Hildegard of Bingen: An Integrated Vision

Spiritual Life, Spring 2003 by Oncay, Barbara S

Hildegard's music combines visions with chant and her unique form of poetry to create images. Her compositions include the Symphonia, Viridissima Virga, Virtus Sapientiae, and the Ordo Virtutem. Familiar themes of viriditas, moisture and freshness, Ecclesia, and Sapientia reappear. The Incarnation is central as God's plan to reverse the sins of Adam and to return all to unity and harmony. Viridissima Virga portrays Mary as the Tree of Life giving birth to the Word; Virtus Sapientiae praises the virtue of wisdom; the Ordo Virtutem extols the practice of virtue.

Finally, the author discusses Hildegard's minor works, which have no claim to inspiration as do the visionary or musical works: the Lingua Ignota (Unknown Language), biographies of Sts. Disibod and Rupert, Commentaries on the Athanasian Creed and Rule of St. Benedict, works on the natural world (Physica and Causa et Curae) and her correspondence.

An important aspect of this book is the analysis of the vision that underlies and influences all of Hildegard's works. Hildegard gazes on the divine, but she can only reach it by passing through this earthly life as virtuously as possible. Her writings reflect her understanding of how the divine and human are inseparably joined as a result of the Incarnation, the embodiment of God's love, and the Spirit present in the Church. She calls for repentance and the living of a virtuous life as the way to the divine. Hildegard was a woman of prayer but was also involved in the world as counselor, advisor, and friend. She offers a challenge to us to do the same. Another strength of this book is its use as a tool for further research. The organization of material, the notes, and extensive bibliography provide an excellent resource for study.

Unfortunately, the author fails to achieve one of her goals. She intended to present her information so that it would be accessible to the reader without scholarly background, but this book is not for the general reader. It is excessively academic in language and rambling paragraphs make it difficult to follow the author's train of thought.

Barbara S. Oncay, OLDS, is from Dover, Delaware. She holds an M.A. in Religious Studies and is currently a foreign language teacher at Dover High School.