked such awe of God. Her visions are vivid and her words invoke realistic mind pictures. She interprets a lot and sometimes writes what she heard God say. Some of thethings she believes God told her, I am not sure I accept, but all in allthe work inspires me to want to make God the center of my life. It is notalways the easiest reading, but is understandable -- the translator did anadmirable Job. I will look for more of her work. ... Read more

Book Description
This ground-breaking contribution to medicine and healing contains translations of Hildegard text which reflect the high point of medieval, alchemical, and healing science. Commentary by the authors who have worked clinically with Hildegard’s wisdom for over thirty years includes information on ways to treat nervous disorders, indigestion, heart problems, and cancer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Handy
Everyone is borrowing this book from me constantly!

I wish they had more information in it, more items. I also bought Physica, but it's on back order for 1/2 year!!! That book has everything in it. But this is a good handy reference guide and definitely helps. I had a cold and followed her advice and it went away swiftly.

This is one to keep with your reference books, (or in a medicine cabinet!)

Hildegard's essentials
A fascinating and very helpful book.There is much of great value in it. Highly recommended

Great Book !!!
If you are interested in your health and nutrition with a spiritual element to it, this book is perfect! I loved this book and have recommened it to many of my friends. I have used alot of the nutrition recommendations, spelt, fennel,and almonds and have seen an improvment in my health.

Useful for Those Interested in Herbal Medicine
If the aspect of Hildegard of Bingen's work that you are interested in is her medicinal lore, then this work will save you hours of wading through her theological writings hunting for her specific recommendations on herbsand health. The main reason I don't give it a higher rating is that theauthors deliver Hildegard's writings as if they were prescriptions, and sherecommended some dubious (but acceptable to Medieval thinking) substancessuch as whale meat and vulture beak powder! ... Read more

Book Description
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) 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. ... Read more

Book Description
Hildegard, the "Sybil of the Rhine," was a Benedictine nun and one of the most prolific and original women writers of the Middle Ages. Arranged thematically, this new edition of her work brings together selections from her visionary trilogy, her treatise on medicine and the natural world, and her songs and correspondence.

This unique volume includes a chronology of her life and times, bibliography, select discography, explanatory notes, glossary, and connecting commentary. It shows Hildegard as a wide-ranging thinker who touched on many themes that concern us today, including: the relationship between human beings and the natural world, mutuality between men and women, and the importance of a holistic approach to life.

Translated with an introduction by Mark Attherton. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A good collection
This is a good overview of Hildegard's work. Hildegard was in fact NOT canonized after her death.

Excellent introduction to the Sybil of the Rhine
As a composer, poet and writer on theological, scientific and medical subjects, Hildegard von Bingen has bequeathed us a rich legacy. She is one of the few female medieval composers whose work is generally known and performed today. My favorite interpretation of her music can be found in four tracks on Meredith Monk's album "Monk and the Abbess" Atherton's book provides selected texts from her visionary Scivias trilogy, her medical writings, songs and letters. Interestingly enough, Hildegard is known today in Europe by followers of holistic and herbal medicine on the one hand, and by lovers of classical and medieval music on the other. She is also admired for her life story and for having been a popular and influential author during a misogynist era. Although she was orthodox in belief and criticized the Gnostic Cathars to my dismay I still admire her spirituality and the feminine expression of it (she saw man & woman as equals) and her understanding of humanity's unity with nature and the universe. Atherton provides explanatory introductions to her writings, and the book has a chronology of her colorful life, a discography of her music, notes, and a glossary.

Mystical music for one's ears
Hildegard, the "Sybil of the Rhine," was a Benedictine nun and one of the most prolific and original women writers of the Middle Ages. Arranged thematically, this new edition of her work brings together selections from her visionary trilogy, her treatise on medicine and the natural world, and her songs and correspondence. Interwoven with beautiful ease, Atherton manages to write with the exactness of an academic but with clearness of a good storyteller. The translations are illuminating and musical in themselves, and a corner-stone for any Hildegard enthusiast.This unique volume includes a chronology of her life and times, bibliography, select discography, explanatory notes, glossary, and connecting commentary. It shows Hildegard as a wide-ranging thinker who touched on many themes that concern us today, including: the relationship between human beings and the natural world, mutuality between men and women, and the importance of a holistic approach to life. Much can be learned! ... Read more

Book Description
Visionary, mystic, poet, musician, naturalist, healer, theologian-the Rhineland nun Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a Renaissance woman long before there was a Renaissance. This is the first book in English to offer a representative selection of writings from all of her amazing range of work.Hildegard wrote many volumes on subjects from mystical vision to sexuality, from theology to natural medicine—in letters, treatises, poetry, and songs—all in an age when few women wrote more than an occasional letter. She was a woman of extraordinary influence whose work not only surpassed that of her male contemporaries in its range, but also outshone them in visionary beauty and intellectual power. This collection includes a brief biography of Hildegard, and selections from the following works: Scivias (literally, "know the ways"), the record of Hildegard's visions and her commentary on themThe Book of Life's Merits, visionary workThe Book of Divine Works, a work of cosmology and anthropologyNatural History, a record of plants, animals, and minerals, translated here into English for the first timeCauses and Cures, a compendium of her writing on natural medicineSymphonia, her songs and poetryBiographical worksSelected letters ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A judicious selection of from all of Hildegard's writing
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) isone of the most remarkable figures of a remarkable age.She saw and interpretedvisions of cosmic power and significance, yet took an active interest in nature, medicine, the arts,and the major political events of her day.Half of the book is exceptsfrom Hildegard's three books of visions.Full-page color plates illustratefour of the visions.There are also selections from her writings onplants, animals, stones and metals, and on medicine.There are 22 pages ofthe words to songs.Hildegard wrote two lives of local saints, and bothare sampled here.Fifteen of Hildegard's letters are given. Brief,informative headnotes introduce each section.A bibliography (up to datein 1996) and a discography of recodings of Hildegard's music complete thisbook.Flanagan's translations read well.Judging from the songs, the onlypart where I have the Latin original, they are faithful and not excessivelyinterpretive.This book or Flangan's biography of Hildegard are certainlygood places to begin a study of this extraordinary human being. ... Read more

Book Description
Until recently, Hildegard of Bingen has been known only to a handful of scholars. Now available in a paperback edition, Sabina Flanagan's book makes her remarkable life accessible to the general reader. Drawing on contemporary sources, the text unfolds Hildegard's life from the time of her entrance into an anchoress's cell--where a woman would remain in pious isolation--to her death as a famed visionary and writer, abbess and confidante of popes and kings, more than seventy years later. Against this background the author explores Hildegard's vast creative work, encompassing theology, medicine, natural history, poetry, and music.Download Description
Sabina Flanagan provides a comprehensive and engaging introduction to the life and works of the visionary, mystic, poet, musician, naturalist, healer and theologian that was Hildegard of Bingen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Hildegard for experts
This book was well written and readable.I have 2 problems:not enough information was given about life in convents at that time, and the author assumes the reader knows as much as she does about her subject.Both of these are probably due to the author's enthusiasm and depth of knowledge about her subject.But I need the Intro to Hildegard, not the advanced version.

Interesting and informative biography of Hildegard of Bingen
Sabina Flanagan's book provides a clear, coherent, and interesting account of Hildegard's life, without veering toward excessive speculation or sensationalism - always a temptation when dealing with topics like "vision" or "prophecy" or "faith healing." The book opens with a biographical overview of Hildegard's life, and of the context in which she lived. Succeeding chapters deal with the various dimensions of Hildegard's ministry. For the most part, the material is well-chosen; my only complaint would be the amount of attention given to her role as "healer." This chapter of the book has a certain arcane interest insofar as it reflects the culture and beliefs of the Middle Ages, but it is not an edifying or relevant discourse. For the most part, it is a somewhat belabored description of Hildegard's very non-scientific advice for healing various disorders. This was decidedly not her major contribution to human history. Other chapters deal with more significant and/or inspiring topics: Hildegard's role as administrator and pastoral theologian of sorts; her considerable contributions to the field of music; her writings and preaching; and her role as spiritual counselor.
The book takes a bit of a downturn in the final chapter, when the author, albeit somewhat cautiously, hazards an interpretation of Hildegard's visionary experiences as being rooted in migraine headaches. Granted, the author admits that it is a major step from visionary to prophet, and that Hildegard's status as prophet cannot be reduced to neuro-physiological phenomena. Nevertheless, the thesis is forced, and highly speculative, since there is no objective evidence to indicate that Hildegard even suffered from migraines, much less that she confused them with divinely inspired visions. I personally suffer from migraines - and believe me, I'm in no danger of confusing them with divine revelations.
Overall, it is a well-written book, although clearly intended for an educated audience. It is not an academic treatise, but neither does it fall into the genre of what we might call "popular biography." For motivated readers, it is a solid investment of time and energy - but read the last chapter with a few grains of salt.

very useful introduction to Hildegard
This is a very insightful book written from the perspective of a historian. Each chapter breaks down Hildegard's legacy in several given areas: her music, writings, medicinal and healing abilities, art, etc. Thisbook is very useful as a well thought out introduction to the life of thisintriguing saint.

A very nice biography on Hildegard.
Hildegard certainly was a fascinating person, and this is a very informative book about her life and works. The book is written in a scholarly manner, and is very clear and readable. The author speculates abit on why Hildegard was as she was, but never in an unreasonable way, andthe argumentation is never gets absurd. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Benedictine mother of Bingen
In an age when life expectancy was somewhere around forty, Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) lived a life that was remarkably long and incredibly productive. Butcher describes Hildegard as an "Über-multitasking Frau" and authentic "polymath." The description fits. The Benedictine abbess founded two convents, conducted four preaching tours, penned at least 400 letters, wrote music and a morality play, supervised illuminated manuscripts, cared for her fellow sisters, and wrote three major theological tomes based upon her famous visions. All this despite her pronounced feelings of self-doubt, the lack of formal schooling, chronic illnesses that probably included depression and migraine headaches, and the subservient roles assigned to women by a male-dominated church and culture.

Hildegard was born the youngest of ten children to an aristocratic family that lived near Mainz. She started having what she later concluded were divine visions as earlier as age three. When she was eight her parents dedicated her to the religious life, and at age fourteen she entered the St. Disibod Abbey at Disibodenberg. Until her death almost seventy years later, she devoted herself to the life of a Benedictine nun. After keeping her visions to herself for decades, when she was forty-two Hildegard says that God told her to write what she had seen and heard: "So now you must give others an intelligible account of what you see with your inner eye and what you hear with your inner ear. Your testimony will help them. As a result, others will learn how to know their Creator. They'll no loner refuse to adore God."

Butcher describes her anthology as a "Hildegard 101." After describing the life of Hildegard (pp. 1-29), her seven chapters introduce readers to Hildegard's varied works: twenty songs, Scivias or Know the Ways of the Lord (a work of twenty-six visions in three parts), her morality drama called The Play of the Virtues, selections from her 400 letters, excerpts from her writings about nature and medicine, The Book of Life's Merits (six visions about Christian temptations), and then The Book of Divine Works (10 visions in three parts). A short conclusion is followed by an extensive chronology of Hildegard's life, and a bibliography for further reading and also for listening to recordings of Hildegard's music. Butcher's short work is no substitute for the critical editions of Hildegard's works, but it might well provoke curious readers to seek them out after enjoying her fine introduction to one of the most important mothers of the church.

New Things
Carmen Butcher has done it again. In her newest book, "Hildegard of Bingen: a spiritual reader," not only has she once more rendered ancient medieval texts readable, enjoyable, and inspiring, but she has also provided a concise and interesting biography of Hildegard of Bingen. She has taken her gift for translation, as evident in "Incandescence: 365 readings with women mystics," and combined it with her penchant for breathing new life into long-gone characters, as in her biography, "Man of Blessing: A Life of St. Benedict." The introductions to each chapter are written in such a way that they are suited for, as Butcher writes, a "first-time Hildegard reader or long-time Hildegard friend" (xii). Each section gives the reader insight into another facet of the twelfth century abbess. As I read, I was continually surprised at the beauty and poetry Butcher maintained throughout her translations, whether it be a song, vision, or letter. This book is made to be read more than once. The first reading will be a delightful rushing from page to page, as you soak up Hildegard and her work. But the second reading will be a slow, meditative one, rendering spiritual nourishment and inspiration that seeps from Hildegard's wisdom and passion. Hildegard writes in one of her letters, "Always try to learn new things, then, because that's as necessary to wisdom as internal organs are to being healthy." Read "Hildegard of Bingen," and you will have learned new things.

Beautiful Spiritual Reader
Brilliant!!Hildegard comes alive in the pages of this wonderful book.Carmen Butcher truly captures the essence of this remarkable woman! This is a must read!!

St. Hildegard of Bingen a future Doctor of the Church?
I had the privilege of seeing and reviewing the original manuscript of this book.Dr. Carmen Butcher has translated St. Hildegard's works into modern English that is very readable.Those familiar with St. Hildegard and her works will appreciate this reader and those new to her will have a great introduction to this wonderful saint and follower of the Rule of St. Benedict.Dr. Butcher in the introduction presents a short biography of St. Hildegard.In my original review I suggest that if Pope Benedict is looking for another woman to declare a Doctor of the Church, St. Hildegard would make a wonderful candidate.St. Hildegard was very influential in her time.She had the special permission of the Church to preach to clerics and lay alike.Pope Eugene III read some of her works at a synod he was attending and praised her.St. Bernard of Clairvaux also praised her as did many clerics and lay people of note.Many sought her advice and aid.Again this reader by Dr. Butcher is a great introduction to this holy saint of God, St. Hildegard. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Praying with Hildegard of Bingen
This is a simple introduction to some of the major themes of Hildegard of Bingen, and an invitation to take some of those themes and internalize them in daily prayer and meditation.It is not for the reader looking for a translation of Hildegard's writings, or for an in-depth study of her writings, music, etc. The author instead has excerpted a few passages and uses them as a means for the reader to reflect on his or her own life in reflection and prayer.If this is what you are looking for, it succeeds admirably.

Praying with Hildegard of Bingen
Gloria Durka has written other books within the "Praying With" series which are very good (notably the one on Julian of Norwich), but this effort on Hildegard of Bingen was disappointing.While the introduction is a very good summary of Hildegard's life and times and some of the major themes of her writings, the actual chapters are quite shallow.There is simply not enough "meat" for prayer and reflection.More excerpts from her writings would have been welcome.However, for some, it may be a non-threatening introduction to this major figure. ... Read more

Book Description

An introduction to the life and work of Hildegard.

Reveals the life and teachings of one of the greatest female artists and intellectuals of the Western Mystical Tradition.

Contains 24 full-color illustrations by Hildegard of Bingen.

Includes commentary by Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing (250,000 sold).

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was an extraordinary woman living in the Rhineland valley during most of the twelfth century. Besides being the abbess of a large and influential Benedictine abbey, she was a prominent preacher, healer, scientist, and artist. She also was a composer and theologian, writing nine books on theology, medicine, science, and physiology, as well as 70 poems and an opera. At the age of 42, she began to have visions; these were captured as 36 illuminations--24 of which are recorded in this book along with her commentaries on them. She also wrote a text describing these visions entitled Scivias (Know the Ways), now published as Hildegard of Bingen's Mystical Visions.

Author Matthew Fox has stated, "If Hildegard had been a man, she would be well known as one of the greatest artists and intellectuals the world has ever seen." It is a credit to the power of the women's movement and our times that this towering genius of Western thought is being rediscovered in her full grandeur and autonomy.

Virtually unknown for more than 800 years in Western history, Hildegard was featured as one of the women in Judy Chicago's Dinner Party in the early 1980s and published for the first time in English by Bear & Company in 1982. In addition to her mystical teachings, Hildegard's music has been performed and recorded for a new and growing audience.

Customer Reviews (9)

A Medieval Amazing Contribution to Apocalyptic Revelations

"I am the breeze that nurtures all things green.
I encourage blossoms to flourish with ripening fruits.
I am the rain coming from the dew
that causes the grasses to laugh with the joy of life."

"All of creation is a symphony of the Holy Spirit which is joy and Jubilation. ...The prophetic spirit orders that God be praised with Cymbals of jubilation and with the rest of the musical instruments..."Hildegard of Bingen



Apocalyptic Visions:
Mythical prophecies for world-ending dreams come out of a collective anxiety about the future of our planet or frailty of the human race. These dreams may be triggered in times of global upheavals and unpredictability. A millennial click may generates such kind of dreaming for some people. Y2K was associated with expected software crashes, which could have caused banking systems chaos, or air flight accidents, which did not materialize anyway. But the damaging news about the earth droughts, water pollution, global warming, and other potential fears for flooding or cosmic collision will continue to be nightmares for others. Whenever instability or insecurity become themes of cultural awareness, apocalyptic dreams for some people become frequent. Interpreting this type of dream may be calling the dreamer to protect their domains against risks that are beyond your secured zone.
Religious or spiritual revelation that heralds the end of the world is a powerful image. Usually, the dreamer will see some significant icons of their faith initiating or withstanding the destruction. Another scenario is that adherents to the mysticism are identified in a particular way and survive the destruction because of their association. In these dreams, the world is often reordered. Many times, these dreams will accompany a time in the dreamer's life when he or she feels that the entire world is against them and only their association with something larger than themselves can provide a resolution.

Feminist 'End Time Kingdom':
With Hildegard the contribution to apocalyptic expectations ceased to be an exclusive male visionary activity on the fringe of Christian belief. Bernard McGinn summarizes her unique view of the end times as, "the picture that she has of the Antichrist, for example, as part of this play or scenario, is one of the most inventive of the entire medieval period. Well, Hildegard of course gives us several pictures of the end times. But the one that was most .. powerful, I think, is the picture in her book Scivias, the visionary book that she wrote in the 1140's. ... a series of visions, many of the connected with the heavenly world, ... the picture of the kingdoms of the end time and the birth of Antichrist from the Church. This is a powerful image of a vast female figure representing the Church, with this horrible monstrous head being born from the woman."

Holistic View of God and humanity:
"It is both fitting and just that such an impressive array of feminine medieval scholars should present this "faithful and unabridged translation" of the Scivias of Hildegard of Bingen. "Fitting," not because Hildegard was a rabid feminist in the modern sense, but because as a woman in a patriarchal age she dared to obey God 'instead of men,' preaching and writing to arouse to Christian responsibility a 'lukewarm and sluggish' clergy and an ill-informed people in what she called an 'effeminate age.' And 'just' because scholars of her own gender may best resonate with some of the struggles Hildegard faced in follower her prophetic calls, a mission that eventually won the support of her contemporary, St. Bernard, and the official endorsement of Pope Eugenius II himself. ... Granted Hildegard's fascinating personality, what is the real value of this particular book of her prophetic visions for us today? ...: "To students of spirituality, Hildegard remains of compelling interest ... as a perfect embodiment of the integrated, holistic approach to God and humanity for which our fragmented era longs" Sr. Helen Barrow, OSB

Medieval Apocalyptic Pantheism?
Hildegard of Bingen is one of the focal figures in the history of apocalypticism to promote its Judeo Christian symbolic prophecies. The brilliant German abbess, obscure but very mystical, a multi-talented woman, and a devoted believer in Biblical prophecy. Her innovation to the tradition was through illumination, presenting her vision, and commentaries on the prophecies, unfolded through paintings in which she employed to capture the core of her visions. The Last Judgment after the reign of the Antichrist penetrated into European culture, in her own day and later. Like other visionaries she felt called upon to reprove rulers; her correspondents included Henry II of England, the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, Pope Eugenius III, and various other prelates.
In "The Illuminated Life," Nancy Mackenzie subtly echoes 'the divine essence present in all things,' as a proof of Hildegard's pantheism ('They speak of spirits in all things .. of poems all composed in the company of trees.') For Mackenzie it is 'the spirits' everywhere present. She echoes Matthew's Gospel (Matt.10:30) statement that 'even the hairs of your head have all been counted' as she takes a hair from her companion's head to fold into her 'book of life', poems written with trees and on the product of trees.

Popularization of Hildegard:
Hildegard's long life stands as testimony to what a brilliant and well-placed woman could accomplish in the medieval century that produced more outstanding women than any other. Virtually unknown for eight centuries of Western history, Hildegard was featured as one of the women in Judy Chicago's Dinner Party in the early 1980s and published for the first time in English by Bear & Company in 1982. In addition to her mystical teachings, Hildegard's music has been performed and recorded for a new and growing audience. Author Matthew Fox has stated, "If Hildegard had been a man, she would be well known as one of the greatest artists and intellectuals the world has ever seen."
"After his challenging presentation, we were walking to dinner through the wet slush of a Chicago January and I told Tom that I was working on a book on Hildegard of Bingen's paintings and illuminations. "Ah, Hildegard!" he said. "A great genius." And he was off expounding on Hildegard. He was the first person I had encountered who knew who she was. And of course his knowledge was of the deepest kind. Thomas Berry helps me to resacralize the gift of curiosity. So many people in our culture and so many clergy appear to be anything but curious. They are complacent. Intellectually complacent. But not Tom." Matthew Fox recalls

M. Fox Criticism:
It is wrong to give uninformed and Curia biased judgement on Matthew Fox theology, which is based on Eastern Churches Cosmology and Soteriology, rather than 'Illuminations book' review, a milestone in Catholic apocalyptic fascination. Fox gave a novel look at the Medieval seer, and made popular her illuminations, and consequently the Scivias. this book was a confirmation of 'Original Blessings' line of Nouvelle Theologie. His reference to Chenu, Master Eckhart, Mircea Eliade, Julian of Norwich, Carl Jung, and the like made his work inaccessible to dogma oriented hard liners.
For those pre Vatican II enthusiasts, let them be shocked out of their misinformation, when they learn that readings from the Apocalypse of John cannot be found in any Eastern Orthodox Lectionary. Visions and apocalypses are not so regarded in the Eastern Church. Even the book of Revelations of (John the Elder, a local bishop and disciple of John the beloved) was authorized by St. Athanasius in 367, to avoid alienating the Roman Church whose faithful admired it, while affirming the epistle to the Hebrews, the Alexandrine favorite, in exchange. Earlier Dionysius the Great, Papa of Alexandria(247 to 264) blamed Napos, Bishop of Arsenoi, ruling that the book of the Apocalypse was a distraction from the good News, which says that eternal life start here (John 17:3). Dionysius concluded, on his textual criticism, that the stylistic and lexical features of the book of revelation proved that the evangelist could not have written the book of apocalypse. So let alone Matthew Fox even if his editorial method is more colorful than precise.

Illuminations Reviews:
"It is evident from this (cover) picture that Hildegard [of Bingen] does not repress the shadow side of existence. For all of her celebration of divine illumination, she never forgets evil" Joanna Weston
"We find relatively few Christian guides in the past to enlighten or to inspire us to a more functional relationship between the human and the natural worlds. ... Hildegard might be considered a model with her sense of the earth as region of delight." Thomas Berry, The Great Work and The Dream of the Earth
"Unfortunately , only a partial and unreliable version exists of the third book, Hildegarde of Bingen's book of divine Works, edited by Matthew Fox." Bernard McGinn

Nature, Man, and Society in the Twelfth Century: Essays on New Theological Perspectives in the Latin West (MART: The Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching)
Hildegard of Bingen's Book of Divine Works: With Letters and Songs

Anyone but Fox. Please.
It is an insult to one of the greatest of the spiritual masters and moral theologians in the history of Christianity to have her work promoted and misrepresented by a disgrace like Matthew Fox, whom she would have condemned as a heretic had she known him.
Find a different source for information and analysis of the work of Hildegard of Bingen. Please.

Abysmal commentary, OK pictures
Fox's commentary paints Hildegard as a rather mushy New Age spiritualist.(Which she was NOT!) The book's only redeeming quality is it's large, full-color reproductions of her illuminated manuscripts.

The Cosmic Christ in Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen
Both the quality illustrations and the text deeply affected me, introducing me to both the Cosmic Christ and to Hildegard's cosmology of the Universe.

It's a wonderful book to savor and to meditate upon.

A gross mistreatment of a wonderful mystic, w/gd photos
It is terrible shame that the best affordable set of reproductions of Hildegard's images is by Fox on Fox.His text is a series of misquoteswhich misrepresents his source throughout all his commentary, juxtaposingquotes to put words in Hildegard's mouth, often ones which would haveenraged her.There is a costly but much better reproduction of the visionsby A. Fuhrkotter published by Turnhout, Belgium in good library collectionsor for those who can afford it.I encourage anyone interested in Hildegardto go for the reputable scholars like Newman, Flanagan, Davies, and Hartjust to name a few. ... Read more

Book Description
Hildegard of Bingen, the first German mystic, is one of the most influential women in European history. Born in 1098 in Bockelheim on the Nahe River, Hildegard had her first vision at the age of six, a phenomenon she would continue to experience the rest of her life. At the behest of the archbishop of Mainz, Hildegard set upon recording her visions in writing. Her writings soon propelled her from Benedictine abbess to celebrity as determined reformer, castigating seer, theoretical musician, patient adviser, and exorcist. A woman of extraordinarily energetic and independent mind, Hildegard wrote profusely throughout her life as a prophet, a poet, a musical composer, a dramatist, a physician, and a political moralist. Indeed, her musical compositions have reached new heights in popularity, highlighting the revival of Gregorian chant currently sweeping the United States. Hildegard communicated with popes and princes, with people of both influence and humble status, always standing above the corruption, misery, and ruin--both spiritual and temporal--of the twelfth century.The second of Hildegard's three books of visions, The Book of the Rewards of Life (Liber Vitae Meritorum) is a study of the human weaknesses that separates us from God. Written with remarkable visual clarity, it stands as one the most subtle and fascinating works ever written on the relationship of various sins to their corresponding virtues. Divided into six parts, this compelling work focuses on our moral flaws, seemingly inherent in human consciousness, and the role of repentance and the virtues in re-establishing our union with God. The first and only complete English translation of this important medieval work, The Book of the Rewards of Life is indeed a handbook of life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Reminds me of my Austrian nanny.
First of all, Hildegard was not the first German mystic. She was, perhaps, the first published German Christian mystic.

I admit this was my first time reading any of her works. Perhaps I chose a non-representative one, orlack appropriate perspective.

Her visions, a weak imitation of thebiblical Samuel,come off like the imperious Tuetonic finger wangling rantof someone cooped up too long in the convent. Reminds me of aAustriannanny I once had.Had Hildegard been a Harold, I doubt she would enjoy thestature she holds today. ... Read more

Book Description
The astonishing freshness and variety of this selection from the work of Hildegard of Bingen demonstrates triumphantly why this twelfth-century Benedictine mystic has come to be reconized as one of the most remarkable and versatile women of the middle ages. ... Read more

Book Description
The Lingua Ignota, "brought forth" by the twelfth-century German nun Hildegard of Bingen, provides 1012 neologisms for praise of Church and new expression of the things of her world. Noting her visionary metaphors, her music, and various medieval linguistic philosophies, Higley examines how the "Unknown Language" makes arid signifiers green again. This text, however, is too often seen in too narrow a context: glossolalia, angelic language, secret code. Higley provides an edition and English translation ofits glosses in the Riesencodex (with assistance from the Berlin MS) , but also places it within a history of imaginary language making from medieval times to the most contemporaryprojectsin efforts to uncover this woman's bold involvement in an intellectual and creative endeavor that spans centuries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great information in this book
I thought this book was very interesting. I learned alot about the dying process. Things to look for from the body and the spirit. ... Read more

Book Description

One of two major medical treatises by medieval healer Hildegard von Bingen, presented in its entirety for the first time in English during the 900th anniversary of her birth. 

A seminal text in the development of Western herbal medicine 

Presents nine categories of healing systems--Plants, Elements, Trees, Stones, Fish, Birds, Animals, Reptiles, and Metals--and elaborates on their medicinal use 

Closely related to Eastern medical approaches that are gaining respect today 

Saint, mystic, healer, visionary, fighter, Hildegard von Bingen stands as one of the great figures in the history of women in me. 

At a time when few women could write and most were denied a formal education, Hildegard von Bingen became a legendary healer, visionary, musician, artist, poet, and saint. Her works include twenty-seven symphonic compositions; Scivias, a compilation of her visions; and her two major medical works, Causae et Curae, a medical compendium, and Physica, published here in English in its entirety for the first time. 

Physica has a strong affinity with the Eastern medical approaches gaining great respect today. The modern reader interested in natural healing will recognize the enormous truth in the theories of this 12th-century physician, which remind us that our cures for illness depend on our natural world and our place in it. 

Customer Reviews (4)

Interesting, but challenging
I have tried to use this book once or twice. One of the things that still make me giggle is using lion's ears to combat deafness. Then I remembered all these animal body-parts that are still being harvested for their medical qualities that are bringing the animals into extinction -- like is the case with the rhinoceros and the shark. So I stop giggling and stick to the plant sections.

The recipes that Hildegard uses are sometimes hard to do because I simply have no idea what some of the plants she uses are. She also uses wine a lot, which is new to me. I come from a tea tradition, so boiling things in wine is a true novelty. Maybe this is why I have not used it much since it can be very different from what I know. On the other hand, it has provided me wonderful new experiences in the herbal work! I have not used the mineral section yet, and only stuck to the plant section.

At the very least, it is a fascinating treatise on medieval medicine. I do recommend it!

Engaging, Historical Compendium
From herbal treatments to stone power, Hildegard covers it all in this excellent translation by Priscilla Throop.Anyone interested in the holistic and deep level personhood approach of Hildegard (she was much more than her music) will count this book as essential to their collection.Hildegard as theologian, philosopher, musician, and natural healer can all be seen in Physica.Enjoy!!!

a contribution to the study of medieval medicine
Ms.Throop provides a learned introduction to Hildegard and a fluent translation of an important medical text.Scholars and interested laymen will benefit from her efforts.
Michael T.Walton,Ph.D.

Useful solely as a historical reference
From what I had read concerning this book and other works of Hildegarde's, I had assumed that it would be useful for one interested in herbal medicine. Though I fondly smiled at remedies involving unicorn horn, and at cautions about avoiding the meat of the gryphon, I was very disappointed that there were no usefulideas, for all that I respect the skill of the medieval herbalists. Entries are merely Hildegard's description of a plant or animal and its humours. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Just Wonderful!!!
Mystical, profound, Just seat , contact your inner self and hear. Contact God within you. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Among Catholic saints, the 12th-century German abbess Hildegard of Bingen perhaps best fits the description of wild womanhood offered by Cole Porter's "The Lady Is a Tramp." That is, Hildegard did it all, she did it her way, and everyone who hears about her is amazed. Such is a fair summary of the evidence offered in Hildegard of Bingen, a biography by Fiona Maddocks (the chief music critic for London's The Observer). Hildegard is today best known for her haunting musical compositions. She was also, in Maddocks's description, "a polymath: a visionary, a theologian, a preacher; an early scientist and physician; a prodigious letter writer who numbered emperors and popes among her correspondents ... Her boldness, courage, and tenacity made her at once enthralling and haughty, intrepid, and irksome." This is a straightforward, chronologically organized biography, beginning with Hildegard's girlhood (she entered a male monastery when she was 8 years old) and ending with the story of her canonization and a contemporary account of the procession that occurs annually on her feast day in Eibingen, the site of the second convent she founded. Throughout, Maddocks reminds readers of the rich historical background of Hildegard's life (the Crusades, the rise of monasticism, the beginnings of the Renaissance), offering not only an account of one extraordinary woman but of an era whose influence on our own is still being felt. --Michael Joseph Gross Book Description
The twelfth-century German abbess Hildegard of Bingen would have been remarkable in any age.Today, her growing reputation as a composer of religious music has overshadowed the astonishing variety of her accomplishments and her part in the scientific, cultural, and theological revolution of the pre-Renaissance, from religion and mysticism to medicine and sex.Scivias, her book of apocalyptic visions, with its extraordinary and compelling illustrations, would alone have been enough to endure her lasting fame.

The story of Hildegard's life, from her entry into a monastery at Disibodenberg on the Rhine as a child, through the exploration of her pent-up genius in middle years, to her eventual admission to the German canon of saints, is here told against a rich background of the years of the Crusades, the flowering of monasticism, papal schism and heresy.The forceful character that emerges challenges any image of demurely subjugated womanhood associated with the period.Hildegard's story is as fascinating as that of any figure in the Middle Ages, and she and her musical legacy continue to be the subject of debate a thousand years later.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good work, not "the best," though
This book is the well-written, scholarly (but not too heavy) tale of the life of one courageous and troubled twelfth century Benedictine nun whom most of us have heard of but really know little about.She's the darling of a hundred modern "movements" -- everyone from feminists to religious musicians -- but she's much more -- and less -- than the typical speculations and carefully chosen facts present.

The truth is that Hildegard "von Bingen" was a woman of paradoxes: a hardline conservative Catholic who acknowledged the "weakness" of her sex yet fought for recognition in the Church; a deeply pious nun who appealed to the rule of St. Benedict and yet contradicted it when it suited her purposes; a woman dedicated to the religious life and eschewing the political, yet intricately involved in political correspondence and the shaping of policy.

Hildegard is fascinating, and Fiona Maddock's retelling of what we really know (and don't know) of her life is quite good.It goes into great detail, sometimes on tangents seemingly unrelated to Hildegard, and occasionally the writing wanders off so far that the reader becomes frustrated.Nevertheless, the book is loosely chronological, so it's not too hard to get back on track, and the writing itself is accomplished.Many of the tangents, however annoying, cast a welcome light on the customs and Church doctrine (different in many respects from today, or later ages) of Hildegard's day.Altogether, this book is intriguing and a good read, but be prepared for a few slow-downs.

History at its best
There has been more books written about Hildegard than any other medieval mover and shaker in the last few years. This book just happens to be the apex of this new found trend, as with a cool head and a sound heart the author has displayed an enormous ability at extracting truth from fiction in this informative account of her life. With splashes of descriptive writing and an elegant historical style the author sketches out the various aspects of her life, from her extraordinary visions to her bumps and bruises from fighting the established church on occasions, from her bending of the rules slightly (in regards to women not preaching) to her bouts of illness, in all this the author is able to keep her skepticism and objectivism to commendable level.

At first when picking up this book I thought(as my opinion had been soured by crusading feminism before) that this might be yet another author looking at Hildegard as a shining beacon of femininity in the twelve century and extort what only can be regarded as propaganda, but I'm glad to report that I was not only wrong but this book has left a lasting impression that will take a long time to forget. Vivid, compelling and constantly witty, I do not recommend you read this book, I demand you read it. ... Read more