✝

Hildegard von Bingen or Hildegard of Bingen (September 16, 1098 – September 17, 1179) was a German abbess, leader of the convent, mystic, author, and composer. She is the first female composer whose biography is known.

 

Hildegard of Bingen was born in Bermersheim, Rhineland (now Germany) into a noble family. She was the 10th child in the family. It is said that Hildegard had religious visions from early childhood. As a result, the parents already in 1106 sent the 8-year-old Hildegard to the Disibodenberg Benedictine monastery, where the female nuns were led by Abbess Juta Spanheimietė. It is assumed that Hildegard had little education. She only learned to read Latin from the psalm in the convent (later Hildegard complained about her lack of education). 1113 Hildegard took her vows as a nun and lived in Disibodenberg without any known activity until 1136, when Abbess Juta died and Hildegard was elected in her place, only with a lower rank of magister. According to Hildegard's testimony in the book "Liber scivias domini" (Scivias for short), she saw visions all her life, but only after becoming a magister did she speak about it publicly. She was encouraged to write down visions by friends and the Bishop of Mainz. 1141 Hildegard began the first such work, Scivias. It was difficult to write down, because the visions were accompanied by attacks of illness (presumably migraines). Volmar, the secretary of the monastery, helped her take notes. In this work, Hildegard described thirty-five mystical visions covering the most important events in the history of salvation from creation to the end of the world.[2] It is speculated that Vollmar may have helped Hildegard master medieval musical notation.1147−1148 Pope Eugene III (Tryer) visited the area and heard about Hildegard's visions. The Pope became familiar with the fragments of Scivias and encouraged Hildegard to continue writing. 1151 Scivias was completed. The Pope's interest led to other people's interest in Hildegard. Gradually, it became popular in the local region. People came to her because she also practiced herbalism and exorcisms. 1148 when the number of nuns in Disibodenberg increased, Hildegard decided to separate the female nuns from the male ones and found a new convent. About this, she was told in a vision. A new monastery was founded in the mountains at Rupetsberg, on the Rhine River, near the city of Bingen. Hildegard became an abbess. 1152 the monastery was consecrated by the archbishop of Mainz. It has been speculated that this may have been the occasion for which Hildegard composed her morality play Ordo Virtutum. 1165 she founded a second monastery on the other side of the Rhine near Eibingen. 1150s pb. Hildegard made her first preaching tour. After that, Hildegard traveled three more times (in 1160, 1163 and 1170) and preached in Cologne, Liège and several Swabian cities. Many of her teachings were public. Hildegard of Bingen died in 1179. The process of her canonization was started, but was not formally completed until 2012. Nevertheless, Hildegard Bingeniete was often called a saint later on. in 2012 October 7 she was officially canonized by Pope Benedict XVI and declared a teacher of the Catholic Church.